Broken Bells—the collaborative project of Danger Mouse and the Shins’ James Mercer—have shared a new song, titled “Good Luck.” You can take a listen to the track below (via 30th Century/AWAL).
“Good Luck” is the first new song from Broken Bells in nearly a year, but they haven’t yet announced a new album. The band posted photos from the studio online in August 2018, and shared the new song “Shelter” as a one-off track in December. Their last full-length record, After the Disco, was released in 2014.
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2020 is the sixth album from the much lauded, eccentric songwriter. Strangely, I feel I can introduce the nature of Dawson by relating a brief text conversation I had with my father a couple of weeks ago. He texted me (he never texts me) to say simply that had I heard of Richard Dawson, and was he a genius? I replied that I had, and he might be.
He then texted back this illuminating sentence, “I thought so, but I couldn’t tell.”
This is genuinely useful in getting to grips with Dawson. He’s not that easy to pin down, and it’s sometimes hard to think of his output as entertaining, but rather access to an inner monologue that we probably shouldn’t have. Sometimes I feel like he’s a sort of ultra-violent Les Dawson. He’s hugely witty, but dark as fuck. His lyricism is, frankly, wonderful. He deals explicitly in the rich vein of pathos that comes lurking always in the everyday.
Just listen to ‘Fresher’s Ball’ for instant access to his world. These narratives are woven from detail, he zooms in on the minutiae of things in a way that seems to extract the greatest emotional impact. Those of you who have already heard the fantastic ‘Jogging’ from this record will be familiar with the oh-so familiar gut punch of “one of the girls who works on the check-out tuts under her breath and it destroys me for a week.” Pretty much all of the writing is this good.
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London multi-disciplinary artist Fauness has shared drifting new song ‘Soon There Will Be No Summer’.
The rising force delivered her debut EP ‘Toxic Femininity’ around this time last year, and she’s set to follow this with follow up EP ‘Lashes In A Landfill’.
Due out shortly, the EP is trailed by a wonderfully sensual new song dedicated to the turning of the season.
The song was penned on a hot July evening in London, and it’s languid melancholy is reminiscent of those hazy nights in the capital.
Out now, ‘Soon There Will Be No Summer’ comes equipped with a video shot and directed by Aya Al-Shalchi.
The video acts as a love letter to London’s green spaces, with Fauness commenting:
“We wanted to capture the particular energy of the city’s parks and nature reserves, environments that are simultaneously toxic yet teeming with wildlife: rats, buddleia, pigeons, and waterfowl…”
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It’s been five years since Dan Snaith released music as Caribou and the ubiquitous echo of “Can’t Do Without You” wafted across festival sites. That track, and the album it came from, was warm, big-hearted and worked best against the fading light of outdoor stages. Now, befitting his shapeshifting 20-year career, the Canadian artist returns with a similarly yearning work, albeit channelling vintage soul.
“Home” hangs around a gorgeous Gloria Barnes sample taken from her 1971 song of the same name. Snaith retains the central hook but backs it with bright drums that skip and clap like children playing after school. Snaith’s longtime friend Four Tet, who you can hear guiding the nostalgic beat, is credited as co-arranger—the track recalls his own output and, remarkably, Donuts-era J Dilla. (Dilla’s younger brother, Illa J, lifted from the same sample in 2017.) Where “Home” will sit in the context of a full-length album is anyone’s guess. For now, we can enjoy basking in its warm glow.
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Whether putting out pulsing EDM under the Mad Decent umbrella or crafting electronic-pop with a percussive, experimental bent on last year’s HAANI EP, the Australian producer Kito is known for music distinguished by off-kilter drops, warped synths, and a reliably nimble touch. Each of those qualities is on full display on “Wild Girl,” a sleek new single that recruits Empress Of and brings out adventurous instincts in them both. Over eddying synth melodies and lopsided drum patterns, Empress Of’s skyward vocals recall Jennifer Paige’s “Crush,” especially as her lyrics spin out toward similarly wide-eyed lovesickness: “My heart’s weakness/Is a half-smile touch, casually call you love,” she sings, voice hopscotching over the words. “When your hand is enough, casually say it’s love.” As she repeats that final phrase, the song charges into a hypnotic, clubby chorus replete with stomping drums, chopped-up vocals, and a rubbery bassline. Kito and Empress Of are clearly aiming for the dancefloor with “Wild Girl,” but the duo pack the song with enough all-embracing feeling and intriguing musical misdirection to give the formula a refreshing twist.
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