BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE FORTNIGHT 14/03/2025: Lil Nas X, OK Go, Doechii and more…

This week features dynamic rapping from Lil Nas X, a mind-blowing music video from OK Go, and an unusual sampling decision from Doechii. Other artists featured below include Feeble Little Horse, Bedridden, Total F*cking Darkness, Blue Capricorn and Gianni Goblin.

THE BEST:

‘Dreamboy’ – Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X is out to prove that he can rap. In fact, he’s sporting so many flows here that he sounds like 5 different artists. The most impressive verse is at the beginning, which you could have convinced me was an Andre 3000 feature were it not for the ‘I like long black dick’ line.

‘A Stone Only Rolls Downhill’ – OK Go

Since the ‘00s, indie rock band OK Go have continued to put out insanely ambitious music videos. ‘A Stone Only Rolls Downhill’ continues to raise the bar with a video recorded on 64 smartphones that can only be described as ‘screen-ception’. The behind-the-scenes video only partially explains how it was done – it allegedly required 1048 takes over 8 days. I didn’t pay much attention to the song itself the first time around, but the ‘it will all be fine’ chorus and weird guitar riff still managed to burrow themselves in my brain (it’s always a plus when the song is actually good).

‘This is Real’ – Feeble Little Horse

Feeble Little Horse hail from Pittsburgh. Their latest single is some of the wildest shit I’ve heard all year. It’s a lo-fi mix of indie rock and electronica with vocals that transition from harmonised singing to blood-curdling screaming to robotic murmuring. There’s a jump scare noisy guitar section and lyrics that border on psychosis: if you’re not real, then I’m not real’. If the rest of this Pittsburgh band’s catalogue is this loopy and unpredictable, sign me up.

‘Chainsaw’ – Bedridden

I was expecting a song called ‘Chainsaw’ by a band called Bedridden to be some brutal metal dirge. I would have been happy with that, but this shoegazey alt rock/emo song is pretty fun too.  It’s an interesting mix of various nostalgic 90s sounds.

‘Desolation Boys’ – Total Fucking Darkness

Total Fucking Darkness totally sounds like it could be a metal band too. But no, these guys make bouncy dance-pop (albeit with some pretty nihilistic lyrics). I’m loving the raw sound of the synths and vocals and the mean drum fill that they throw in 35 seconds in.  It’s great music for dancing to as the world burns.

‘Hear Me Out’ – Blue Capricorn

This moody experimental tune consists of woozy synths, distorted kicks and some deep buried vocals that sound like a ghost trying to get through from the other side. It can’t quite work out if it’s comforting or deeply unsettling. It’s the work of Dallas-based artist Blue Capricorn and is set to appear on an upcoming EP.

‘Relapse’ – Gianni Goblin

I wasn’t able to find out much about Gianni Goblin except that they come from Warsaw, Poland. ‘Relapse’ sounds like the type of electronic tune that could have been produced by a goblin. It’s a mixture of murky distorted synths and fairytale-like twinkles that are constantly morphing as the track progresses. Very ethereal.

THE WORST:

‘Anxiety’ - Doechii

Everything I’ve heard from Doechii has been encouraging so far. But I’m just not feeling this. It’s a creative sample choice, but the vocals aren’t memorable enough for me to want to listen to this over the Gotye version. In fact, I kinda wish she'd kept some Gotye vocals in there, because the song constantly feels like it's teasing the listener...