JPEGMAFIA is dissing Drake and Billie wants to bang Charli XCX. Plus, I discuss the new tracks from George Clanton & TV Girl, Fontaines DC, Alai Landa, The Derevolutions, Menajerie and Ice Spice.
THE BEST:
‘it’s dark
and hell is hot’ – JPEGMAFIA
Experimental hip
hop artist JPEGMAFIA is keeping things noisy and weird. This new track comes
off his new album I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU and features some wild
production (largely sampled from this obscure Brazilian song). There are also plenty of provocative
bars, including this shot at Drake: ‘Private school rapper don’t know what
it is/ If I show you a Drac, I ain’t playing with kids’. Jeez, the Toronto
rapper can’t catch a break!
‘Guess’ –
Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish
Charli XCX
has re-released her raunchy house banger ‘Guess’. It now features a verse from fellow
pop star Billie Eilish, who since ‘Lunch’ has been in full Lesbian Mode: ‘Charli
likes boys but she knows I’d hit it/Charli, call me if you’re with it’. It’s
pretty much the white girl equivalent of ‘WAP’ – the beat goes hard and the
lyrics are hyper-horny.
‘Take A
Trip’ – George Clanton & TV Girl
Nostalgia is one
hell of a drug. That’s the interpretation I’m getting from this new song ‘Take
A Trip’ – one of two collaborative singles between George Clanton and TV Girl. The
lyrics are a creatively ambiguous mix of nostalgia and drug references, while
the instrumental consists of suitably nostalgic 90s percussion and suitably
druggy vaporwave synth chords. It’s addictive stuff.
‘Here’s
The Thing’ – Fontaines DC
Irish rockers
Fontaines DC have a new album on the way titled ROMANCE. We've already heard two singles off the album, 'Starburster' (a pretty stellar track) and 'Favourite' (not my favourite). Now they've released a third track titled 'Here's The Thing', which is the shortest but best of the bunch. The main riff is a blast and Chatten’s vocals are very catchy too. Plus, I like
the way it goes a bit Nirvana-esque during the verse.
‘Curiosa’ –
Alai Landa
The lyrics to
this one are in Spanish, but I feel like understanding them isn’t necessary to
appreciating this song’s beauty. Most of this song consists solely of delicate
melancholy vocals and Latin-flavoured acoustic guitar. It’s one of those
intimate songs that puts you in a trance for its entire duration. It’s a nice contrast
to some of the noisier tunes I’ve been listening to this week.
‘Keep It
Minimal' – The Derevolutions
‘Keep It
Minimal’ could be considered minimal by Derevolutions standards. I mean, it’s
not as nutty as some of the duo’s work. At the same time, it’s 8 minutes long
and isn’t exactly sparse – especially the sections where there are multiple
vocals layered over the top of each other. A spooky hip-hop-flavoured piano
riff forms the backbone of the track, while Brett reels off entertaining lines about
the crazy times we live in: ‘the algorithm set to hate, profit and mind
control/ the president is older than rock and roll’. As with all the band’s
music, it’s impossible to categorise.
‘Melt’ – Menajerie
‘Melt’ is
another syrupy song from neo-soul band Menajerie (I featured their single
'Holding Pattern’ last year). It’s got some seductive singing (I love the way
she sighs out the word ‘sighhh’) and some alluring instrumentation (that opening
slinky bass riff is soo good). I also love how the track tricks you into
thinking it’s ended - not just once, but
twice.
THE WORST:
‘GYAT’ – Ice
Spice
As ass
anthems go, ‘GYAT’ is most certainly ass. The beat goes hard, but it feels like
Ice Spice is not even trying with the lyrics at this point. Either she needs to switch up her subject
matter (i.e. not rap about her ass - or indeed poop), or she needs to get more creative
with the butt references.