Round-up Tracks: Grimes, Blood Orange, and More

In the interim between records, plenty of Grimes quotes have come and gone, some being taken out of context, some being seen as lynchpins of what to expect from new material. Claire Boucher’s been quick in shunning rumours she scrapped material, hit a brick wall, or that last year’s ‘Go’ single was even intended for the follow-up to ‘Visions’.

One thing’s clear with ‘Flesh Without Blood’. If the anti-pop purists weren’t into ‘Go’, Boucher hasn’t backtracked one jot. The lead track from ‘Art Angels’ is a chaotic but sky-reaching burst of life, like if Taylor Swift went gung-ho EDM and kept the recipe to herself. The tropes of ‘Visions’ - finding unorthodox ways to hit big heights - remain, but this still sounds unlike anything Grimes has put her name to before. Closing section ‘Life in the Vidid Dream’ is a broken and blood-splattered clash of jagged beats and looped acoustics. Again, new territory for Boucher. But on the basis of this bright one-two, she’s ready to take on anything. (Jamie Milton)

Blood Orange has been releasing a few standalone bits and bobs lately. First came the emotive, politically charged spoken word of ‘Do You See My Skin Through The Flames?’, then a mix containing 46-minutes’ worth of new music. This week it was the turn of another Blood Orange one-off, ‘Sandra’s Smile’.

On first impressions, this has got straight-up massive pop jam written all over it in permanent gold sharpie; crisp, space-filled beats at every step, Hynes’ soulful, gliding vocal locking into place like minimal tetris. Typically, though, there’s a political, and very affecting side to ‘Sandra’s Smile’. In name and sentiment, it’s dedicated to Sandra Bland, a black American woman who died in suspicious circumstances while in police custody. She had originally been pulled over for a minor traffic violation, and was a prolific activist for civil rights, and the Black Lives Matter campaign.

“You watched her pass away the words she said weren’t faint,” sings Hynes, referring to the distressing dashcam footage of Bland’s arrest which was subsequently shown across the world. “Closed our eyes for a while, but I still see Sandra’s smile.” “Had enough for today,” he says, elsewhere. Hynes has written a touching tribute to every single black American who has suffered at the hands of police brutality. (El Hunt)

When Zane Lowe bestowed the honour of his final ‘Hottest Record’ for Radio 1 on the debut single from the enigma that was The Japanese House, it became a question of how long the heat would last. Despite all the references to water, Amber Bain continues to stoke the fire with the third offering from her forthcoming ‘Clean’ EP. (out on November 6th)

‘Letter By The Water’ has a similar hazy quality to previous releases but twists with a crunching guitar ,which provides discord in what is a murkier counterpart to ‘Cool Blue’ and ‘Clean’. Bain shows incredible skill in her ability to veer in a different direction within her distinctive aesthetic. Her characteristic layered vocal harmonies swell and recede like the tide, and the multitude of sounds wrap around each other snugly to create a vast expanse. It’s testament to her production talents. On the brink of only her second EP as The Japanese House and in the wake of her first tour, she already sounds like an artist in control of a strong vision.

“Current come and pull me down” she cries but The Japanese House is standing strong and the follow-up to ‘Pools To Bathe In’ is shaping up to be one of the most exciting EPs of 2015. (Emma Snook)

Lizzo’s never been short on bravado, but new single ‘Ain’t I’ is more than just a series of bold statements. No stone left unturned, she’s in the form of her life, launching into tirades before she’s even finished stating the truth. “Look at what you made me do! Yo, pass the hot sauce,” she chants after throwing the first flames. Circuiting black history and her place in the world today, it’s a spitting statement of intent that’ll make you “bob your head crazy’. Arguably her finest moment, and a hugely promising sign of what lies ahead. (Jamie Milton)

What do you get if you combine two bassists? It might sound like the jokey prompter to an incredibly tedious punchline, but in this case, the answer is Kite Base. The new project of Savages’ Ayşe Hassan, and Pop Noire labelmate Kendra Frost from Blindness, it takes about ten seconds of their new track ‘Miracle Waves’ to work out where both of their musical hearts lie. In the depths of murky, swampy, deep-registered bassland, gives a rough radar position.

Virtually every sound on ‘Miracle Waves’ is airless and unforgiving, clattering with all the aural pleasantry of a bean-filled tin thumping into a piece of corrugated iron. All the lift and melody instead comes from Hassan and Frost, whose vocals mingle together vaporously into one force, high above the industrial foundations. Kite Base named themselves after an origami fold for getting things off to a start. With ‘Miracle Waves’ they lift off into the battering wind, in their own monstrous, relentless way. (El Hunt)

In spite of Alessia Cara’s pitch-perfect voice, there’s a tangible edge to ‘Wild Things’. 2015 has been a whirlwind for defiant breakthrough pop sensations - hot on Halsey’s heels, it’s Alessia who’s marking out a long and winding road. Taken from her debut album ‘Know It All’, due next month on Def Jam, it’s a silky number which deals a perfect hand of chart-topping potential. An ode to the outsider, “Find me where the wild things are,” she implores - set to tribal percussion and a stripped back grand piano, there’s a rawness that gets the gears turning on her potential to shake up the foundations of the industry’s over-shiny pop obsessions. (Tom Connick)

Tags: Blood Orange, Grimes, Listen, Features