Here are the best new songs we’ve heard in the past week, tried, tested and ready for your ears.
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1.
Maria Somerville
Dreaming
We’ve had Maria Somerville‘s new album ‘All My People on repeat since it saw release last Friday. The Connemara-hailing artist has made grainy guitar tones and reverb drenched vocals her signature and this is showcased no better than in ‘Dreaming’, a song which does exactly what it does on the tin in dreamlike ambient soundscapes and textures. It features a theremin-like solo towards its end which is a sure highlight. Immerse yourself in this.
2.
Loyle Carner ft. Jorja Smith
Loose Ends
We featured Loyle Carner as one of our 19 New Artists to Love in 2019 and his new single ‘Loose Ends’ featuring Jorja Smith asserts why. The track sees Carner acknowledge the shortcomings of those who were around him when he was young, and his appreciation for those who are there for him now through smooth rhymes and intimate storytelling, “I got a lot of love, a lot of loose ends, a lot of people that I wish I knew then.” P.S. He plays The Grand Social this April 27th.
3.
Little Simz
101 FM
Little Simz‘ new album Grey Area saw release last week and ‘101 FM’ is a definite highlight from it. It’s a mellow but bouncy track with a quirky mix of instrumentation and textures complimented by Simz’ signature tight lyrics and rhymes. The song is an ode to moments passed before she got signed and is laced with nostalgia, “but sometimes you have to go missin’, need a way out, I was hoping, prayin’ and wishin / now I’m doing up some mad tings doing up big tings”.
4.
Durand Jones & The Indications
Morning In America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SANEafqL5io
‘Morning In America’ is the first track on Durand Jones & The Indications‘ new album American Love Call. The song addresses the political upheaval in the US at the moment (which came to a head in the government shutdown a few weeks ago) primarily in the lyrics, “it’s morning in America, but I can’t see the dawn”. The music shows Durand Jones & The Indications doing what they do best with rich arrangements and catchy melodies.
5.
Weval
Heaven, Listen
The Amsterdam electronic duo Weval’s upcoming second album came out last week and ‘Heaven, Listen’ is the lead single from it. The song is Weval doing what they do best with frantic melody lines and quirks in the rhythms, but there’s some new pop sensibilities in the structure and arrangement there too. ‘Are You Even Real’ is a highlight too.
6.
Solange
Dreams
The best way to experience Solange‘s new album When I Get Home is through her short film under the same title on Apple Music but the album stands alone as a stunning piece of work in its own right. The record weaves an eclectic mix of influences through each song including jazz, hip-hop and R&B and this is evident in particular on the exquisite ‘Dreams‘. It’s a song that forces you to slow down and consider the unusual soundscapes prevailing on it, some of which are lift their heads only once throughout it and prompt you to rewind, wanting more.
7.
The Japanese House
somethingfartoogoodtofeel
The Japanese House‘s new album Good At Falling saw release last Friday and while many songs on it could have made this list, ‘somethingfartoogoodtofeel’ sums the whole record up pretty well. Amber Bain’s signature vocoders are there but there’s a certain spacial awareness to the whole arrangement that some of the other tracks not the album don’t have. It’s a deeply considered track with an emotive undercurrent that we’ll definitely be returning to.
8.
Billie Eilish
Wish You Were Gay
Don’t be misled by the title of Billie Eilish‘s latest single ‘wish you were gay’. In a video she released about the track and its genesis along with the release yesterday, she explained that “I wish you were gay to spare my pride… to give your lack of love for me an explanation”. The song has more ‘bitches broken heart’ leanings than ‘bury a friend’ with groovy instrumentation and syncopated drum patterns.
9.
Hozier
As It Was
‘As It Was’ is a highlight from an album that we were otherwise a little slow to warm to Hozier‘s new album ‘Wasteland, Baby!’ had all the makings to be a success but to us, felt that it relied too heavily on the merits of its predecessor in its inspirations. ‘As It Was’ is a haunting ballad with a dark chorus in lyrical and sonic composition, “just as it was baby, before the otherness came, and I knew its name, the love, the dark, the light, the flame”.
