Friday 18 January 2019

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 18/01/2019: James Blake, Cupcakke, The Weeknd and more…



Songs about social media addiction and sex with Squidward’s nose. Yes, you read that correctly…


THE BEST:

‘Lullaby for My Insomniac’ – James Blake


I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for an album – every track I’ve heard from this James Blake record thus far is spine-tingling. ‘Lullaby for My Insomniac’ sees the singer gently crooning against a percussionless backdrop of swelling chords. The silence itself is an instrument, giving this track a dreamy weightlessness. Towards the end, James Blake builds upon the chords with vocal harmonising that sounds almost like Gregorian chanting. I thought lullabies were meant to help you drift off to sleep – this had me hooked from start to finish.

‘Lost Coast’ – Sunwarper


Some people find the sound of seagulls soothing whilst I just have visions of being showered in poop. Other than that small distracting detail, this instrumental from LA producer Sunwarper is dazzlingly gorgeous. The mix of spacey synths and earthy guitars creates a lot of atmosphere that I imagine would be a great accompaniment to taking in the breath-taking vistas of California’s legendary lost coast.

 ‘Social Media Boy’ – Dirty Sound Magnet


‘Social Media Boy’ follows the adventures of a social media addict as he slowly realises his life is meaningless. It’s got some great lines about ‘staring at the wall’ and ‘you’ve got 8000 friends, but spend the night alone’ that are certain to hit home with a few people. Fortunately, the song itself is incredibly fun – I’m loving the racing pace of the guitars and the vocal woos in the chorus. I’m sure all the aspiring influencers that do get offended by it can vent about it on social media.

‘So Long’ – Plutinos


Wasting one’s life away seems to be the recurring theme in my song choices this week (I promise I’m not having an existential crisis – that happened long ago). This latest single by indie band Plutinos follows the depressive tale of someone on their deathbed who realises they forgot to live, spending every hour slaving away at work rather than focusing on the things that mattered. The melancholy guitars and shoegazey vocals add to the track’s power.

‘Squidward Nose’ - Cupcakke


I used to think Cupcakke’s lyrics were just plain gross, but at this point she’s moved beyond gross to plain absurd. I mean, just check out that chorus: ‘His dick smaller than my toes/ I’d rather ride Squidward’s nose’. No other rapper is out there writing sexual lyrics that are this wild. In fact, I can almost guarantee that no other artist in the history of time has rapped about riding Squidward’s nose.

THE WORST:  

‘Lost In The Fire’ – The Weeknd ft. Gesaffelstein


Did Gesaffelstein really make this beat? It sounds like a rip-off of ‘Starboy’ with some Blade Runner synths thrown in. As for the lyrics, Abel is back to singing about the struggles of being a manwhore, and it isn’t pretty.