Round-up This Week In New Music (8th November 2014)
From premieres to DIY discoveries, we round up the past seven days’ best new music.
Halloween was a rough ride. Not least because of PC Music, and their ultra-ironic, Carly Rae Jepson-dropping party, live broadcast on 31st October and re-uploaded for unlimited viewing online. Nothing was the same. Danny L Harle’s set is a particular highlight, where he adopts a ‘beach bro’ personality and drops Ibiza-ready classics like his life depends on it. Other moments leave a bad taste, but put together, the whole experience is like nothing else. Couple that with Azealia Banks’ debut album and the past seven days have been anything but ordinary.
Thankfully, normality’s resumed in the form of forward-thinking tracks from NAO (production via William Arcane), Tei Shi’s Dave from Glass Animals-produced new single, and the ever-pressing notion that Rosie Lowe’s turning into one of the UK’s best new pop artists. Years & Years further cemented their rep as 2015 dead-certs, and Philly sweethearts The Districts settled into a rhythm by announcing their debut album. Clock changes and spooky parties might have shaken the system, but all is well.
From DIY premieres to new discoveries, here’s the best of what happened this week in new music:
THIS WEEK IN DIY PREMIERES:Vaults, Eliot Sumner, Clarence Clarity, King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard
Vaults don’t seem to have an off switch. The London trio have spent the past twelve months penning monster-sized, emotional synth pop tracks. Latest cut ‘Poison’ is no exception. Barney from the band informed DIY that the best part (the cello section) came about by accident, so by the sounds of things Vaults are just stumbling towards perfection. Elsewhere, Eliot Sumner (formerly I Blame Coco) put her best foot forward with ‘I Followed You Home’, a nightcrawling creeper that captures attention in a flash. With Clarence Clarity, we’re still figuring out exactly who this guy is and whether he’s a) a potential genius b) a musical madman or c) both. New video ‘Those Who Can’t, Cheat’ comes self-produced, and amongst other things it contains strippers, fire-breathing walls and city skyscrapers falling in. Chances are CC spends a fair amount of time on his own at home, but isolation is manifesting into something special on this basis.
There was also King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard, psych heavyweights who clearly favour taking things sloooow. Their video for ‘Satan Speeds Up’ is as sedated as they come, like hanging out with Snoop Dogg for 24 hours and inhaling his every breath. That’s not forgetting the terrific debut LP from Tyrannosaurus Dead, a bunch of Brighton musicians capable of capturing attention for a long time to come.
TRACK OF THE WEEK:Klo — Under Lie
Familiarity breeds perfect results. Aussie duo Klo’s new single extracts all things box-ticking and ultra-cool from the past two years (mostly from Down Under, as it happens) and, instead of appearing to follow neat rules, creates territory of its own. ‘Under Lie’ is pure, unhinged and undeniably gorgeous, a silky-smooth approach to smart pop music formed from oh-so-2014 parts. This year’s drawn up plenty of duds, with house-linked blog-pop sounding tired at times. Not here. Klo have revitalised a productive but often over-crowded pack with one of the standout singles of the year.
DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK:Fine Print
Like Klo, Fine Print follows the pack before, at the crucial point, turning off on his own course. We’re assuming this is the work of one guy. Details are scarce. But there’s an undeniable whiff of ‘bedroom producer’ about this newcomer, who mixes the frank songwriting of Josef Salvat with 2014 head-turner Astronomyy. Debut ‘About You’ is smartly-built, a classically-penned number that evolves in the present day.
Featuring Yard Act, Death Cab For Cutie, Graham Coxon, Maisie Peters and more.