Well, it looks like I've already broken my pledge to go back to weekly roundups. This fortnightly roundup will have to do. Artists featured this week include English Teacher, Tinashe, Void Comp, Melanie A Davis, Shamir and DJ Khaled.
THE BEST:
‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ – English Teacher
My first impression of English Teacher was that they seemed
very similar to Dry Cleaning – both in terms of their mundane choice of band
name and the fact they’re both female-fronted UK post-punk bands. The moody
start-stop riff that opens this song even sounds like something Dry Cleaning might
conjure up. But Lily Fontaine’s brand of ‘ramble rock’ vocals turn out to be a
lot more melodic. I particularly love that euphoric chorus that comes out of nowhere.
They’ve definitely got potential.
‘Needs’ – Tinashe
As sultry r&b songs go (and there’s a lot of them) this is
definitely one of the higher quality ones I’ve heard recently. Tinashe’s inflections
hit all the right notes and those swelling chords in the background are
hypnotic. Her choreographed dances are always impressive too (check out ‘All Hands On Deck’ for some more great dance choreography).
‘High Relief’ – Void Comp
Alberta singer/producer Void Camp (who I’ve previously
featured back in 2021) is back with a new EP titled Metropol. I’m glad
to see he’s continued to develop the same moody electronic sound. The synths in
this track sound so cold and clean and I love how they swoop from speaker to
speaker. There’s some really atmospheric
woozy synthwork across this EP that I highly recommend listening to if you love
moody electronica as much as I do.
‘Lightbulb Stars’ – Melanie A Davis
‘Oh no, not a ukelele!’ was my first reaction when I
opened the video. Most the uke songs I get in my inbox are horrible. But this
song from Kentucky artist Melanie A Davis is actually quite good. She’s got a
very pretty voice – her fluttering vibrato combined with the sweet vocal harmonies
had me hooked. I even like the ukelele chords. The track comes off her new
album Honey Locust.
‘Obsession’ – Shamir
This isn’t the funky synthpop I fell in love with when I
first discovered Shamir, but it’s still an exciting direction. Off their new
album Homo Anxietatem, Shamir delivers this moody rock song ‘Obsession’.
It sounds like it ought to have some deep Joy-Division-esque post-punk vocals
over the top. Instead, it features Shamir’s unique androgynous falsettos that
give the track its own distinct character.
THE WORST:
‘Supposed To Be Loved’ – DJ Khaled ft. Lil Baby, Future
and Lil Uzi Vert
These slurry-worded verses sound so sloppy over this
energetic beat. Uzi is the only one enunciating his words. The other two sound
like they just gargled a mouthful of numbing cream.