Kelsey Lu – I’m Not In Love
Neu fave Kelsey Lu – read our feature from the September 2016 issue of DIY here – has shared a cover of 10cc’s ‘70s hit ‘I’m Not In Love’.
For those unfamiliar with the original, ask your parents (or click here).
“This is dedicated to the ones who have ever felt misunderstood in the name of Love, in the name of Self,” she says. “Who Love the Passion, Love the Grace Of Dramatics, Love the obsession of life and want to Kill the Confusion all while finding beauty in the abstract of growth and humor that surrounds the horrors both within and around us daily.”
A debut album is set to follow this year.
Read the rest of this article at DIY
Vanity Fairy – He Can Be Your Lady
Vanity Fairy’s post-disco voyages are almost beyond imagination.
Drifting, enticing electronic sculptures, her debut EP ‘Lust For Dust’ recalls everyone from early Kate Bush to Hot Chip, or Bat For Lashes.
Constructed alongside Sammy Yamaha and Simon Byrt, the material delves into uncharted realms of her personal life, all while conjuring remarkable digital sounds.
New song ‘He Can Be Your Lady’ demolishes gender norms, searching for freedom amid the 21st century debris.
Of course, it’s also catchy as hell,
“I’m trying to make myself remember memories I don’t necessarily have; feel things I don’t necessarily feel; believe in the unbelievable”
Read the rest of this article at Clash
Ibibio Sound Machine – Tell Me (Doko Mien)
The Afrobeat-infused disco project Ibibio Sound Machine, based in London and fronted by Nigerian native Eno Williams, impressed us with last year’s Eiyo EP and the single “Basquiat.” Today they’re announcing a new album and sharing another immaculate burner for your listening pleasure.
The new album, Doko Mien, is out in March on North Carolina indie staple Merge Records. Its lead single is the title track of sorts, “Tell Me (Doko Mien),” an absurdly infectious percussive party track seemingly inspired by the same influences that fueled Talking Heads and LCD Soundsystem. Synths percolate insistently; the brass section blares playfully; a complex rhythm builds from many interlocking parts including pizzicato guitar. Atop it all, Williams delivers a casually excellent diva vocal that suggests coming up with a song this contagiously fun is the easiest thing in the world. (It isn’t.)
Read the rest of this article at Stereogum
Lizzo – Juice
Four days into the new year, Lizzo released the first great song of 2019. The Minneapolis singer-rapper-flautist specializes in propulsive self-empowerment anthems — feel-good songs about feeling good about yourself — and “Juice” may be her finest yet, a near-perfect retro-funk nugget that would have felt just right on a mirror-balled dance floor in 1982. Over a burnished throwback groove, Lizzo praises the woman in the mirror, sips Grey Goose and mocks a man who slides into her DMs. Produced by Ricky Reed (who plays guitar, accompanied by a full band and three-piece horn section), the sound is as instantly likable as Lizzo herself. If life were fair, this would be as big as “Uptown Funk.”
The video has the exact same sense of retro fun as the song, with Lizzo parodying Jane Fonda workout tapes, QVC ads, soft-focus lotion commercials and other hallmarks of Eighties cheese. Gleeful throwback songs can feel like lightweight goofs. This feels like something more, thanks especially to Lizzo’s delivery, which is both witty and full of fire. “I’m the pudding in the proof,” she sings. You believe her because she clearly believes it.
Read the rest of this article at RollingStone
Woman’s Hour – Don’t Speak
Woman’s Hour’s first new song in half a decade represents a beginning and an end. The song, an icy blast of synths and cut-glass melody, is the first material from the British band’s forthcoming second album, Ephyra. It’s also about the reasons they decided to split following the recording of the album, and how releasing the music now acts as a kind of post-mortem on a band’s toughest moments.
Ephyra will be released on February 15 and “Don’t Speak” is a perfect reintroduction to the band’s sleek, monochromatic dream-pop sound. Unspoken tensions from the band’s strained recording sessions emerge as song lyrics with Fiona Burgess singing “Don’t speak, you’ll see” over a hypnotic and ephemeral beat.
Speaking to The FADER via email Burgess said of the “Don’t Speak” video: “The film centres around two dancers enclosed in a fragile wooden house structure. It was clear to me that dance could offer a way to visualise the struggle within the song. Physical touch, the push and pull, each movement signals emotions we as a band were unable to express in words. Working with Anders Hayward and Ellis Saul was so intuitive and easy. They brought my vision to life so beautifully, I’m so grateful to have worked with them on this.”
Read the rest of this article at Fader
