Saturday 12 May 2018

New Music Friday 11/05

Rita Ora feat. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX - Girls

Rita Ora feat. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX - Girls

This sounds like a Charli XCX track in all but name - fizzing electro pop production and a shouty chorus. It's with the lyrics that things get muddy though. On the one hand, this is a song from four girls who aren't really known for kissing girls, about kissing girls while under the influence of wine. We've all moved on since Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl, but Girls does make a mockery of lesbian and bisexual relationships - Hayley Kiyoko, Muna and Shura have all commented on Twitter. On the flip side, if sexuality is a spectrum then we're all allowed to experiment once in a while, right? And that "I could be your lipstick for just one night" line is great. Whichever way you fall, we can all agree that this is some of the worst cover art in history.

Worth a listen.



Years & Years - If You're Over Me

Years & Years - If You're Over Me

At first this doesn't have the bold immediacy of Olly Alexander and co's best tracks. The light, airy production and nursery rhyme melodies feel flimsy. But slowly those twinkling synths creep up on you and the breeziness of it all belies the heartfelt lyrics of a lover who's gone cold. "One minute you say we're a team, then you're telling me you can't breathe," sings Alexander, culminating in the repeated, pained and exasperated "just go if it's over" in the final chorus.

Worth a listen.



Childish Gambino - This Is America

Childish Gambino - This Is America

You've all been watching the iconic video all week, but even just listening the attack on racist American culture is palpable. The repeated gospel refrain is a (perhaps fantastical) ray of light before being undermined by that menacing trap beat and the spiteful words of reality "this is America". Just as the video plays with iconography, the music is a collision of black America past and present. It's devastating.

Add to playlist.



Bastille - Quarter Past Midnight

Bastille - Quarter Past Midnight

Quarter Past Midnight captures a vision of the city at night, the streets filled with drunkards, vomit, chip packets and unlikely couples - "good times, bad decisions". The song's tempo shifts from reflective, questioning verses to a high speed rush of a chorus: "we're just getting going," sings Dan Smith; later "why are we always chasing after something like we trying to throw our lives away?" It's an ode to nightclubbing and Britain's binge-drinking culture, but it's also lacking a truly memorable hook.

Worth a listen.



Selena Gomez - Back To You

Selena Gomez - Back To You

This begins as an introspective acoustic ballad, its verbose verses detailing the conflicted feelings of loving someone who could hurt you back ("you could break my heart in two, but when it heals it beats for you"). Cue outdated comparisons to Justin Bieber *eye roll*. But then it all builds up to a generic club beat that's all too predictable. Wait for the acoustic only remix.

Worth a listen.



Christina Aguilera - Twice

 Christina Aguilera - Twice

After last week's shallow romp Accelerate from forthcoming album 'Liberation', Christina Aguilera's gone to the other extreme with a contemplative ballad that sees her reflecting on her life so far. Vocally she sounds as great as ever, but the grandiose, religious imagery of the lyrics has her bombastically questioning the very meaning of life. As a result it just comes off as overblown and not the raw honesty she was probably aiming for.

Worth a listen.



Jungle - Happy Man / House in L.A.

 Jungle - Happy Man / House in L.A.

The London collective's self-titled debut was the sound of summer 2014: Busy Earnin' could be heard blasting out from seemingly everywhere. Four years later and two new singles are released. Happy Man is another heady summer offering that seems like an off cut from their debut, with its falsetto vocals and booming horns. As a pair, House In L.A. sounds like the former in slow-motion, the heat sweltering, the sweat dripping, the sun smothering everything in a hazy glow.

Worth a listen.



Meghan Trainor - Can't Dance / Let You Be Right

Meghan Trainor - Can't Dance / Let You Be Right

Another artist with a double release. Can't Dance is trash but Let You Be Right is a disco-pop banger that's annoyingly easy to like.

Worth a listen.