Friday 10 May 2024

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 10/05/2024: Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Julia Fox and more...

I was going to make this another fortnightly post, but I've heard so much good music in the last week that I just had to publish a roundup today. Artists featured include Shoshy, The Family Rain, Worldcub, Fcukers, The Pleasure Dome, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Julia Fox. 

THE BEST:

‘New Leaf’ - Shoshy

Normally I’d start with the most well-known artists, but I felt like switching it up this week. This single comes from Essex-born singer-songwriter Shoshy and it is really exciting stuff! Honestly, what genre is this? The soothing vocals sound like something you’d hear in a dreampop song, while the drums have a rock energy to them. The guitars meanwhile are a mix of bouncy jazzy chords and theremin-like psych rock wailing. We even get some big synth strings at the end. It’s a true cocktail of genres.

‘Innocence’ – The Family Rain

The Family Rain hails from Bath and consists of three brothers. They’ve got a new album out titled Indulgence and this track ‘Innocence’ is the closing track. The verses have a raw Jack-White-flavoured garage rock vibe to them, while the chorus has a soft and melodic Beatles-like air to it. I particularly love how well this song is mixed – it feels like every instrument is given the perfect amount of room to shine.

‘Back to the Beginning’ – Worldcub

Worldcub are another band made up of brothers – this time hailing from North Wales. ‘Back To The Beginning’ is the title track from their new LP. It’s a groovy psychedelic mix of surf rock and krautrock with some suitably trippy visuals. It reminds me of Djanjo Django, but a little bit more spacey. I like that it keep evolving and makes the most of it’s under-three-minute runtime.

‘Bon Bon’ – Fcukers

Fcukers, who I featured a couple months ago on the blog, hail from New York, although you’d never guess it from this British-sounding Basement-Jaxx-style banger. I could imagine Dizzee Rascal rapping over this. Instead, we get some indie-flavoured female vocals that give it a unique alternative feel. So far, everything this trio has put out has been pretty decent - and definitely makes up for their fcuking awful band name.

‘Your Fucking Smile’ – The Pleasure Dome

We’re getting progressively less family-friendly from here on in. There is a clean version of this song for those who want it. But personally I think the expletives help set the unhinged tone in this speedy dissonant punk track. The verses make you feel like you’re tumbling into a spiralling vortex with their descending vocals and spidery bass guitar runs. It comes of the Bristol band’s new LP Liminal Space.

‘Family Matters’ – Drake & ‘Not Like Us’ - Kendrick Lamar

  

When I featured Kendrick’s ‘Euphoria’ last Friday, I had no idea that the beef between Drake and Kendrick would escalate so far and so rapidly. Five more tracks were volleyed back and forth last weekend. Both rappers are now accusing each other of some pretty serious allegations, while also bringing family members into the diss tracks. It’s got pretty ugly, and tracks like ‘Meet the Grahams’ (which sees Kendrick talking directly to Drake’s son and mother) and ‘The Heart Part 6’ (which sees Drake bringing up Kendrick’s childhood abuse) are a step too far for me. However, both ‘Family Matters’ and ‘Not Like Us’ succeed at being savage and fun, featuring some absolutely brutal punchlines. Things seem to have gone silent since Monday, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a new diss track drops by the time I’ve published this blog post. I hope the allegations on both sides are false and that this feud doesn’t lead to violence. So far, it’s been entertaining, but it could easily turn nasty.

THE WORST:

‘Down The Drain’ – Julia Fox

Actress Julia Fox is now pursuing a music career and this is her new single. She sounds like an edgy teenage version of Grimes. The title is pretty apt.