Ok, has Matt Healy forgotten how to write a melody? After the three note hook of Give Yourself A Try, Love If It We Made It has a verse composed around...a single note. It's relentlessly monotonous. The thing is, the production of the chorus - the moment where it all expands - is lush, with funky melodic bass and vibrant guitar stabs. I'd love it if The 1975 could live up to their previous work, but so far it's just not happening.
Worth a listen.
Muse - Something Human
When you've been going for as long as Muse, been labelled as the best live band in the world as many times as Muse, there comes a point where you have to try something different. For their next album, that difference is the 80s. Something Human is all light guitars reminiscent of Erasure and whirring, blooping synths. Besides the unmistakable voice of Matt Bellamy, it doesn't sound like Muse. And that would be ok, if the song was actually good. The video, though, is awesome.
Worth a listen.
ZAYN - Sour Diesel
Here's another artist doing something a bit different. Skewing away from the sultry R&B we're used to, Sour Diesel is a strutting funk-rock track. It sounds like the sort of thing Lenny Kravitz would release. Zayn's voice, however, is just far too flimsy to stand up to the production.
Worth a listen.
YONAKA - Fired Up
Finally, an artist releasing an actual rock track this week. Brighton-based Yonaka will soon be releasing their second EP; Fired Up is the lead single, depicting a passionate, reckless relationship. The band deliver strong riffs and soaring vocals from frontwoman Theresa Jarvis that deserve to be heard live, cranked up to full volume.
Worth a listen.
Zedd & Elley Duhé - Happy Now
Zedd has a thing for partnering with lesser known up-and-coming female singers...and then smothering their vocals in vocoder. He did it with Alessia Cara last year, earlier this year he did it with Maren Morris. Now he's done it with Elley Duhé, though the light playful feel of Happy Now sounds more Owl City than anything.
Don't bother.
Billie Eilish - you should see me in a crown
Billie Eilish is the viral queen of dark, introspective pop. Since the release of her debut single Ocean Eyes in 2016, she's dropped a string of singles that have amassed millions of views. This one, though, is a little different: its verse slowly creeps up on you on a clipped beat and then lurches into a deep, menacing chorus. It's the first official single from her forthcoming debut album and is inspired, of all things, by a quote from TV show Sherlock. Soon that crown will be a permanent fixture.
Worth a listen.
