Strongboi? Venture boi? Playboi carti? Why are there so many
BOIS this week? Where are all the GURLS?
THE BEST:
‘Honey Thighs’ – Strongboi
Strongboi are a new quirky duo consisting of South African
singer Alice Phoebe Lou and producer Ziv Yamin. They describe themselves in
their Facebook bio as ‘casios & toys. genuinely superficial. grooves,
sweat & tits. sleazy, sassy & only bangers’. Last week, I featured
their exciting self-titled debut single. This second single takes a more
downtempo direction, opting instead for a 50s pop sound complete with whirring
organs and dreamy guitars (but with a few eccentric electronic sounds thrown in
to give it just enough of a modern edge). So far, it’s two strong singles from
Strongboi.
‘She Keeps Me In Her Locket’ – Venture Boi
Venture Boi’s sound is a captivating blend of 80s electro synths,
sighed-out vocals and twangy reverb-soaked guitars. According to the band
themselves: ‘our aim was to take the intimacy, drama, and dread of a Smiths
song and inject it into a setting that would fit on the soundtrack of Drive’
(as a fan of both The Smiths and Drive, this immediately caught my attention). The
track also contains some creative sampling including the sound of coins being
struck. You can check out more material from the band on their new EP Trouble.
‘Dead Horse’ – Hayley Williams
Paramore singer Hayley Williams has been churning out solo singles and EPs recently at an alarming rate – more than I’ve been able to keep
track of. It makes the lyrics of this new poppy-flavoured song particularly
ironic: ‘and now you get another song’. Nonetheless, I’m loving this
track, even if it sounds nothing like the Hayley Williams I remember. Hayley’s
voice sounds brilliant, the guitars are groovy and ‘Yay yay yay ya’ part
is very fun.
‘Long Time Coming’ – Strangely Enough
Melbourne band Strangely Enough are back with another
genre-bending single. The track opens with some melancholy keys and minimal percussion
and slowly gathers layers of guitars, bass and drums. The Thom Yorke-ish vocals
over the top meanwhile build from a soft whimper to passionate belting (there’s
also an unusual ambient section towards the end with some digitally-altered
singing). The band have their debut EP coming out in a few months. It’s been a
long time coming (yes, I had to make that joke).
‘Skyline’ – Pabst
This new track from Berlin rock trio Pabst is a euphoric ‘fuck
the city, let’s get out of here’ anthem. It sports some satisfyingly
fuzzed-out guitars and a cool video featuring a cowboy wondering the urban
streets while being made to feel like an outsider. The band describe the track
themselves as a ‘post-grunge hymn’.
THE WORST:
‘@ Meh’ – Playboi Carti
The beat slaps (as is the case with every Carti song), but
sadly I don’t speak Klingon.