Skrillex sounds spiritless and The Weeknd embraces his weird side. The rest are underground gems.
THE BEST:
‘No Nightmares’ - Oneohtrix Point Never ft The Weeknd
This might be the most accessible track Oneohtrix Point Never
has ever dropped and simultaneously the most experimental track that the Weeknd
has ever been a part of. It’s pretty much a lullaby with synthesizers – Abel spends
the whole track gently singing ‘nooooo nightmares’ at the listener while warm
synths glow and twinkle in the background. Of course, it’s an OPN track, so
there are still some production quirks thrown in there. However, he refrains
from throwing in a MIDI trumpet solo or a chopped-and screwed cybergrind
section as I was half-expecting. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, the
producer’s latest album, is out today for those that are craving more.
‘So Original’ – Erroneous
There’s no shortage of dreamy synthpop out there, but the aspect that makes ‘So Original’ so original is the vocal harmonies. Accompanied by those hypnotic synth arpeggios, they sound absolutely spellbinding. The New York singer songwriter has recently dropped a new EP Shut My Head Up, which is brimming with creatively entrancing vocal harmonies.
‘Fault Line’ – Michael Jewitt
This new track from indie-pop artist Michael Jewitt consists
solely of drums, bass, vocals and a bit of xylophone. The production is
refreshingly minimal – most tracks nowadays are smothered in effects, whereas
all the sounds here are allowed to breathe. The start-stop composition is also
very inventive and the vocals are super catchy.
‘Woven and Shattered’ – Will Powers
Ontario artist Will Powers weaves together this psychedelic epic
that revolves around a mesmeric polyrhythmic riff. The soaring instrumental
second half is absolutely beautiful – I love how the drums end up threatening
to tear the mix apart as it reaches its crescendo. The singer’s Nick-Cave-like vocal
tone is also captivating. A double-EP will be coming out November 12th.
‘The Battle Is On’ – Forces
There are a lot sonic layers to this art pop track (if it
was a lasagne it would be eight feet high), and yet despite this it doesn’t
feel cluttered. In fact, there’s a solid groove throughout thanks to that
booming kick drum and the vocals are really catchy. The track is accompanied by
a video made up of royalty-free clips of animated skeletons. The only remotely
Halloweeny thing to feature this week.
THE WORST:
‘Kliptown Empyrean’ – Skrillex
Yes, Skrillex is still alive. His new song sounds like a
Burial b-side. I preferred his brostep bangers.