Friday 20 September 2024

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE FORTNIGHT 20/09/2024: FKA Twigs, Clipping, Mastodon and more…

Ok, I’ll admit it. It was me. I am the mother of Dave Grohl’s baby. This week’s selection was handpicked by 2 week old baby Dave Grohl Jr. Artists featured include FKA Twigs, Clipping, Mastodon & Lamb of God, Floating Points, Thank, Hello Mary, Good Group Thanks For Coming and Tate McCrae.

THE BEST:

‘Eusexua’ – FKA Twigs

I had to check, and no – ‘Eusexua’ is not in the Oxford Dictionary. It’s a made-up word, which Twigs defines as: ‘a sense of oneness, whether experienced through music, intimate connection, or moments of pure creative flow’. The song is a welcome return to Twigs’ weirder side, opening as an aggressive banger with lots of harsh-glitch out moments, and then transitioning into a more melodic slow-building section delivered in her typically fragile breathy tone (with some random ghost wails thrown in to keep things bizarre). It’s accompanied by a fittingly surreal dance choreography that starts in a mundane office, but seems to end up on another planet. 

‘Run It’ – Clipping

Experimental hip hop act Clipping are back with one of their most accessible songs to date. Aside from the abrasive dial-up-internet-style synth during the chorus, the beat isn’t too noisy and has an infectious rhythm to it. Daveed Diggs meanwhile narrates the gritty story of a drug dealer and addict, delivering it at his usual breakneck speed with typical impressive clarity. I love their noisy stuff, but this direction is fun too.

‘Floods of Triton’ – Mastodon & Lamb of God

Iconic metal bands Mastodon and Lamb of God show no signs of taming their sound. The two bands have collaborated to deliver this stormy new single ‘Floods of Triton’, which sees Randy Blythe and Troy Sanders exchanging hostile vocals over choppy riffs. I get the sense that the guitar solo was written by Mastodon, whereas the breakdown is very Lamb of God.

‘Fast Forward’ – Floating Points

Off his brand new album Cascade, British producer Floating Points delivers this mesmerising electronic instrumental built around speedy arpeggiated synths that start off soft and sparkly before becoming hard and bassy. The effect is like riding a futuristic car along a fast paced city highway (the transition at 4:36 made me feel like I was entering a sci-fi tunnel).

‘Writing Out A List Of All The Names Of God’ – Thank

As always, I’ve been scrambling to keep up with all the submissions in my inbox, and this one’s title definitely stood out. It’s a wacky noise rock song from Leeds band Thank with some mean riffs, entertaining rambled vocals and a very loopy breakdown at 1:30. Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe meanwhile does list some of the different names of God, including Yahweh and Mambo no.69420666, the latter of which I can’t seem to find in the Bible, but I’ll take their word for it.

‘Three’ – Hello Mary

‘Three’ tells the tale of a young girl named Emita and her pet ox, set to a backdrop of woozy guitars. It comes to a tumultuous climax with fuzzy guitars and pianos and it’s accompanied by a charming music video. The single comes off Hello Mary’s new album Emita Ox.

‘It’s A Game’ – Good Group Thanks For Coming

This song from Toronto band Good Group Thanks For Coming has some fun theatrical vocals that have an almost doo-wop vibe. Rather than trading lines, the band members instead sing one word each at a time at speed to create a unique effect. It suits the song’s playful subject matter.

THE WORST:

‘It’s OK I’m Ok’ – Tate McCrae

I really hate this style of singing. It’s like breathy mumbling. I’ve heard similar vocals referred to as ‘cursive singing’ but I’ve never heard it taken to this extreme.