Review of 'Beauty Behind the Madness' by The Weeknd

 ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ is the kind of funky, feelgood love song that momentarily restores your faith in the radio. Sadly it’s also the only song of it’s kind on this album.

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 12/09/2015: Oneohtrix Point Never, Nick Brewer, Miley Cyrus and more...

THE BEST:

‘Please Eloise’ – Flyte

Eloise isn’t a name I’ve come across before. I guess nowadays you’ve got to get creative given almost every other female name has been taken and used in a song. Anyhow, all that aside, this is a damn good indie rock track packing some serious groove and an explosive chorus you’ll inadvertently find yourself singing the next morning in the shower. This London band could be ones to watch.

‘I Bite Through It’ – Oneohtrix Point Never

Never one for conventionality, US electronic producer Oneohtrix Point Never delivers this digital glitchfest. It ski-ski-skips along like a scratched record, whilst skilfully managing to be both melodic and emotive. A full album, Garden of Delete, is set to drop soon.

‘Myths’ – Frank Gamble

These vocals sound bloody awesome. Is this even a dude singing? I mean, I don’t know many chicks named Frank, but that range is extraordinary. The glittery semi-trap instrumental is pretty awesome too.

‘Talk To Me’ - Nick Brewer

I know the beat’s stolen from Crystal Waters’ ‘Gypsy Woman’ and I know T.I. already sampled it, but UK hip hop artist Nick Brewer’s smooth rapping still manages to bring a new sense of life to it.

‘Ready Aim Fire’ – Lexi Scherr

Don’t we have enough eighties nostalgia floating around right now? Probably, but this Chicago singer’s new upbeat single trumps most of them.

THE WORST:

Dooo it! – Miley Cyrus

‘Why they put the dick in the pussy?’ See my Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz review. Although you probably have ears so no doubt don’t need me to justify what’s wrong with this song.

Review of 'Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz' by Miley Cyrus

That's it. I’m throwing my Hannah Montana DVD box sets in the skip. Who does this outrageous woman think she is, poisoning the minds of children? Does she not think of the children? WILL NO-ONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Review of 'Pathology' by Trails and Ways

I’m glad Trails and Ways aren’t another depressing wannabe-Smiths indie band. I’m also depressed that it’s taken me until September to give this album a listen when it could have been fuelling my summer.

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 4/09/2015: Macklemore, George Clanton, Battles and more...

As usual, I single out my favourite and least favourite singles from the last seven days. This week Slayer sing about getting stoned and Macklemore muses about mopeds.

THE BEST:

'It Makes The Babies Want To Cry' - George Clanton

Is this vaporwave? Chillwave? New wave? I don’t know the difference any more (I never knew). In any case, this new single from Brooklyn artist George Clanton is a hellload of fun. Shimmering synth stabs and distant vocals make for a sparkly eighties-inspired pop track complete with worn, bleary-eyed production. Let it wash over you like a wave, whatever –wave that may be.

'Cast the First Stone' - Slayer

Tuned down to drop-z, Slayer’s latest single is a ten-ton sludgy monster of a track that will rumble around your bowels. I’ve kind of got used to the metal veterans churning out identical breakneck thrashers year after year, so it’s nice to see the band trying something a little different (relatively speaking).

'Downtown' - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Eric Nelly

Lyrically it’s not as witty as ‘Thrift Shop’ – mopeds aren’t as funny as hipsters. However, the funky bassline and groovy agogo bells more than make up for this. Ryan Lewis has composed a killer beat here. I’m still warming to the flamboyant chorus, sung by guest singer Eric Nelly – its all a bit cheesy and theatrical. Still, US rapper Macklemore has definitely put together a fun pop song here, the constantly shifting instrumental keeping the listener guessing as to what will come next.

'Floored' - Priscilla Sharp

New York underground artist Priscilla Sharp provides breathy vocals over a glitchy electronic instrumental. The moments of silence are deafening and make for some serious suspense.

'FF Bada' - Battles

Also hailing from the Big Apple, experimental rock three-piece Battles tease the build-up to their new album La Di Da Di with a new characteristically-intricate instrumental, ‘FF Bada’, accompanied by some more foody artwork to drool over. Their last single ‘The Yabba’ struck me as a bit too noodly, but this new track seems to be just the right balance of complexity and cohesiveness.

THE WORST:

'Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better)' - Felix Jaehn ft. Jasmine Thompson

The Chaka Khan original was feelgood. This cover is depressing and Jasmine Thompson, whoever she is, sounds like she’s trying far too hard to be an Ellie Goulding clone.

Review of 'M3LL155X' by FKA Twigs

Accompanied by an artsy music video in which Twigs gives birth to rainbow ribbons in the back of a van amongst other surreal scenes straight out of Salvador Dali’s nightmares, this latest 16-minute EP sees the London-born experimental singer continuing to alienate pop fans in pursuit of her own weird and wonderful style. 

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 26/08/2015: Boots, Deafheaven, Carly Rae Jepsen and more...

I single out the singles that made the biggest impression on me. This week Boots gets brilliantly bizarre, Deafheaven get darker and ditch the daintiness and Carly Rae Jepsen cuts the cuteness settling sadly for cookie cut crap.

THE BEST:

'Aquaria' - Boots ft. Angel Deradoorian

To a backdrop of jittery dark electronic sounds American producer/singer delivers this creepy yet alluring new song. Squelching bass and industrial clicks weave in and out of one another whilst Boots shifts from semi-rapping to groovy singing. I picture a handsome psychopath seducing his prey whilst listening to this. Cali rock singer Angel Deradoorian offers some brief female guest vocals.

'Brought to the Water' - Deafheaven

I find it very hard to feel happy when someone’s screaming at me. Deafheaven’s cheery approach to black metal on their last album Sunbather didn’t click very well with me for that reason – I need a bit of anger and gloom to accompany my shrieks and blast beats, otherwise it’s as confusing as watching Freddie Krueger in a rom com. This new track thankfully seems to be less happy and more in keeping with the evil metal spirit I’m used to. Eerie church bells kick off the track followed by a series of melancholy riffs. Admittedly, the mood turns happy half-way through the track, but contrasted against the gloomy opening it gives the band’s happier sound a new dimension.

'Juniper' - Amanda X

Philly all-female rock trio serve up this ode to unrequited love. Sour guitar melodies and an old worn production style reminiscent of The Cranberries adds to the tortured vibe of the song. Its an aesthetic that has me hyped for their upcoming EP, Hundreds and Thousands.

Listen to the track here over at Stereogum.

THE WORST:

'Watch Me' - Silento

Stop deliberately using slang that nobody understands! What the hell is a nae nae and why would I want to break my legs? I can’t dance to these instructions if I don’t understand any of them, and yes, I’m too ignorant to want to understand them.

'Your Type' - Carly Rae Jepsen

 ‘Call me Maybe’ and ‘I Really like you’ were both cute, but now the sugariness is starting wear off and Carly Rae Jepsen is starting to sound like a stale second-rate Taylor Swift.

'Flodgin' - King Louie

His squeaky vocal inflections remind me of how my voice sounded when I was going through puberty, and I’d rather forget about that awkward phase in my life, as would we all.