Track of the Week: Declan McKenna – The Key To Life On Earth
A space-age pop ballad riffing on the mundane and the hostile. It’s groovy, it’s melancholic, with a wonderfully bubbly density that provides a ‘fuller’ sound than some of his earlier work. ‘The Key to Life on Earth’ is as relaxing as it is upbeat, finding a nice middle ground between the two. It will have you thinking of your younger years.
BELAKO – Truce
Wonderful piano is the threshold into some psychedelic funky Spanish rock. This song takes the hard as fuck solo’s of classic rock music and bends it, changing tempo with different vocalists add unique layers. An interesting song with influences from a lot of places.
Ela Minus – they told us it was hard, but they were wrong.
Music to dance in the dark to. Ela Minus’ new six-minute single is a tune. The mix is a staccato dream, full of short sharp pangs, electronic ticks and gentle synths. Ela’s vocals are breath-full and powerful on top, backed by an atmospheric ambience that draws you in deeper as the song progresses. Press play, flip the light switch and enjoy.
FEVA – I Wanna Know
Like the THX logo at the movies, this song starts with a bold statement. FEVA bring the heat with I Wanna Know, with its anthemic vocals and guitar licks bringing the North East to the main stage. It’s fiery. It’s fierce. It’s FEVA.
Haux – Heavy
A concoction of soothing vocals, haunting lyrics and a killer melody. It’s almost like Bon Iver and The Japanese House had a love child. A heartbreaking one.
Hockey Dad – In The State
Chugging garage roadtrip rock – ‘In This State’ is a real sprinter of a track. Tight drumbeats egg on guitars, whose strings we can only assume get worn out after every live gig. At just over three minutes, it’s a short trip into heavy Hockey Dad territory, and certainly packs a punch. Put this on your playlists and let it smoke your speakers.
Joji – Gimme Love
Half frantic and stressful pop, half melancholic and plaintive score, ‘Gimme Love’ is an excellent track that explores an artist’s craving for escapism and saviour. Though the track mostly consists of the line ‘Gimme Love’ – that’s repeated in a ritual-like loop – the song covers two vastly different styles: One is fast-paced, drum machine-led and lo-fi, the other is an acoustic guitar and strings kind of job. Both together should be awful, but Joji somehow pulls it off in little under four minutes. Bravo lad. Bravo.
Mellah – Family Fun
A track filled with rose-tinted indie-pop, but, adjust your lenses and you’ll experience the red flags of Mellah’s pertinent lyics. It’s grandiose doesn’t just stop in the compassionate punk’s track, spanning into a surreal larger than life Family Fortunes music video that could give Vernon Kay a run for his money. Mellah isn’t just here to perform, but to be heard.
Muzz – Red Western Sky
You can hear every corner of this supergroup in this tune. Interpol’s characteristically big sound drives a song with foundations found in folk. The War On Drugs but mellow and subtle, a great track from an exciting project.
Pottery – Hot Like Jungle
This one somehow makes you feel as if you’re floating down the Amazon river, in a portable hammock. No, you’ve never done that before, but the languid synths and benign tambourine make you feel otherwise. Sit back, relax, and allow yourself to be transported somewhere other than your couch; for the first time in weeks. It’s exotic and it’s lovely.
Rina Sawayama – Bad Friend
If you’re getting bored of pop, listen to Rina Sawayama. ‘Bad Friend’ is tender, intimate, and really quite lovely. It ruminates on failed relationships, be they platonic or otherwise. The track culminates in a richly layered choral ending. It’s a track for those who wear their hearts on their sleeve.
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