Sunday 18 November 2018

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 18/11/2018: Fontaines D.C., Old Paradice, Zayn and more...



It's time for another weekly roundup...

THE BEST:

‘Sunkissed’ – Old Paradice


Old Paradice is the new joint project of UK rapper Confucius MC and UK producer Morriarchi. Their first single together features a deliciously groovy lo-fi beat over which Confucius lays some playful bars. It comes with cool visuals that are literally rose-tinted to match the nostalgic sound of the beat. The duo have a new EP out next year titled The Last Resort.

 ‘Too Real’ – Fontaines D.C.


Is it too real for yaa?’ I love it when an Irish singer embraces their accent, although ‘singer’ probably isn’t the word here – this is more like slam poetry. It’s accompanied by some creative guitar sliding made using a beer bottle that loops in an industrial fashion. The video sees them all performing in a pub with googly eyes made out of cue ball. I don’t know what it all means (it’s clearly all too real for me), but I love it all the same.

‘Your Touch Is Tender’ – Oh Genius ft. David Verity, Mike Evans and Dopein



This new sensual single comes courtesy of UK producer Oh Genius. It features a cosmopolitan mix of guest vocalists hailing from the US and South Korea. This mix of vocal styles and the combination of soulful synths and trap percussion adds lots of dynamics to the track (my personal favourite part is at the 1 minute mark when the female vocals and sub-bass come in).

 ‘Flicker Of Empty Flags’ – Rumour Cubes


This instrumental track from London six-piece Rumour Cubes is the best political statement one could make right now considering no words can accurately describe what’s going. Opening with rolling snares, melancholy pianos and some pulsing bass, the track slowly builds into a climax of tumultuous strings and angry guitar. The band are described as post-rock, but they seem to be reaching beyond that into their very own genre. Post-post-rock?

‘Yellow’ – Good Days


New York based act Good Days are in the middle of a fascinating project – they’ve been writing and recording songs in rooms filled with a certain colour to see what impact that colour has on the musical style. ‘Yellow’ was created under yellow lighting (they’ve also recorded a ‘red’ and ‘orange’ track and have plans to cover the entire spectrum on a future release titled ROYGBIV). Glossy pianos and sunshiny vocal melodies help to give ‘Yellow’ an undeniably bright feel. The track even morphs into a Monkees-esque 60s pop song at the end complete with cheery vocal harmonies.

THE WORST:

‘No Candle, No Light’ – Zayn ft. Nicki Minaj


I’ve never understood the appeal of Zayn – he’s just a watered-down Justin Bieber. Here he sounds more flavourless than ever, backed by what may well be the most generic pop beat of 2018. As for Nicki, well done for making it into my worst tracks two weeks in a row!