Vin Diesel has released an EDM track and it's neither fast nor furious.
THE BEST:
‘Reanimator’ – Joji ft. Yves Tumor
I’ve had a hard time accepting Joji as a serious artist, considering
that he used to make songs like this. After listening to
this stunningly woozy synthpop track, I may have finally got rid of the mental
block – I no longer picture him in a pink morph suit when he sings. It may be
because there’s very little singing within this track. In fact, I did wonder if
there were going to be any vocals at all (they don’t come in until the last third
of the track). For some reason, Yves Tumor’s vocals are buried deep in the mix,
however it does add to the spacey vibe.
‘Like This’ – Sam Eagle
Sam Eagle – not to be confused with the Muppets character –
is a 21-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist from Essex. His new single ‘Like
This’ is an energetic soul track with a deliciously funky bassline and sparse
but groovy percussion (I particularly love the cowbell and punchy snare during
the chorus). It’s a pretty unique sound that I can only describe as Tom-Misch-meets-Neptunes.
Sam Eagle has recently signed to Cooking Vinyl and will be dropping a new EP
titled Something Out Of Nothing later this year.
‘Honey’ – Novatines
I love this opening riff. I bet it sounds amazing live (I’ll
definitely be checking out this Bath-based band in concert when the music
venues finally reopen in 2073). The track packs a lot of punch into it’s two
minute runtime and just as you think it’s going to subside at the end, it
launches into a catchy closing hook: ‘I’m wrecking ball, wrecking ballin!’.
It’s a lot better than that other wrecking ball song.
‘Lighthouse Keeper’ – Alex Hedley & The Living Sea
Orchestra
This track from Dorset singer-songwriter Alex Hedley starts
as a raw folk song and gradually builds layers of drums and soaring strings until
it reaches a beautiful climax. The chord changes are pretty interesting and have
a Radiohead-esque feel to them. The lyrics meanwhile tell the melancholy tale
of an isolated lighthouse keeper. It’s pretty much an elaborate sea shanty.
‘Golden’ – Low Float
Ontario singer-songwriter Low Float has dropped a second single
titled ‘Golden’ (I featured ‘Here Before’ on the blog a couple weeks ago). It
features a similarly snaking bassline and some smooth vocals that ride hypnotically
over the beat. It’s another great cut from his debut record For Your Dreams
– which is out now.
THE WORST:
‘Feel Like I Do’ - Vin Diesel & Kygo
This isn’t the fast and furious banger I was hoping for. In
fact, it’s a slow and tepid tropical house song. Vin Diesel’s got nothing on
Elon Musk. Who’s the next celebrity to release a surprise EDM anthem? J.K. Rowling?
Mark Zuckerberg? Joe Biden? Captain Sir Tom???