FKA Twigs keeps things weird and Panda Bear embraces trap.
THE BEST:
‘Home With You’ – FKA Twigs
We’ve heard three singles from
Twigs’ upcoming album Magdalene so far: first single ‘Cellophane’ showed
off her emotive side, ‘Holy Terrain’ explored her more commercial side and now on
‘Home With You’ she’s delving into her weird side (which is my favourite side
of her). It’s a glitchy ballad that sees her first adopting an uncharacteristically
croaky voice before switching to her more familiar fluttering soprano vocals,
featuring some brief industrial percussion and then soaring to a triumphant
climax of pianos and woodwind. The music video is equally as off the wall (why is there an eyeball in her belly???)
‘Playing The Long Game’ – Panda Bear
Panda Bear has gone trap. He may
not be rapping, but the beat is unmistakably trap-flavoured. Whilst it’s not a
direction I saw coming, I’m now excited to hear Panda Bear drop a trap album. The
production sounds proficient and Panda Bear’s voice over the top is initially
jarring but not entirely out of place. Besides, it has to be better than the auto-tuned hydro-folk on his last record.
‘Evening Star’ – 4vesta
These guys sound exactly like My
Bloody Valentine, only with a female vocalist. They’ve even nailed the woozy
detune effect on the guitars. Usually I don’t like it when a band rips off
another band’s style, but since MBV aren’t the most prolific band in the world,
I’ll welcome any amount of imitations, especially when they’re done to this high
level.
‘Bow Creek’ – Oliver Spalding
I was immediately sucked in by the
woozy detuned droning synth (woozy detune is the motif this week) and the steady
cruising bassline. The song only gets better as the smooth vocals, slick
guitars and extra splashes of synth join the mix. Apparently, the song was
inspired by the ‘twilight lightshow of Canary Wharf’s towering buildings and
the gentle twisting of the DLR’. Spalding will be releasing his new album Novemberism in November (releasing an album called Novemberism in any other month would be heresy).
‘Inhale Exhale’ – Anna Meredith
Anna Meredith’s new track ‘Inhale
Exhale’ has taken my breath away. The vocals could admittedly be stronger, but
the intense production makes up for this, made up of racing symphonic synths
that build and build. It's like watching a pod-race in fast-forward. Her forthcoming album FIBS is out later this month.
THE WORST:
‘Bottom Bitch’ – Doja Cat
The slowed-down Blink-182 sample
and Gwen-Stefani-esque oohs gave me noughties nostalgia. And then the auto-tune
came in and gave me a migraine.