New music Weekly #43 | Drake, Hatchie, Janelle Monáe
New Music Weekly is your one-stop shop for new releases in the world of music each and every week. From the best of the best to some of the rest, Mark Conroy is here to give you the low down on what you might have missed. This week: Drake, Hatchie, Janelle Monáe and more…
Melody’s Echo Chamber ‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’
The savvy, psych-pop of Melody’s Echo Chamber returns. ‘Breathe In/Breath Out’ will be appearing on Bon Voyage, her new album that’s set to be released in June. A response to anxiety’s most destructive capabilities, the tracks asks listeners to stay the course when times are at their most fraught. The cautious optimism of the music is driven by heart-swelling guitar lines and Melody Prochet’s own soft but sincere delivery.
Hatchie ‘Sugar & Spice’
Hatchie has only a handful of singles to her name, but they’ve all been reliably solid enough to suggest the artist has a bright future. Previous efforts from Hatchie have been light shoegazey fun combined with glistening indie pop but ‘Sugar & Spice’ is an even more upbeat take on that same formula. The guitars chime with cheery dissonance and the vocals are yet another example of an successful adoption of the Doroles O’Riordan Lilt. It’s dreamy and just about amounts to the ‘everything nice’ that the title promises of the song.
Boys ‘That Weekend’
A month ago, Boys gave us a lush, loopy single called ‘End of Time’ that hinted at a major talent on the cusp of a breakthrough. 22 Year old’s Nora Karlsson’s follow ‘That Weekend’ proves that previous effort was no fluke. Sounding almost like indie-pop idea’s of Christmas, the song’s charms with it’s bouncy, bubble-gum synths. It’s jangly good time and Karlsson’s soft vibrato grounds the music and prevents it from entering throwaway territory.
Topaz Jones ‘Cotton Fields’
Topaz Jones’ ‘Cotton Fields’ is like Anderson Paak on crack. The opening beats are ferociously squelchy, but the song then settles in liquid groove that moves through the song like a raging river. One thing that Jones does have over Paak is in his loquacious, razor-sharp delivery that compliments the pace of the track and then some.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSYvx1Cl1W8
Drake ‘Nice For What’
Drake’s high quantity, post Nothing was the same Career has been a mixed bag, to say the least. He’s hasn’t just released music in the last few years, he’s dumped it on us. There has been some quality to speak off, but much of it sounds like desperate trend chasing and blends into each other. New Single ‘Nice for What’ is emblematic of the problem of Drake’s music since he became a superstar. More of an event then a song, It’s blistering, bombastic and borderline overbearing. The Gimmick this time is all the female celebrities who have graced the accompanying visual with their presence. They don’t really have much reason to be theexceptect for being there, and like the track, its showy and kind of silly.
Janelle Monáe ‘I Like That’
Janelle Monáe isn’t just happy being just good at everything, she has to be great too. The actress/singer all-rounder has released several show-stopping singles for her upcoming album Dirty Computer out April 27. ‘I Like That’ is trap-influenced sizzler that remembers how to be sexy first and sonically satisfying second. Don’t worry, it achieves both with flying colours.
