News Tracks: Icona Pop, Crystal Stilts, And More

It’s Tracks time. The point where DIY writers scan through their playlist from the past seven days to pick out a couple of their absolutely must-hears. Doubtless they’ll all be buggering off to drink silly amounts and see the weekend in with these tracks playing out as a soundtrack, but give them credit for penning some trusty words beforehand. Big-deal songs clash heads with some more under the radar gems, picked out by DIY’s eagle-eyed (eared?) scribes.

Icona Pop - All Night

‘All Night’ has all the ingredients for an instant classic. There’s the obligatory reference to “smash[ing] the club” and the slight innuendo in the chorus. It’s got a euphoric feel to it, too, with whirring synths carving a relentless pace. And then there’s Aino and Caroline, leading the charge with their typically lax attitude towards sleep, and an admirable dedication to the party. ‘All Night’ makes you think of a similar scenario to the Girls cut that propelled Icona Pop to billboard fame with ‘I Love It (ft. Charli XCX)’ earlier this year. It is also so much raucous good fun that it seems fully feasible you could undergo a full manic body work out dancing around to it. [El Hunt]

Explosions In The Sky & David Wingo - Join Me On My Avalanche

One of Texas’ most highly regarded musical exports Explosions in the Sky are at it again; in collaboration with indie soundtrack ace, David Wingo, working together to forge the backing for David Gordon Greens’ latest film, Prince Avalanche. The unique influence of both is clearly evident within the first few moments. From the arpeggio synths and drones of Wingo’s work, to the instantly recognisable gentle swell of Explosions’ guitars – although they have very different styles, they come together in an effortless fashion. ‘Join Me On My Avalanche’ starts out with humble beginnings that rise to a crescendo of incredibly subtle changes, all combining to produce an almost snowball-effect that adds weight and the illusion of increased speed. The result is a piece of music that is, unsurprisingly, stunning even when isolated from the film it backs up. [Joe Dickinson]

Saint Rich - Officer

Steve Marion, the US guitar wizard behind Delicate Steve is one of those cherished musicians who have a rare gift to seemingly take to any instrument and sound with ease. For his next project, Marion puts down his guitar in favour of drums, ceding the lead role to guitarist and fellow Delicate Steve member Christian Peslak. The result is the exultant classic glam tinged rock of Saint Rich.

‘Officer’ sees Marion’s drums feeding off Peslak’s languidly fuzzy guitar lines while his carefree vocal drawl distinguishes it from Delicate Steve’s instrumental work. Both men are completely musically attuned to each other and their symbiotic relationship works wonders on this introductory gem. ‘Officer’ is the first track ahead of the duo’s forthcoming debut album ‘Beyond The Drone’ recorded in one fruitful weekend at Marion’s rural New Jersey home. [Martyn Young]

The Vaccines - Everybody’s Gonna Let You Down

A bizarre blend of opposites, ‘Everybody’s Gonna Let You Down’ is the musical equivalent of walking down the aisle to ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, contrasting pessimistic lyrics (‘Someday in some way / everybody’s gonna let you down’) with mellow, carefree instrumentation that’s more laid-back than Jack Johnson on a Peppermint Tea binge.

Before this years’ tracks Justin and Co seemed to be at their best when they were bashing out erratic, aggressive belters, but they’ve now proved that they’re just as awesome at the complete polar opposite. Melodic and mature, it sounds like fan-favourite guitarist Freddie is reclining on a hammock, rocking some Wayfarers, and jamming along to the rest of the band playing the track. [Kyle MacNeill]

Demon Queen - Bad Route

Tom Fec has been treating us to his singular brand of digital scuzz for roughly a decade now - whether that’s with the gorgeous analogue warmth of Black Moth Super Rainbow or the filthy sleaze of Tobacco, he’s always found a way to keep his music alluring despite some deliberately ugly qualities. Teaming up with Tucson neon-funk badass Zackey Force Funk (kinda like a more hip-hop Prince, just less in love with purple), Tobacco presents his latest endeavour, the suitably titled Demon Queen. Leaning more towards the queasy distortion found on ‘Maniac Meat’, ‘Bad Route’ proves once again that Tobacco’s production works just as well with organic vocals as it does with his characteristically demonic vocodered coos. [Joe Price]

Crystal Stilts - Star Crawl

Crystal Stilts’ last EP ‘Radiant Door’ was their first release with the label Sacred Bones; this didn’t exactly come as a massive surprise though, as Keegan Cooke (Drummer) has been a member of the Bones Brigade for a while now with, believe it or not, screen printing duties. But they’re now readying up ‘Nature Noir’ their first full length release on the label, and ‘Star Crawl’ is the first taste of what to expect. There’s a much expected, gloomy baroque quality that broods over the course of the song, but more interesting is the use of strings for some light relieve from spacey post-punk plodding. Crystal Stilts’ dark noise is slower and more hypnotising than ever. [Samuel Cornforth]

Pop. 1280 - Human Probe

Very few bands truly go at it for the full duration of one their songs, whether this is because they are playing it safe, using sporadic blasts of noise for affect or have song dynamics, it very rarely happens. The above can’t be said for Pop. 1280, who create unrelenting screeches of industrial punk, newbie ‘Human Probe’ being a monster consisting of the same DNA as their signature racket. Dominated by howls of swirling punk-indebted guitars and Chris Bug’s possessed roars, it’s not the kind of song you’d put on at a dinner party, unless of course you wanted your guests to leave prematurely. These New Yorkers don’t do half measures. [Samuel Cornforth]

Vandetta - Fly

‘Fly’ is the first track from Vanessa Fernandez aka Vandetta, one-half of electronic duo Octover, who brought us their soulful, electro-pop infused track \Satisfy’ earlier this year. Completely made up of Fernandez’s vocals, ‘Fly’ is about as organic and minimalistic as you can get with electronic music. Reaching an unexpected breakdown mid-way through the song, Fernandez’s vocals echo, piercing the silence, and the track slowly rebuilds, gradually layering to an eventual climax. ‘Fly’ is a clever track and Fernandez is certainly establishing herself as not just a singer, but a darn good producer. [Elliot Ramsey]