Aside from the new J Cole and FlyLo singles, it’s a lot of underground stuff from my inbox this week. Artists featured include Greet Death, Wax Head, Jenna Pemkowski, The Wednesday, Leif Maine & Jackson Mathod and Shida Shahabi.
THE BEST:
‘Porto
Antonio’ - J Cole
Was J Cole a coward to pull out of the Big Three beef earlier this year? Or was it a wise move? Drake and Kendrick proved that they were willing to win by any means necessary – by the end of it, they were throwing paedophile and wifebeater accusations at one another. This track sees Cole expressing his feelings on the whole rap battle and explaining that he wasn't willing to fight dirty. Some hip hop fans are misinterpreting this song as an attempt to rewrite the narrative. Sure, the 'I wouldn't have lost the battle' line is a bit outrageous (he lost fair and square). But otherwise I respect Cole for being honest about why he pulled out, and reminding us that he is a gifted rapper and lyricist.
‘Same But Different
Now’ – Greet Death
This 5 minute rock track starts off as a shoegazey number with reverb-slathered dreamy guitars, racing drums and lo-fi downbeat vocals. Not what I was expecting from a band called Greet Death, but very pretty and hypnotic. It's not until the end that it erupts into a noisy climax of harsh screaming and nasty riffs. Ah, that's more like it!
‘Rusty
Cutter’ – Wax Head
‘Rusty
Cutter’ is made up of mangled choppy guitars and vocals buried so far in the
mix you can barely hear make them out (a running theme this week). It’s the
type of fucked up production I love. It also helps that the song is so rhythmically tight that it pulls it all together. The single has been
announced ahead of the drummer-fronted Manchester band’s European tour.
‘Dynasty’ –
Jenna Pemkowski
We’ve had
dreamy guitars and mangled guitars already this week. Now it’s time for some
woozy guitars. ‘Dynasty’ is the work of Ontario singer-songwriter Jenna
Pemkowski. It’s a bedroom-produced pop song with a moody Billie Eilish/Phoebe Bridgers
vibe about the realisation that all things must come to an end. I’m loving the
detuned guitar tone and dramatic pauses (especially that long one near the end that
briefly tricks you into thinking the song has ended). The effects on the vocals
also give it a tinge of hyperpop-ness.
‘Sleepwalking
Man’ – The Wednesday Play ft. James Vincent
I meant to feature this banger a couple weeks ago and it somehow got left out. ‘Sleepwalking Man’ is the work of London duo The Wednesday Play and features lead vocals from My Tiger My Timing vocalist James Vincent. What’s the best adjective to describe these guitars? I’m going to go with wiry. There are multiple layers of instrumentation here and they all weave in and out of one another as the song hurtles along. The synths meanwhile provide a New Wave feel. And to add to the 80s vibe, you can buy this single on a limited edition cassette tape.
‘Volte-Face’
– Leif Maine & Jackson Mathod ft. J Scienide
London Jazz artists Leif Maine and Jackson Mathod have a new album out titled Volte-Face. The record sees them delving into different genres including grunge, indie - and, in the case of this title track, hip hop. Busy drumming, an infectious descending bassline and some swanky trumpet playing make up the instrumentation. It also features some smooth bars from US rapper J Scienide.
‘House of
Sylph’ – Shida Shahabi
This track is a bit more challenging than the other singles featured this week. It’s almost 11 minutes long and is made up of experimental electronica with a very dark energy. Long gloomy ambient swells give way to some crisp slow-building layers of polyrhythmic percussion. It settles into a vaguely accessible house rhythm in the middle, but then the swells return and the atmosphere turns chillingly demonic (that whispering at the end is so creepy on headphones!). It turns out the Stockholm producer was inspired by a ballet called Les Sylphides, and that a sylph is a shape-shifting mythical spirit creature, which suits the ominous morphing nature of the composition. All in all, it’s a thrilling musical journey that’s worth the build up. Just don't listen to it straight before you go to bed.
THE WORST:
‘Ingo
Swann’ – Flying Lotus
This is a decent house track. I don’t hate it. But come on – this is Flying Lotus! This is lazy by his standards.