Round-up Tracks: Jessie Ware, Alt-J & More

‘Say You Love Me’ ticks every box required in terms of being a massive single from a record that by all intentions looks set to be similarly massive. This latest BenZel-produced number is an emotional juggernaut. It’s a dinner party soundtrack, a late night bloomer and a cafe companion rolled into one, and that’s the strange magic of Jessie - she manages to transverse the traditional, boring boundaries that tag onto the everyday artist. ‘Say You Love Me’ is a potential chart-topper in waiting, make no mistake. But its intricacies are just as fascinating. There’s the sound of a hand-clapping choir in the background (perhaps from Ware’s beloved district of London, Brixton), distant space-like sirens too. And that’s all on top of an acoustic chord sequence that won’t do anyone a disservice, regardless of where it winds up. Tying it all together is a sense of nagging uncertainty. This isn’t a bog-standard love song, borrowing from the diary notes of twenty-somethings. “Slowly, slowly, you unfold me, but do you know me at all?” is the most poignant line. Simple on the outside but burrowed in depth, this could easily be her biggest single yet. (Jamie Milton)

John Cooper Clarke’s classic use of idiosyncratic metaphors to represent romantic obsession in ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ was already pretty damn unnerving, but the kooky triangular brains of Alt-J have managed to make an even creepier version. In front of a backdrop of Eastern synths and chants reminiscent of ‘Taro’, the not-so-average Joe Newman growls ‘I’m gonna bed into you like a cat beds into a bean bag / turn you inside out to lick you like a crisp packet’: if that ain’t romance then pigs can soar right off this very Earth. Lyrics aside, ‘Every Other Freckle’ is a more conventional cut than the other two we have heard, and means that the upcoming second album is shaping up to be a pretty tasty proposition; er… like the inside of a crisp packet. (Kyle MacNeill)

Derwin Schlecker - aka. Gold Panda - has been an ever-present figure on the electronic music scene since his shimmering, sample based debut LP ‘Lucky Shiner’ hit the shelves back in 2010. His follow up, 2013’s ‘Half of Where You Live’, followed in the same vein, heavily featuring eclectic samples delivered with precise chops and loops. ‘Clarke’s Dream’ differs from these records in a thematic sense, in that it sounds more like a 70’s funk band has been thrown through a DAW, and oozed out the other end. Gold Panda stays true to his style with ‘Clarkes Dream’, though, and it works wonders. (Patrick Benjamin Heardman)

Single Mothers sound like the kind of band who would turn up uninvited at your house party, and then proceed to drink all your beer, smoke all your cigarettes, vomit on your sofa and sleep with your girlfriend. The Canadian four-piece from London (Ontario) are a middle-finger-in-the-air set to music, a raucous, chaotic train-wreck of punk rock noise, reminiscent of Gallows circa Orchestra of Wolves. ‘Marbles’ rollicks along on a rumbling bass line and screeching guitar, but it’s front-man Drew Thomson’s visceral sneer and nihilistic lyrics that really propel the song to anthem-status. His seething rage is directed at hipster-literature posers, but it’s matched by his self-loathing at his own hypocrisy. The ferocity with which he spits out the words, “She’s all like, ‘Blah, blah, blah,blah, something about McSweeney’s’” is irresistible, and hints of very good things to come on their forthcoming debut, ‘Negative Qualities’. (Duncan Smith)

Browse the endless music channels, and there’s guaranteed to be some ridiculously named hour of music called something like ‘DJ Sammy’s Feelgood Summer Classics’, or ‘Pool Party Bangerz’. The playlist is usually full with euphoric clubbing essence, and the videos consist of happy young adults jumping into swimming pools fully-clothed at rooftop nightclubs and driving ridiculously plush cars down empty highways. There’s never any explanation when it comes to why the bouncers didn’t kick them out said club, or how on earth they were granted rental insurance on such an expensive car in this economy, because it’s idealistic, dreamworld summer fun. Moko’s ‘With You’ exists within that same world . Concerning itself mainly with being absolutely gone in a club and getting the hots for another bright young thing on the dancefloor, it’s a pulsing, energetic and nostalgic dance anthem of the best kind. (El Hunt)

Reference points that link up to make Kero Kero Bonito’s sickly, giddy Gameboy Colour pop are fairly obvious. Crap consoles, J-pop, PC Music - throw it all into a pot, put it in the hands of a South London trio (one of which delivers bilingual lines that etch into the conscience) and it’s a winning formula. ‘Sick Beat’ - a highlight from the newcomers’ debut mixtape - can even be traced back to early M.I.A. The same cocksure delivery, brattish confidence is there - as is the awareness of rhythm, the ultimate tool in this strange process. But approaching Kero Kero Bonito in a standoffish, seen-it-all-before way saps out the magic. Given this is a song about kicking someone’s arse on a computer game, ‘Sick Beat’’s best approached like a Tekken opponent. Out swipes the combo moves, Sarah Bonito’s vocals hop-scotching from Japanese to English like the two were designed to combine. “I did it my way,” she concludes, and it’s true - despite the fabrics of Kero Kero Bonito being patchworked from other materials, they’re a big exciting prospect of their own. (Jamie Milton)

In recent times in the music world, there seems to have been a pattern of tracks slam-dunking capitalism and financial greed, from Peace’s ‘Money’ to JUNGLE’s ‘Busy Earnin’’. Now Johnny Marr has put in his two cents with ‘Easy Money’, an anthemic thunderbolt stuffed with post-punk hooks and tons of fuzzy sass. The whole track is coated in a thick new-wave vibe - from the vintage guitar sounds to its infectious catchiness – with the Smithsonian axe-wielder doing a stellar job on the vocals. It’s certainly more urgent and poppy than anything on his debut solo album, with the repetitive structure creating a track that deserves serious credit. (Kyle MacNeill)

Self-confessed gnarly synth tickler Lights further demonstrated her aptitude for penning wondrous and floaty pop gems with the release of ‘Up We Go’, the lead release from her forthcoming album ‘Little Machines’. With its follow-up ‘Portal’, however, the electro-pop whiz takes a much more minimalistic approach – carefully constructing an otherworldly bricolage of layered vocals and luscious ambient soundscapes that swell and swell as the track blossoms into a dreamy state of zen. Capped off with a folky lead vocal line that’s somewhat derivative of Bon Iver – if Bon Iver were obsessed with all things esoteric and space-like – ‘Portal’ stands alone as a uniquely spectacular footnote within Lights’ bright and bountiful discography. (Joshua Pauley)

Tags: Jessie Ware, Listen, Features