"2021 GLAM Holocene"
New music this week from Vampire Weekend, Goose, Zella Day, Weyes Blood, VIC MENSA, Wyclef Jean, Chance the Rapper, pluko, sad alex, Ducckwrth and more
Ah yes, another week, another batch of bonkers news! Setting apart non-music related news like QAnon elected officials in the US reflecting on a country that constantly swears “we are better than this” yet hasn’t shown any sign of this being true in ages, or the now notorious Jackie Weaver Parish council meeting zoom call in the UK (watch here if you haven’t!), there’s still more headlines coming your way: Marilyn Manson has always been a creep and you should know about it, The Weeknd gave a grand Super Bowl half-time show performance (that left many unimpressed apparently), a country singer was outed as a downright racist and this only helped his charts placements and sales (“we are better than this”, yeah right) and Phoebe Bridgers breaking a guitar on SNL had some twitter users clutch their pearls in the final episode of Double-Standard Online Edition: Why It’s Not RockNRoll If A Girl Is Doing It. Also check out the new Hayley Williams and Hidden Empire albums, both solid in my opinion. Now, actual music:
--- Absolute Faves ---
2021 (January 5th, to be exact) - Vampire Weekend (feat. Goose)
This new take on the band’s short 2021 is extrapolated to more than twenty minutes, an odyssey that’s all-deserving for its instrumental smoothness. It’s the perfect occasion to pause and reflect - or is it just me. Here’s hoping this is a little amuse-bouche for a new project by Ezra and the bois.
Holocene - Zella Day (feat. Weyes Blood)
Let’s not wake up from the reverie just yet. Holocene takes you in a different realm, veiled by a nostalgia for a time that never was without taking you out of the present.
--- other great tracks ---
KIM - Tkay Maidza (with Yung Baby Tate)
KIM slaps all around. We don’t deserve Tkay Maidza. Yung Baby Tate is the perfect enhancer to fluff up the piece, along the grating bassline. Everything falls into place seamlessly for an artist that’s on the brink to become the biggest and brightest star out of Australia.
Up - Cardi B
Cardi Thee Stallion? This is what Up sounds like: two artists’ styles meshing into one - although one of them is nowhere to be seen. Flow. On. Point.
Remember Where You Are - Single Edit - Jessie Ware
A single edit of the closer of what I deemed my personal favorite record of 2020. Remember Where You Are makes it very hard to follow its guiding mantra: the song takes you out of the moment, with luscious instrumentals so thick you want to put your hands in them and start kneading. This is what Jessie Ware does to you; she makes you engage with the art without really trying.
SHELTER - VIC MENSA (feat. Wyclef Jean, Chance the Rapper)
Shifting gears with a particularly well-crafted more socially-conscious statement that manages to straddle the line between sounding patronizing and genuinely concerned without ever losing its balance and falling on the former’s side.
Fight For You - H.E.R.
Right up H.E.R. alley. Uplifting and groovy, lavish and bare-bones. She taps in a higher-register we don’t always get from her; a nice change to a winning recipe that, if a bit predictable, amounts to a reliable ability to deliver at all times.
GLAM! - Allie X
Synth pop is alive and well, thank you very much Allie.
Headsick - USERx (feat. Manchester Orchestra)
The collaborative project from Matt Maeson and Rozwell delivers another pop rock banger. It fills up space like a fog machine in the most sneaky way: it has you transfixed up until you realize you’re completely surrounded. By then it’s too late to back away, you’re game.
High Hopes - pluko (feat. sad alex, Duckwrth)
I don’t know who sad alex is but isn’t that name setting yourself up for failure? Love the vocals though, and wonder what happy alex sounds like.
Just Want Happiness - Folamour
This might be what the translation of affirmation in music sounds like.
Bruuuh - Remix - JID (with Denzel Curry)
Unparalleled flows, testy deliveries and cut-throat lyrics. Heavily quotable. Riles me up!
Need even more? Also check out (YouTube links):
Thanks for reading, happy listening!
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Best Releases February 2021 Spotify playlist: here
Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it
Twitter: @REDTAKES1
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