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.
Caribou
Never Come Back
Caribou brings his trademark introspection to a (dare I say it?) EDM banger on ‘Never Come Back’.
‘Never Come Back’ is some of Caribou’s most accessible work to date – with tones from his side hustle as Daphni clearly seeping into his primary project. It’s big and bold, driven by housey piano riffs, choppy vocal samples and effective repetition use whilst still maintaining that lowkey edge of sadness that has always tinged Caribou’s sound.
Kelly Doherty
2.
Baxter Dury
I’m Not Your Dog
Ian Dury’s son tackles social media fascination on the seductive ‘I’m Not Your Dog’.
Orchestral flourishes, sparkling 80s synths, French vocals and droll, spoken word aggression do not traditional bedfellows make but ‘I’m Not Your Dog’ throws these eclectic ingredients together for a track that sounds wholly unique and compulsively listenable. Combine that with an impressively stylish music video and Baxter Dury is on to a winner.
Kelly Doherty
3.
Tender
6 In The Morning
Synth driven, auto-tuned sultriness from Tender. ‘6 In The Morning’ is a bolshy and arrogantly defiant breakup song which taken with a grain of self-awareness casts a light upon the petty, feigned disaffectedness of someone trying really hard to act like they just don’t care.
Kelly Doherty
4.
Yenkee
Lucy
Cork native Yenkee knows exactly how to work his way around an exceedingly pleasant melody and ‘Lucy’ is his strongest outing to date. Effortless falsettos and dreamy arrangements invite the listener in before holding your ear with its deceivingly lowkey infectiousness. ‘Lucy’s greatest strength lies in its patience – the ambling pace of each arrangement suggests a musical maturity that sets Yenkee aside from his peers.
Catch Yenkee at The Grand Social this Saturday.
Kelly Doherty
5.
Denzel Curry, Kenny Beats
‘Cosmic’.m4a
Two of hip-hop’s heavy hitters team up to create a monster that is characteristically unabashed and unrelenting.
Curry‘s free-flow aggression is a perfect match for Kenny Beats’ unorthodox production style. ”Cosmic’.m4a’ sounds like two artists getting to play out their creative dreams to the fullest and it absolutely slaps.
Kelly Doherty
6.
The Undercover Dream Lovers
You Don’t Have To Be Lonely
Glitzy retro-fascination from The Undercover Dream Lovers. Fans of Tame Impala and Mac DeMarco will have a field day with this psych stained outing that takes the horizontal leanings of the aforementioned and blends them with a driving disco beat.
Kelly Doherty
7.
Carly Rae Jepsen
Let’s Be Friends
Carly Rae Jepsen swaps in her trademark wide-eyed romanticism for a sassy anti-Valentines anthem on ‘Let’s Be Friends’. Nothing can beat a Carly Rae chorus and ‘Lets Be Friends’ delivers self-aware quoatable lines in a charming, goofy and incredibly fun way. Prime ‘dance around your bedroom, singing into a hairbrush’ material from a pop genius.
Kelly Doherty
8.
Navy Blue
In Good Hands (feat. Ka)
Earl Sweatshirt collaborator and friend Navy Blue delivers understated, trail of consciousness flows on the excellent ‘In Good Hands’. Featuring underground New York rap stalwart Ka, ‘In Good Hands’ uses disintegrated sampling and chill bars to create a sense of intimate warmth.
‘In Good Hands’ is a standout track but Navy Blue’s new 11 song project, Àdá Irin, is a treat of poetics and youthful hope from a talented newcomer. Don’t sleep on it.
Kelly Doherty
9.
Coriky
Clean Kill
Post-hardcore fans of the world rejoice! Fugazi‘s Ian McKaye and Joe Lally are back together alongside Evens’ Amy Farina for an entirely new project as Coriky. Coriky came to fruition in back in 2016 but finally, we have some material from the trio.
‘Clean Kill’, for the most part, is a slab of relatively light, angular alt-rock that constantly threatens to thrash out before letting a little loose in its final act. It’s exactly the type of melodic alt-rock that is sorely lacking from the current musical consciousness and an exciting first outing from the band who have their debut album coming this March.
Kelly Doherty
10.
D Smoke
Bullies
Musical reality TV contestants are rarely a cause for immediate excitement but D Smoke is an exception to the rule.
The winner of last year’s Netflix rap competition show Rhythm & Flow, D Smoke took time to regroup and push out an impressive debut album Black Habits. Album highlight ‘Bullies’, is a call out against systematic bullying and oppression and it packs a major punch. D Smoke’s hip-hop is heavily lyrical and unafraid to be political. It’s exciting to see what his future holds.
Kelly Doherty
