THE BEST:
‘Andromeda’ –
Mastodon
Genghis Khan. Godzilla. Your mum. Whilst they all come close, none are as mean as this riff. After releasing polarising Foo-Fighters-esque track ‘Show Yourself’, this new thrasher revives the metal elites’ original abrasive sound. Emperor of Sand, the group’s upcoming album, seems like it’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag, but I’m psyched nonetheless.
‘Pressed for Time’ – Mick Jenkins
Chicago artist Mick Jenkins is out to serenade the ladies with some smooth sing-rapping and lovelorn lyrics. ‘I know y’all want that hard shit. Ima give it to you’ the rapper has vowed on Twitter – just in case any of you fans thought Mick was turning soft and sappy. Personally, I don’t mind him trying to woo me over. IT’S NICE TO FEEL WANTED SOMETIMES. Make sure you stay for the beat flip at the end.
‘Perfect Symphony’ –
Atlanta Snow
EDM anthems aren’t usually my thing, but there’s something about the indie-tinged vocals and Coldplay-esque ohhhs here that makes this unique and utterly infectious. The music was mixed by Dave Darlington (who has also worked with Avicii) and this shows in the song’s sparkly production.
‘Don’t Walk These
Streets’ – The Bug Vs Earth
The Bug Vs Earth are a moody marriage of gloomy electronica
and drone metal. A steady groove guides the listener uneasily through a murky cloud
of ominous whirrs and hums. I’m not sure which noises are synth-based and which
are guitar-based, which is quite exciting. There may be didgeridoos in there
for all I know.
‘Dark stars’ – Kev Minney
A contrast to the other decibel-heavy songs featured this
week, ‘Dark Stars’ is intimate and earthy folk (earthy but not earth-ly as the
space themes and cosmic animated music video showcase). Delicate vocals and
some emotive acoustic guitar plucking make for a song that has some true tenderness
behind it, which is increasingly becoming a rarity nowadays amongst
singer-songwriters.
THE WORST:
‘Swalla’ - Jason Derulo ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign
The dancehall Macarena instrumental is cool, but the lyrics
are so vapid that I feel like I may have lost a couple brain cells.