Friday 1 September 2017

New Music Friday 01/09

Who's next in line to challenge Taylor Swift's inevitable reign at the top of the charts for the next few weeks? Probably none of the below, but nonetheless this week's NMF has a nice mix of good and bad to sink your teeth into.


Jessie Ware - Selfish Love

Jessie Ware - Selfish Love

For her forthcoming album it's clear that Jessie Ware has swapped the skittering beats and cool electronica of her debut for warmer, intimate, more traditional production. With Selfish Love, which follows Midnight, she takes tropical pop back to its roots. Her hushed vocals, as sensual as ever, shimmer like heat haze over a lazy Bossa Nova, Spanish guitars and rattling Latin percussion, as she sings of a torrid yet passionate romance. The accompanying video, shot in Mallorca, portrays this beautifully while soaked in Mediterranean glamour.



Mollie King - Hair Down

 Mollie King - Hair Down

I might be in the minority here, but I was a fan of Mollie King's single from last year, Back To You. It might have been an overly serious, earnest attempt to forge a synth-pop career, but it hit the spot with its melancholic lyrics and polished tropical-tinged production. This though? This is the opposite. It's a vacuous and dated Xenomania track that sounds like a bad Girls Aloud offcut (it probably is) with a blaring horn riff and some horrendously awkward lyrics. It's a total misstep, which is ironic when she's about to star in Strictly Come Dancing...



Paloma Faith - Crybaby

 Paloma Faith - Crybaby

Here's the usually honking Paloma Faith offering a mellow summer track that questions archaic views of masculinity. "Oh go on and cry baby," she sings over funk guitars and bright, soulful pop production, "you don't have to keep it inside". It's probably one of the best tracks she's released.



Jason Derulo - If I'm Lucky

Jason Derulo - If I'm Lucky

If we're lucky this won't be as big a hit as Swalla turned out to be.



Matoma and The Vamps - Staying Up

Matoma and The Vamps - Staying Up

The Vamps have definitely outstayed their welcome in pop, but here they're joined by Norwegian DJ and producer Matoma who does a great job of ripping off Kygo and Avicii. It's hardly original, but equally the joyful Eurodance chorus is hard to utterly hate.



Maroon 5 feat. SZA - What Lovers Do

Maroon 5 feat. SZA - What Lovers Do

Is Adam Levine actually just a robot now?



Ingrid - 1234

 Ingrid - 1234

There are countless songs around the first four numbers in our numerical system, but few are as spiky and sass-filled as this from Sweden's Ingrid. She literally counts the beats as her prospective lover shows of their dance skills and she responds with biting commentary ("you know what I'm looking for...so fake it 'till you make it babe"). It's slinky and sensual and oozes ennui: "being cool is such a bore," she sighs at the start with delicious allure.



Frida Sundemo - Gold

Frida Sundemo - Gold

Frida Sundemo is the queen of cinematic, emotional synth-pop. Gold is no different: the soft hush of strings beneath the fragmented melody of the verses; the way the chorus achingly rises upwards; the key change in the final third where the vocals stop and the instrumental just gradually drifts into the distance. This is, literally, golden.



Hurts - Ready To Go

Hurts - Ready To Go

Let's face it, Hurts haven't had a good track since Wonderful Life or Stay from their 2011 debut 'Happiness'. Was that album just a fluke?