I discuss Drake's new diss track, Willow's new jaunty jazz single and Sia's surprise new belter. Plus, new tracks from The Fever Haze, Action Forever, Strawflower, Nick Hudson and Meghan Trainor/Jimmy Fallon.
THE BEST:
‘Push Ups
(Drop And Give Me 50)’ – Drake
In case you’ve
not been keeping up with the beef, Kendrick Lamar randomly decided to diss Drake
and J Cole a few weeks ago in a guest verse on Future’s ‘Like That’. J Cole
responded with a half-hearted diss track (which he has since humiliatingly apologised
for and removed from streaming platforms). Now Drake, who was the main target
of Kendrick’s diss, has decided to retaliate on ‘Push Ups’ – and he is not
pulling any punches. Did he really just say ‘how the fuck you big steppin
with a size 7 mens on’? I can see why everyone thought this was AI, because
I don’t think Drake has ever delivered bars this savage before. And it’s not
just Kendrick who is feeling Drake’s wrath – Rick Ross, Future and even poor
Metro Boomin all get called out too. While Drake is still my least favourite artist
of the ‘Big Three’, his pen can be the sharpest on the rare occasion that he’s
not trying to write a pop hit. He also has experience getting in beefs, and is
used to churning out songs at speed. This puts him in a strong position. I don’t
know if Kendrick has it in him to one-up him. Not many rappers can (except maybe
Pusha T, but that’s a sore subject…)
‘b i g f e
e l i n g s’ – Willow
I haven’t
checked in on Willow Smith for a while, but last time I did she was writing pop
punk songs. Now she’s singing over erratic prog/jazz pianos, which is pretty
much the opposite end of the musical spectrum. The track is lyrically about
being overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, which it musically encapsulates by
jumping from one wild piano riff to the next – each one creatively syncopated with
Willow’s voice. Her pop punk songs were already decent, but this is a league above.
I have this b i g f e e l i n g that her new album, Empathogen, is going
to be nuts.
‘I Forgive
You’ – Sia
I’ve always
been impressed by Sia’s crazy voice, but it feels like she’s spent most of her
career confining it to formulaic pop songs. This new song sees her truly
letting loose. The instrumentation is nothing too special, but holy moley – her
vocal performance here is so beautifully chaotic. Those long tortured wails in
the verses have so much pain poured into them that I’m surprised she didn’t
pass out. It’s one of those songs that leaves you sweating after because it’s so
intense.
‘I Love It
Here’ – The Fever Haze
This track
sounds like if somebody Frankensteined together My Bloody Valentine and The
Smashing Pumpkins. The vocals and the riffs have a Billy Corgan flavour, but it’s
submerged in bewitching shoegazey effects. Lyrically, the song deals with the longing
of being in a long distance relationship. It’s the perfect theme for a shoegaze
song – the vocals and guitars sound like
they’re echoing out across the ocean to someone on the other side. It comes off
the band’s latest album Moonbow.
‘In The Dead
Of Night’ – Action Forever
Toronto indie
funk band are back after ‘Loveless Love’ with another gloomy but groovy love
song ‘In The Dead Of Night’ (which like the last song is also coincidentally about
a LDR). I actually get New Romantic vibes from this one, albeit with slightly
updated production. New new romantic? It’s got some fun synth sounds and guitar
tones, the chorus is fanatastic and there’s even a brief playful key change
towards the end.
‘Haunting
of the Hollywood Hills’ – Strawflower
This bluesy
riff is so addictive and I’m loving all the psychedelic instrumental jamming
over the top. It’s lyrically themed around a spooky house party in which things
start to turn weird and sinister, delivered with a subtle haunting echo. The LA
band have a new album coming out soon titled Greetings From The Stardust Motel.
‘Khevsureti’
– Nick Hudson
I don’t know
what the hell this is, but I’m very much intrigued. The track consists mostly
of slow semi-dissonant swells of strings that are both beautiful and full of
tension. Eventually some elongated Bowie-like vocals come in to add some extra
drama: ‘todaaay I tooouched an iiiiicicle’. The strings then take an
eerie turn at the end, accompanied by some menacing percussion, resulting in an
unsettling climax. You probably won’t hear it on Radio 1 any time soon, but
fans of late career Scott Walker and Bjork will likely be as captivated as I
was. The track comes off the UK-Georgia experimental pop artist’s latest record
Kanda Teenage Honey.
THE WORST:
‘Sweet Morning
Heat’ – Meghan Trainor & Jimmy Fallon
So apparently
there’s some Pop-Tart origin story movie out on Netflix and this is a song from
the soundtrack. Regardless of whether it’s supposed to sound this cheesy, it
has too many Jimmy Fallons and too many Meghan Trainors on it for my liking.