Friday 17 February 2017

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 17/02/2017: Thundercat, Estrons, Taupe and more...



In spite of Valentine’s Day, no-one’s been getting particularly lovey-dovey this week. Miserable sods. Still, I guess, the music’s been good enough to make up for it.


THE WORST:


‘Friend Zone’ – Thundercat


I’d rather play Mortal Kombat anyway…’ The funky singer-bassist wasn’t feeling the romantic Valentine’s Day vibes this week, instead using his lovably warped sense of humour to create a fiercely fed-up retaliation anthem to being friendzoned. The whole track frankly ends too quickly, but then again I could listen to those vibrant synth arpeggios all day and still be left wit blue balls. Give me this Thundercat album MY BODY IS READY

‘I’m Not Your Girl’ – Estrons


Is no-one feeling the love this week? This new punkish belter of a track from indie rockers Estrons is all about slamming the door on an unwanted ex-lover. It's mean rock bitch music for slashing your previous partner’s tyres to (not that I condone such behaviour - torching their vehicle's more effective). That section from 2:22 makes me want punch someone.  

 ‘A Clown Drools’ - Taupe


Jazz/punk/noise collective Taupe come through with this cranium-curdler of a track ‘A Clown Drools’ from their new album Fill Up Your Lungs And Bellow. Loopy alto sax skitters over dissonant guitars and frantic percussion, offering enough melody to keep you sane but also intermittently throwing you down the rabbit hole so that you don’t get too comfortable. They’re Behold… The Arctopus turned bebop. Coincidentally, I must add, the sax player was a year above me in primary school!

‘Tired as Fuck’ – The Staves


Smoking in a music video and needlessly sweary lyrics usually give off an obnoxious I’m-trying-to-be-edgy-vibe – which is certainly the case here – but I’m willing to forgive these girls simply for the fact that these are some the most celestial vocal harmonies I’ve heard in a long while.


THE WORST:


‘Beauty and the Beast’ – Ariana Grande & John Legend



Yuk, it sounds like a Disney song. Oh wait…