Let’s try and make this a weekly segment again! Artists featured this week include The Avalanches, Fat Dog, Lowertown, Lip Critic and The Strokes.
THE BEST:
‘Together’ – The Avalanches ft. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza and Prentiss
Imagine an alternative universe where tech never advanced beyond
the 00s. A world without evil smartphones and AI. That seems to be the utopian world
that Australian electronic duo The Avalanches have set their upcoming album in.
Their latest single ‘Together’ is a chirpy song with a bleepy-bloopy
instrumental that sounds straight out of an old video game, accompanied by a visualizer
of an iPod and floppy disc walking hand in hand. On top of announcing a new
album, the duo have also announced a new vintage-style games
console (which may or may not be real), as well as launching this bizarre website dedicated to tech
nostalgia featuring fake ads and mysterious pop-up messages. The whole rollout
has definitely got me intrigued.
‘Go F*** Urself’ – Fat Dog
My first exposure to this single was the radio-friendly
version titled ‘Go Love Urself’ on BBC Radio 6. It turns out this is the actual
version – I don’t mind a bit of swearing, but this won’t be joining K-Pop Demon
Hunters on the Family Road Trip Playlist. The 80s-flavoured pulsing synth is so
addictive. It sounds a bit like a punkier version of a Kylie Minogue track. I don’t know if that’s a comparison Fat Dog
would like, but I’m sticking with it.
‘Mice Protection’ – Lowertown
‘Glad I made it look effortless’. NYC-base duo Lowertown
have a raw indie sound that truly does feel effortless. They use some very
pretty chords and the vocal delivery feels very intimate. The song introduces
multiple core themes found on their new album Ugly Duckling Union and
was named ‘Mice Protection’ as a homage to Avsha’s rat-infested house. I interpreted
many of the lyrics as taking a break from control, for better or worse: ‘I’ll
take a seat in the back, I’ll be on the side’.
‘Talon’ – Lip Critic
According to the band, ‘Talon’ is a song about scrolling
through hell, and listening to it really
does feel like entering a digital hellscape. Blasts of abrasive synths play out
like an alarm over live drums topped with semi-rapped hardcore vocals that turn
into blood-curdling screeching at the end. The guy with the claws in the video
is very creepy.
THE WORST:
‘Falling Out Of Love’ – The Strokes
Casablancas has been falling out of love with music (which
is what this song is about), and sadly it shows. This is an utterly dreary
guitar ballad. Any remnants of emotion left in the vocals are completely masked
by the dousing of Auto-Tune. It’s a musical tragedy on multiple levels.
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