A few songs to listen to while you’re self-isolating.
THE BEST:
‘Say So’ - Doja Cat
Doja Cat has gone disco. In fact, it’s quite hard to believe
this is the same artist that was rapping about cows two years ago with French fries stuck up her nose. Initially, I wasn’t going to feature this track because there’s
enough disco revival already out there, but the hook has ingrained itself in my
brain and the video is so hot that's it got the UNFCCC worried.
‘Very Noise’ – Igorrr
French experimentalist Gautier Serre (aka Igorrr) combines
arguably the two noisiest genres – metal and breakcore – on this new thrilling
track ‘Very Noise’. The closest thing I’ve heard to this is Vein’s Errorzone,
which was a metal album that dabbled in breakcore. This is a much more refined
mixture of the two genres and I’m definitely feeling it. The wacky visuals make
the whole thing even more mental.
‘Rick F***in
Dalton’ – Moon Panda
Moon Panda describe themselves in their Twitter profile as ‘dreamy
space pop for dreamy space people’. This new single is inspired by the
latest Tarantino movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and comes off their
upcoming EP Make Well. Both the smoky chorus and the sweary track title are
very Lana-Del-Rey-esque. The punchy bassline meanwhile sounds like something
that could be off the Arctic Monkeys’ AM. Moon Panda were due to be
performing at SXSW, but the festival has now been cancelled because there’s apparently some bug going around.
‘Kings of Nowhere’
– Glass Cristina
Indie-dance three-piece Glass Cristina drop this funky new
single, which sounds like a crossover of Jungle and Foals. It builds up from
some slow synths into a satisfying house beat with some groovy bass in the
background and sparkly keys over the top. Masked dancers and Mayan pyramids
make up the mystic video, as well as some odd shots of the band members (I’m
loving the Jesus beards. Are they supposed to be singing out of time at the one
minute mark?). The track comes off the group’s new album Nudity, which
is scheduled for release in May.
‘Out In The World’ – GUM
GUM is the solo project of part-time Tame Impala member Jay
Watson. This new single ‘Out In The World’ sees Jay taking a less synth-heavy
direction than in the past – it’s made up of glossy guitars, a simple driving
bassline and some wistful vocals with a soaring chorus. According to Jay
himself, ‘it started off as a jangly 12-string folk sort of thing, before
morphing into my version of Fleetwood Mac meets Cleaners from Venus’.
THE WORST:
‘Never Worn White’ – Katy Perry
Perry is pregnant and she’s dropped a melodramatic ballad about
marriage and the future (she’s also recently got engaged). Personally, I
preferred the fun and cheesy ‘Harleys in Hawaii’, but you can bet this slow
soppy single will be the one that gets all the airplay.