Round-up Tracks: Jessie Ware, Flying Lotus & More

It possesses the most fence-sitting of song titles, but Jessie Ware’s ‘Kind Of… Sometimes… Maybe’ is steadfast in knowing its intentions. Bringing Miguel and Dev Hynes on board, it boasts a who’s who of smooth, loved-up R&B. The biggest stretch of ‘Kind Of…’, however, is Jessie’s leading role, giving indecision a noble cause in admitting that she misses a certain someone. Swept up in its own emotions, it might not dress itself up as the most assured song from Ware’s ‘Tough Love’ LP, but confidence runs through its veins. (Jamie Milton)

Coronus might have a disarming phonetic similarity to cronut (cronut terminators, just imagine that!) but it’s really a name taken from Greek Mythology. It matches up nicely with the recently unveiled artwork for Flying Lotus’ forthcoming album ‘’You’re Dead!’ in which Stephen Ellison appears to have an empty white vortex for a face. FlyLo’s last record ‘Until the Quiet Comes’ transported Ellison’s space-aged disposition through a time machine to smokey jazz clubs, and this picks up roughly where that endeavour left off. Imagine a silver mist storming through history and plucking up all the best musical bits and bobs, before hulking it all together into a looming genre-bending robot. That’s ‘Coronus, the Terminator’ right there. (El Hunt)

Bathtime is consistently pretty great, right? There’s nothing more fun than soaking in a foamy tub with a battalion of plastic anatidaes and a fantastic acoustic set-up to belt-out some classic tunes. Bath bombs are also pretty damn swanky; but Superfood have bettered them with a track that keeps their fizz and childish fun but thankfully trades the pungent essential oils for a spacious, reverb-filled 90s gas-cloud. The second track released since their debut album was announced, ‘Mood Bomb’ is bathed in a slightly more trippy, psychedelic feel, with wave after wave of direct guitar riffs and hazy vocal hooks wading in like a stoned rubber duck.Best is how bloody fun it is. It’s a simple quality for a band to have, but seems very rare to find in this sonic day and age; the track’s playful screams and gloriously cacophonous ending inject the track with seriously more than a glass and half of joy. Based on everything the B-Town rascals have released so far, ‘Don’t Say That’ is sure to be a cracking debut album; and one that is destined to make quite the figurative splash. (Kyle MacNeill)

For Oceaán, ‘Grip’ is a fitting title for his latest track. This might be a song constructed using almost indistinguishable vocals, and tight drums that sound like agitated crisps fidgeting in a cramped, salty packet, but Oceaán keeps everything in perfect hold. Relentlessly trying to slide away like a glitter-filled water wiggly, but somehow staying put, ‘Grip’ is a masterclass in well-balanced tension. (El Hunt)

Liverpool trio All We Are claim to turn the lights down, sip some beverages and ‘expand their minds’ when it comes to songwriting. It’s held them in good stead so far. On ‘I Wear You’ - a track from their newly announced debut album - they express intimacy under a gorgeous smoky ether. Hooks are aplenty, and as with previous, hype-gaining singles, when All We Are project, they speak from the same page. These three come as a formidable pack, collectively under the influence of god knows what substance. It’s working a treat, regardless. (Jamie Milton)

Two of this summer’s rowdiest festival fixtures were Disclosure and Schoolboy Q. Wherever they went, a swarming crowd followed, cramming the stages of choice to full capacity. It makes perfect sense that they should join forces, then. Not much seems to have changed about ‘Latch’ at first. Sam Smith still sounds as recognisable as ever, and it still triggers responses like wanting to do strange dance routines in public places. When Schoolboy Q comes in, though, it brings a new energy that directs Disclosure’s euphoria in a different, and equally racing, direction. (El Hunt)

Since his departure from Paramore in 2010, Zac Farro has developed an intriguing and drastically different musical persona under the moniker of HalfNoise – drawing deeply from the expansive wonders of ambient music. His newest offering, ‘Hurricane Love’, is perhaps the most definitive piece to surface from his solo journey thus far. Partnering bright string sections and pellucid guitars with a percussive whirlwind of breakbeat drumming, it manages to encapsulate both tranquility and urgency within a single dream-like experience. With the addition of Farro’s striking vocals – folk-tinged and laced with the unmistakeable scent of sorrow – ‘Hurricane Love’ is a rare instance in which the music so vividly captures the message of its title. (Josh Pauley)

Just hold on, we’re going Honne - it won’t be long before planet Earth goes cuckoo crazy for this UK duo. There’s a flock of soul-spliced types melting hearts, especially from these shores. Aquilo are up there in fresh faces nestling up with their smooth. But it’s in ‘Baby Please’ that a standout name emerges - two tracks in, Honne are barely out the pram, but it’s clear they have every intention of storming 2015. (Jamie Milton)

Alex Moir manages to simultaneously sound like your best mate singing to you drunk in his back garden, and the next chart-bothering, acoustic guitar wielding troubadour. ‘Night Of Nights’ is the latest in a short but sweet string of optimistic, bordering on stratospheric pop songs released by the solo artist thus far. Often great pop music is let down by the people singing it; engineered pop stars that clued up folk can’t relate to. Alex Moir is a pop star for the clued up amongst us; he keeps it down to Earth while his songs soar above the clouds. (Jack Parker)

Tags: Flying Lotus, Jessie Ware, Listen, Features