Friday 2 November 2018

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 02/11/2018: Duckwrth, Slipknot, Matthew Dear and more...



I was expecting lots of creepy tunes this week given that it was Halloween, but the scariest thing I could find was a song about Batman crying.

THE BEST:

‘Fall Back’ – Duckwrth


This beat is absolutely disgusting. JUST LIKE YOUR MUM (I really am immature). It sounds like it could be a UK grime instrumental, so much so that I was genuinely surprised when the angry American-accented bars came in. LA artist Duckwrth spends most the track spitting vehemently before segueing into some brief soulful singing at the end more akin to Blood Orange. He's got an unpredictable and erratic vibe about him, supported by a video which sees him performing in a padded cell whilst being restrained on a rope by a bunch of black dudes in whiteface. I suspect there’s a socio-political message to the visuals, but right now I’m happy enjoying this artist for the music.

‘All Out Life’ – Slipknot


Slipknot are probably the most Halloweeny choice on this list. The band are back to their Iowa-style punch-somebody-in-the-face aggression with Corey setting aside his clean singing for his signature diabolic yell. My favourite part is the slam riff at 3:48 with Corey chanting ‘we are not your kind!’ over the top, transitioning into some vicious blast beats. And people still claim Slipknot aren’t metal enough?

‘Figure Me Out’ – Peluche


I’ve been trying figure this one out – what genre is this? It’s got Kate Bush-esque vocals, a groovy bassline, military drums, ambient organs and even some wailing sax towards the back end. It builds up hypnotically before ebbing away gracefully. This single comes off the band’s recently released album Unforgettable, which I mustn’t forget to check out myself.

‘Bunny’s Dream’ – Matthew Dear


Here we have another genre-defying track. It’s got glossy guitars, a house beat, some brief Lou-Reed-esque baritone vocals and a weird section with some distorted offbeat bass. It’s a trip down the rabbit hole, topped off with a video containing some wild expressive dancing.

‘Alone Again’ – James Holt


Singer-songwriter James Holt is back with another single, this time sporting a stomping Beatles-inspired instrumental. The song gets going quickly and loads several transitions into its less-than-three-minute length. It’s quite different in energy from his last single ‘Whispers’ (which I featured on this blog here), but the lyrics still offer some great breakup-themed storytelling.

THE WORST:

‘Batman Cries’ – Joe Settineri


If you laughed at this song, shame on your for being so insensitive. Batman is crying and we should cry with him.

Honestly though, is this satire or is it genuinely sincere? I feel like I struggle nowadays to tell the difference.