James Blake is back to sounding captivatingly weird.
THE BEST:
‘Goodbye Blue’ & ‘Glide (Goodbye Blue Part 2)’ – BADBADNOTGOOD
Good good not bad Toronto jazz outfit BADBADNOTGOOD have released
two new singles and they’re both terrific. The first track ‘Goodbye Blue’ features guest vocals from Jonah Yano and is a
fluttering r&b track – a seemingly new direction
for the band. The second track ‘Glide (Goodbye Blue Part 2)’ is a soaring jazz instrumental
that serves as a companion piece. Could we be getting a new album soon?
‘Counting Stars’ – Ferdous
Ferdous continues to push forward his unique nocturnal electropop
sound. From the opening spiky keys, I assumed this was going to be a more retro
Kraftwerk-flavoured track. But then the thicker glossy synths come in and give the
track a decidedly futuristic feel. The vocals meanwhile are just as moody as on
‘Overdrive’, but with less auto-tune this time around.
‘Naughty On My Bike’ – Public Body
Brighton band Public Body deliver this anthem dedicated to
the bicycle. It’s nearly as silly as Queen’s own bicycle anthem but without the
unsolicited hatred towards Jaws and Star Wars. Instead, the band seem to direct
their contempt towards walking and public transport. Loopy guitar riffs and frenetic
drums propel the track along. They’ve tagged it under #News And Politics on SoundCloud
(news and politics is my favourite genre of music).
‘Sunburnt Inside’ – The Gulf of Space
This new track from Southampton artist The Gulf Of Space was ‘born out of social isolation and lamenting the lack of social contact’. It features some intriguingly cryptic lyrics that capture the sense of lonely confusion many of us are doubt feeling right now. The instrumentation meanwhile is made of moody guitars with some bright flourishes of piano towards the end. The Gulf of Space has recently released an entire album titled Toria, which you can listen to here.
‘You’re Too Precious’ – James Blake
Last year’s Assume Form had a commercial feel to it
that I wasn’t digging, but now James Blake is back to sounding captivatingly weird.
The choppy vocal edits and off-kilter beat create an anxious feeling. Meanwhile,
the lyrics seem to deal with self-sacrificing infatuation: ‘I’d take the calls
you don’t want to/ I’d take the hair in your food’.
THE WORST:
‘Sasuke’ – Lil Uzi Vert
The lyrics are gross. He’s not even rapping on beat. And what’s
up with the annoying Playboi Carti baby voice? It’s an abomination.