Music to move your body to and scratch your chin to.
THE BEST:
‘Get Sun’ – Hiatus Kaiyote ft. Arthur Verocai
It’s been a while since Melbourne future soul quartet Hiatus
Kaiyote gave us new material. It’s almost as if the band has been … wait for it…
on HIATUS (I’m sorry). On a serious
note, singer Nai Palm has been battling cancer (she’s cancer-free now), so that’s
probably why we haven’t heard much from the band. ‘Get Sun’ is the group’s much
awaited comeback single and was co-written by Brazilian composer/arranged
Arthur Verocai. Nai’s voice sounds as agile as ever, weaving its way among the intricate
tapestry of shuffling drums, groovy bass, twinkling pianos, soaring strings and
vibrant brass. The whole song loses its form towards the end, becoming
dreamily psychedelic. It’s an exciting glimpse into what we can expect from
their upcoming album Mood Valiant.
‘VAPORWAVES’ – Thundercat & Ace Hashimoto
I’m not sure I’d categorise this as ‘vaporwave’ per se, but let’s
not get pedantic. This track is fucking gorgeous. Funky singer-bassist Thundercat
never misses – those warm arpeggiated bass chords and silky ooh-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oohs
provide the perfect backdrop for Chicago singer Ace Hashimato’s smooth
melancholy vocals. Originally, this song was only available to hear on Ace’s Patreon
page. He’s now streaming it freely on YouTube for a limited time. Listen now
while you still can!
‘Paddling’ – Squid
Brighton experimental rock band Squid have dropped another single
from their upcoming album, Bright Green Field. It’s not quite the sonic
mindfuck that ‘Narrator’ was, but it’s still very creative and lovably weird. Loopy
sprechesgang vocals and warped guitars ride a racing digital drum loop. It
speeds up at the two minute mark and then builds up to a blustery climax of
rising guitar chords. It’s like someone took Talking Heads and injected them with
mad cow disease.
‘Digital Release’ – Ludic
Vancouver indie band Ludic have followed up their previous
groovy single ‘Heart Emoji’ (which I featured here) with a new equally groovy
track ‘Digital Release’. According to the band, it’s a ‘love letter to all
things imagined – all the media, movies, video games, books and stories which
allow us to let go of this reality and escape’. It’s refreshing to hear a
song about digital technology that isn’t all gloomy and cynical. Imagine
life without a 'digital release'. No video games. No YouTube. No social media. And most
devastating of all, no Music Related Junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
‘SUPERNORMAL’ – Everything Everything
With its relentless snare drum, jagged guitars and back-and-forth
vocal delivery, this is one of the more chaotic tracks that Manchester art
rockers Everything Everything have released in recent years. And yet, amongst the
chaos, it still manages to land an absolutely infectious vocal hook: ‘supernormaleverything
YOU’RE GOD DAMN RIGHT’. As for the surreal video, I’m still processing it.
THE WORST:
‘Slow Clap’ – Gwen Stefani
The
chorus is impressively annoying. The remainder of it sounds like a Paris Hilton
b-side from 2006. And, to top it off, the artwork is hideous. Should have titled it 'so crap'.
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