Wednesday 5 November 2014

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 05/11/2014: Jam Baxter, Labrinth, Taylor Swift and more...


It's weekly round-up time again where I single out the singles that made the best and worst impression on me. I hope you all had a happy Halloween/Guy Fawkes Night/Diwali/belated-Easter.

THE BEST


'Leash' - Jam Baxter

British underground hip hop artist, Jam Baxter, pulls out some of his most cryptic lyrics yet accompanied by a slithering gloomy beat. The video that comes with it is strange to say the least. Baxter describes it best on Twitter, ‘here is my new video where there are bare flies in my ear’. 

'Blank Space' - Taylor Swift

Ha!

TAYLOR SWIFT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Look, I’m sorry, this girl’s new pop stuff isn’t half bad. She’s just got so much bounce in her vocal delivery these days. It makes me want to get a hairbrush out and sing along. I wish I could let you hear the track for yourself, but Swift seems to be on an anti-stream campaign right now (some of you may have heard she’s forced Spotify to take down all her music), so consequently there’s no audio widget above, just a blank space.

'Jealous' - Labrinth


I’ve been going full out mainstream this week with my choices. Labrinth, the dude who sung ‘Earthquake’, has been proving lately that he’s more than just your average Joe when it comes r&b. Written from the perspective of a jealous ex, this powerful ballad actually raised goosebumps on me. Be patient with it. Trust me, the build-up’s worth it.

'L1' - Beacon 



Brooklyn duo, Beacon, have pulled out this ethereal electro-pop number. It’s smooth and cold as ice. I’m not sure what the ‘L1’ stands for. Take your pick

'Those Who Can’t, Cheat' - Clarence Clarity


Screw subtlety. Shadowy UK artist, Clarence Clarity, lays down this zany funk pop tune layered in Bungle-esque madness: deep pitch-lowered vocals, oriental-sounding interludes and a choral crescendo that’s about as in-your-face as fellatio.

THE WORST


'Open Wide' - Calvin Harris ft. Big Sean


Speaking of fellatio, this track sucks. Zero novelty. Zero emotion. Zero everything.

Even the music video somehow fails to be exciting despite containing a gunfight, speeding cars and hot chicks. What the hell happened?