Friday 8 May 2020

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 08/05/2020: Charli XCX, ASHS, Chris Brown and more...


It's Friday, which means it's almost the weekend, which means absolutely nothing now we're still in lockdown. Here are a few great tracks to help alleviate the boredom.


THE BEST:

‘Trolley Dash’ – Life Drawings


Life Drawings are a rock four-piece from London whose lyrics ‘explore mundane observations of everyday life, from rearranging one’s Tupperware collection to finding the end of a roll of sellotape’. This track ‘Trolley Dash’ is themed around panic buying in an imagined 2022 apocalypse (and was allegedly written and recorded long before the coronavirus pandemic!). The guitars and vocal style is reminiscent of The Fall, driven along by an infectious bass riff. My favourite part is the demented yelling of ‘and make sure you put a divider down at the end or else you’re going to pay for somebody else’s SHOPPING!’.

‘Best Interests’ – Carmanah


This slinky rock track comes courtesy of Vancouver Island band Carmanah. It reminds me slightly of AM-era Arctic Monkeys, but with female vocals and keyboards to spice things up. The track comes off the band’s upcoming album Iris.

'Bombardier' - Vega Maestro


Denver band Vega Maestro deliver this sprawling indie track full of twists and turns. It starts off with some soft acoustic guitars and ends with some distorted grungy riffage - in between are numerous surprise passages including moments of twinkling pianos and dissonant organs. I'm loving the garage feel that it has and how it all flows seamlessly. 

‘Don’t Call Me’ – ASHS


This is a lot poppier than the content I usually feature, but I’d be lying if I said that this wasn’t a bop. The chorus has been in my head all week and the sugary production is a welcome break from the watered-down trap beats every other upcoming pop artist is hopping on. In fact, I haven’t heard a pop tune this sugary and feelgood since ‘Call Me Maybe’ - even though the subject matter couldn’t be more the opposite. The music video definitely took a darker twist than expected.

‘Claws’ – Charli XCX


I’ve been reluctant to jump on the Charli XCX hype train until now. I caught her live at Pukkelpop festival a couple years ago and thought she was garbage. But this is a certified banger (and more proof that I'm becoming a poptimist). The abrasive beat courtesy of 100 Gecs is a big part of the appeal. The DIY video featuring some half-baked CGI is pretty fun too.

THE WORST:

‘She Bumped Her Head’ – Chris Brown & Young Thug ft. Gunna


Are we seriously allowing Chris Brown to release a track titled ‘She bumped her head’???