Round-up Tracks (Father John Misty, Circa Waves & More)

“Damn, the future ain’t looking’ so bright,” sighs Josh Tillman as ‘Holy Hell’ stretches its aching muscles. Penned at the tail end of a year that’s seen all sense and security in the political landscape thrown out the window, it’s up to Tillman to attempt to patch up those fractures. His storyteller’s persona comes into its own here, “highly effective rhetoric” and the “perverts who get off on it” the subjects of his withering gaze.

Huskier and more fragile than ever before, that baroque Father John Misty vocal has never sounded so vital as when he offers up the briefest of emotional respites, rhythmic structure cast aside for something more simple - “Hey, my friend, the world won’t end unless we want it to. There’s no one in control, and it’s our life to choose.” (Tom Connick)

Peer behind the scenes of Circa Waves’ first chapter, and you’d imagine it to be like being swept up in the eye of a storm. Just when indie’s heyday is declared long gone, the Liverpool bunch have been selling out arenas across the country, like it’s no big deal.

‘Wake Up’, the first taste of a hot-on-its-toes second album, captures that momentum first-hand. Driven guitar lines surge forwards from the off, and not once do Kieran Shudall and co. take their foot off the pedal. As with their first steps, they’re not out to reinvent the wheel. But this is far from a traditional box-ticker. ‘Wake Up’ captures the frenzied live environment Circa Waves find themselves caught up in, and then some. (Harry Yorke)

Sometimes it’s better to tug at the heartstrings than hammer a point home. To date, Cloud Nothings have been known for their loud and proud fuzz-rock anthems, but there’s always been more there than simple riffery.

‘Internal World’ best showcases the cloudy mindset that defines Dylan Baldi’s finest moments. “I’m not the one who’s always right,” he sighs, tackling the confounding realisation that “being yourself can be uncomfortable and even potentially dangerous at times.” Below it, those crumbled, garage-y riffs are given room to breathe, soaring and swooping to almost hypnotising effect. The pace never drops though, Jayson Gerycz’s gunshot snare rolls snapping Baldi out of his introspection.
Frustrated without giving into fury, ‘Internal World’ is further evidence of the brains behind Cloud Nothings’ brash exterior. (Tom Connick)

Given that it comes packaged under a no-nonsense title like ‘Resurrection,’ it figures that Angel Haze’s return is a triumphant one, from the off. “2014, the year I died, now I’m resurrected like Jesus Christ,” she declares over erratically darting swerves of noise, akin to screeching fireflies stuck inside a hadron collider. Squelches of bass, and euphoric whoops from Angel Haze punch through relentless verses. If you thought ‘Babe Ruthless’ was evidence of the rapper at her most fearsome and self-assured, prepare to think again. This one raises the bar higher still.

‘Back To The Woods’ - Angel Haze’s 2015 project - showed Angel Haze stepping determinedly in her boldest direction yet, not just building on the foundations of ‘Dirty Gold,’ but swiping them aside and starting anew. On the evidence of ‘Resurrection’ alone, the rapper’s forthcoming second album proper (due out early 2017, probably) should cement her as a superstar. (El Hunt)

“I’m washing myself with the mundane,” starts ‘Mistakes’ - the latest new music to come from multi-talented Leeds local MJ. Once known as the frontman of sharp-clawed psych-heads Hookworms, he’s since built up a reputation as the producer of most of your favourite new bands, too. And now, he’s plotting a debut solo album under his Family Scraps moniker; due for completion whenever he can cram a bit of studio-time into his rammed schedule.

For anyone used to hearing MJ’s vocals submerged under heaps of murk in Hookworms, Family Scraps will come as a surprising, brilliant, gear-switch. Clear and floating atop twanging shimmers of guitar, and peppy snares, ‘Mistakes’ handles pop melodies with a deft touch, mixing mournful verses of loss and regret with an overarching haze of hope. ”You’ve got heart still left, it’s true”. (El Hunt)

Tags: Circa Waves, Father John Misty, Features