First up;
HADOUKEN! - M.A.D.
Yes, the Nu-Rave bratpack are back, despite the very obvious extinction of their flash-in-the-pan, NME buzzword genre. So, have they brushed up and developed their sound into something a little more substantial? The answer sadly (if this first single is anything to go by) is no. This is the exact same self aware, self appreciating, self referential tosswank. Lyrically bereft of anything deeper than WE'RE COOL AND WE'LL SMASH YOUR HEAD IN and featuring beats and synths that sound pretty much the same as all their other tracks, it shows thay haven't got the hint that nu-rave, or indie-grime, or whateverthehell this horrible sounding ear-rape is called, went out of fashion at least two years ago.
Only suitable for ages 14 and under.
**
Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better
Fans of the likes of Diplo, Santogold, and Spank Rock will be very familiar with Amanda Blank's spitfire vocals. The fastest pottymouth in Philly by all accounts. Her uber-rude knowing rhymes have been decorating many a hip-hop/electro track for the last few years and her combination of some kind of feminism with overt sexuality, topped off with cool underground grimey production has been setting clubs and blogs alight for as long. Now she is branching out solo with this surprisingly poppy number.
Lyrically it it's not much more than "Hey, let's shag", and the beats, while retaining a little sound of the underground quirkiness, are nowhere near as raw as her previous collaborations, so the jury is still out I'm afraid. Granted it's cool, and very hip, but it doesn't exactly blow me away. Of course this sort of track is not really supposed to be dazzingly intelligent or challenging, it's meant to be heard in a club booming on a soundsystem while everyone gets drunk and grinds eachother in the groin. The same could of course be said of the above Hadouken track, but at least Amanda's offering is alot more listenable.
***
Fever Ray - Seven
Fever Ray's self titled debut album is probably my favourite record of the year so far and it's been a good year for great albums too. So I don't really have anything but praise to lavish upon her really. This, the 4th single from the record, speaks to us ominously about everything from distant childhood memories to dishwasher tablets. Her ability to make even the totally domestic into something mysterious shows that she must have a sense of humour and probably doesn't take herself half as seriously as everyone else does.
Granted she is a singer from a Nordic country whose songs are 'kooky' and whose voice is 'odd' and she does indeed conjure up magical images in the listeners heads with vivid lyrics and atmospheric production, not unlike another famous icey pop star, and like Bjork, Fever Ray not only has a sense of humour in responding to how the western world views her music and country, but also has buckets of creativity and uniqueness to render any comparisons to Bjork nothing more than pointless geographical similarities.
If you haven't already got her beautiful album, then do so now!
*****
The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa
Last one now, and it's the lead single from the new album by Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya, aka The Very Best. Their mixtape was a musical highlight of 2008 and their fist proper LP together does not disappoint, full of tracks that wonderfully combine many different aspects of African music with western club beats and indie coolness.
This track features a brilliantly distorted high-life riff sampled from Nigerian legend Sir Victor Uwaifo's 'Guitar Boy' with propelling pots-and-pans beats and Ezra Konig from Vampire Weekend on inescapably uplifting guest vocals. The overall effect is one of intense catchiness and upbeat vibes. I challenge you not to at least nod your head!
****
Here endeth the lesson
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