No 'worst' tracks this week. I've got too many good tracks to talk about. Artists featured this week include Doja Cat, Duckwrth, †††, Open Mike Eagle, Soda Blonde and The Fierce & The Dead...
‘Paint The Town Red’ – Doja Cat
Doja Cat’s decision to call her adoring fans ‘miserable hoes’ didn’t
seem like the wisest marketing move, and it has in fact cost her 400,000 followers on Instagram. However, perhaps the singer/rapper is intentionally
trying to appeal to a new fanbase. After all, these salty aggressive hip hop
anthems are very different to the sugary sexy pop anthems she’s been delivering
up until now. I definitely prefer this version of Doja Cat. The mix of mean
rapped verses and sticky sung hooks showcases the whole breadth of her talent.
And that Dionne Warwick sample works so well underneath. Bring on the new album.
‘Vertigo’ – Duckwrth
As soon as that house beat crept in, I knew this was going
to be another banger from Duckworth. But I wasn’t expecting those eargasmic
synths. Singer/rapper Duckwrth always delivers with his production choices. At
the same time, he’s the type of artist that doesn’t rely on a good beat to
carry a song – his voice is incredibly dynamic shifting from spoken word to
singing to rapping. I don’t know why he doesn’t get more attention.
‘Invisible Hand’ - ††† (Crosses)
†††
(pronounced Crosses) is the electronic side project of Deftones singer/screamer
Chino Moreno. They haven’t released anything since 2011, but now a new album Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete is in the works. And here’s our first glimpse
of it. Chino’s voice is uniquely hypnotic as always, but the production from Shaun
Lopez steals the show for me. I’m loving the glitchy and abrasive quality of it.
It’s not the 'witch house' sound they were playing with on their debut, but it’s
equally experimental and moody. Witch trap? Witchstep? Someone come up with a
genre label for it.
‘WFLD 32’ – Open Mike Eagle ft. Eshu Tune, Video Dave and
Still Rift
‘WFLD 32’ is an all-bars-no-hooks posse cut featuring rappers
Open Mike Eagle, Eshu Tune (Hannibal Buress), Video Dave and Still Rift. It’s
accompanied by a woozy beat produced by Kenny Segal. It’s not too different to
some of Open Mike Eagle’s past work and even features many of his frequent
collaborators, but it’s pretty mesmerising all the same with all its esoteric
pop culture references and wacky bars. Open Mike Eagle's upcoming album Another Triumph Of Ghetto Engineering is out August 25th.
‘Bad Machine’ – Soda Blonde
Irish synth indie band Soda Blonde are releasing a new album
titled Dream Big in September and this latest song ‘Bad Machine’ is the
lead single. The weird choppy vocal melodies in the verse combined with the staccato
guitar (which uses a fun harmonizer effect) results in a very captivating sound.
It kinda reminds me of St Vincent’s self titled album with its fun robotic textures
and delivery.
‘Wonderful’ – The Fierce & The Dead
This track is over a year old. WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT ALASDAIR??
Firstly, this track slaps and needs more exposure. Secondly, The Fierce And The
Dead have just released their fourth album News From The Invisible World
and I wanted to feature a track from it – so why not go with this one? The song
revolves around an addictive scampering 6/4 bass riff that you just know is going
to be nasty once the distortion kicks in. I wasn’t expecting that satisfying
vocal hook to accompany it when the distortion did kick in, and the added sax
at the end make it all the more wonderfully manic.