Listen Tracks: Phoebe Bridgers, Perfume Genius, Do Nothing and more

The biggest and best tracks of the past week, rounded up and reviewed.

Words: Ben Tipple, Greg Hyde, Nick Roseblade, Sean Kerwick
28th February 2020

It’s finally the end of the week, and we have a brand spanking new edition of Tracks - our weekly round-up of the biggest and best new tracks around.

There’s the return of Phoebe Bridgers (read our feature with her from the February issue here), a first taste of Perfume Genius’ excellently-titled new album ‘Set My Heart On Fire Immediately’, a new track from Nottingham upstarts and stars of the Class of 2020, Do Nothing, and much more.

For what we have to say on this week’s biggest and most exciting tracks, scroll on! And if you’re itching to check out even more, subscribe to our Essential New Tracks playlist.

Phoebe Bridgers - Garden Song

There’s a pulse that runs throughout the entirety of Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘The Garden’, the first single to emerge from a highly-anticipated second full-length. It acts like a heartbeat, harking at the unstoppable passing of time. Much like its namesake, ‘The Garden’ chronicles growth, from the notches on the door-frame to her time in college, to her eventual realisation: “I have everything I wanted”. Accompanied by a deep, rumbling male vocal, with ‘The Garden’, Phoebe offers a twisting journey through frustration and anger, to acceptance and even happiness, played out through her characteristic beautiful melancholia. (Ben Tipple)

Perfume Genius - Describe

The first slither of new material since 2017’s ‘No Shape’, the cinematic ‘Describe’ comes formed of two distinct parts. Its first half lumbers along with a disheveled Frankenstein-style swagger which contorts around a distorted lo-fi country guitar as Mike Hadreas sings in a lovelorn daze. Then suddenly, it disperses into an atmospheric Eno-style second half as he whispers incoherently in a fashion that borders ASMR. What this says about his new material remains unclear, but what ‘Describe’ does show is a dazzling imagination at play as Perfume Genius continues to manipulate the form. (Sean Kerwick)

Do Nothing - Fits

‘Fits’ marries angular guitars with melodramatic vocals, and is about brotherly bonds weakening over time. Unusual subject matter? Maybe, but then again this is a band who cite Stewart Lee, LCD Soundsystem, Talking Heads, and Gil from The Simpsons as inspirations. (Greg Hyde)

Egyptian Blue - Never

Egyptian Blue are loud. The kind of loud that, post-gig, you know you’ve enjoyed it, but have no real idea what any of it was about. Yet, on this new single, the guitars are clean, bass throbbing, drums frenetic and lyrics decipherable. Loosely based on how we need to constantly question what the media projects at us, ‘Never’ is a lairy affair. But what else would we expect? (Nick Roseblade)

Princess Nokia - Green Eggs and Ham

The lead track from ‘Everything Is Beautiful’, one of two new albums the New Yorker dropped this week, ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ is about the naivety of being a child, when the world is full of unknown possibility. In true Nokia style, it touches on surviving childhood trauma, include a smattering of pop culture references - and all to an uptempo beat. Nokia’s lyrics about body positivity, survival and inclusivity aren’t just hooks for killer beats, they’re something to live by. (Nick Roseblade)

Tags: Phoebe Bridgers, Listen, Features, Tracks