Tunes to listen to while buying shit you don’t need in the Black Friday sale. FIFTY QUID FOR A PORTABLE SINGING TOASTER?! BARGAIN!!!!!
THE BEST:
‘Areyoudown? Pt. 2’ – Saba ft. tobi lou
Yes, there is a part 1 to this track. No, you don’t have to
have heard it before listening to part 2. Accompanied by a loopy sampled guitar, ‘Areyoudown? Pt. 2’ sees Saba teaming up with fellow Chicago rapper tobi
lou to lay down some smooth and melodic flows. In fact, their styles are so
similar here, I could barely distinguish the two of them (is that good
chemistry or bad chemistry?). Saba has been dropping a multitude of new songs recently.
Could there be a new album in the pipeline?
‘Are You Well?’ – SOMBRA
What genre is this? The fuzzy bass riff is distinctly
rock-flavoured but the grimy synths sound almost hip hop inspired. The Montreal
act describe themselves on their Facebook page as ‘music to turn off the lights
to’. If so, it’s certainly not music for unwinding to in the evening, but music
for accompanying a 3am anxiety attack (the lyrics are in fact about questioning
one’s mental state, and the importance of asking yourself ‘are you well?’). All
in all, it’s fresh and exciting stuff. The single comes off the band’s new album
Free From Interruption, which is out today.
‘Freeze’ – brushstroke
This psychedelic r&b track is the work of Philly-based
artist brushstroke. The song paints a bittersweet picture of falling in love
with someone while knowing it’s never going to work out, accompanied by a vibrant
palette of glossy synths, splashes of slinky bass and colourful percussion (I
think that’s probably enough paint brush references). It’s a unique and
intoxicating sound.
‘I See You’ – Masha Novik
With its warm keys, reverb-slathered vocals and shimmering guitars,
this track from London-based alt rock artist Masha Novik has a gorgeously
dreamy vibe to it. The elongated delivery ‘all night loooong’ and the
fade-out at the end make me feel as if I’ve been lulled to sleep. It’s not quite
shoegaze, but it’s definitely got that atmosphere to it.
‘Science Fair’ – Black Country, New Road
This band sounds like a UK mutation of Slint and Scott Walker.
REFERENCES REFERENCES REFERENCES. The repetitive bass riff and dissonant guitar/sax
combo provide the perfect creepy backdrop for the spoken word mental breakdown
over the top. IT’S BLACK COUNTRY OUT THERE (Or should I say IT’S BLACK FRIDAY
OUT THERE!!!!) As you can tell, this track is so deranged that it’s rubbed off
on me. Also, what the heck is going on in the video??? It has nothing to do with
Cambridge science fair.
THE WORST:
‘Intrasport’ – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
It was only a matter of time before King Gizzard started
making house music (considering they’ve already tackled every other genre from psych folk to thrash metal). The 90s Turkish house style that they’ve gone for here feels
a bit tacky for my liking, but props to King Gizzard for continuing to do whatever
the fuck they want.