New Music Weekly 30 | Young Fathers, Pinegrove, Chris Kabs
New Music Weekly is your one stop shop for new releases in the world of music. From the best of the best, to some of the rest, Mark Conroy is here to give you the lowdown on what you might have missed. This week: Young Fathers, Pinegrove, & more…
Naeth ‘Vegans’
Naeth is a talented, Dublin based producer who will be releasing his debut EP Vector One on November 24 via Future Everything records. The first taster of said release came in the form of ‘Vegans’, a shimmering, near-six minutes of sleek house music. The bass bellows over the twangy synthetic beats that twist and turn amidst an ambient, austere atmosphere. It’s chilly and cheery and you’ll sink right into it.
Young Fathers ‘Lord’
Young Fathers have announced their first album since 2015’s White Me are Black too. We don’t know just yet what it’s going to be called but what looks to be its first single dropped this week. A religious themed feverish ballad, ‘Lord’ is relatively restrained for band as typically hyper active as this. Nonetheless there is a sizzling energy that bubbles just beneath the surface and that tension releases in the moments of frenzied, digital fuzz that’s peppered throughout the track.
Pinegrove ‘Intrepid’
Indie Cult act Pinegrove’s last album Cardinal has gone on to becoming something of sleeper hit since its release last year (it was also one of my favourites). On their new track the charging strumming has been lightly soaked in bit more echo and the singer’s voice almost drowns in it as a result but the autumnal atmospherics of their songcraft still stands out. ‘Intrepid’, like its name suggests, is searching. In the glorious middle the floodgates open and its narrator sounds like he’s the Wanderer above the Sea of Fog in that famous oil painting, looking out upon the world itself but still aware he has much more to see. Of course, frontman Evan Stephens Hall is just talking about a lover he won’t allow himself to love, but the way he sings it, it is the world.
Chris Kabs ‘Enemies’
Dublin Based, multi-instrumentalist Chris Kabs released a new single during the week and it’s worth your time. A Kanye-Influenced trap number, ‘Enemies’ stands out in Irish music in its devotion to US pop conventions, which might suggest he has some potential outside of these shores as well. Listen to it below.
Miguel ‘Told you so’
People say Kanye is the most egoistical man in music but R’n’B genre mixer Miguel once claimed he was better than Frank Ocean. Let that sink in. Still, the talent there is undeniable—2015’s supremely sexy ‘Coffee’ was one of the best tracks of that year. His new single once again is an exhibition of his ability to make pop convention sound unconventional. The dotty synths that ‘Told you so’ is built off are erratic , like the beat has a mind of its own but Miguel’s never loses control. There’s a Prince like dynamism to the proceedings as the sultry singing, sonic misdirects, and atmospheric breakdowns can’t mask a genuine anthem.
Sunflower Beams ‘I was a Fool’
The Sunflower Beams are basically what Fleetwood Mac would sound like if they ever decided to cover Real Estate. ‘I was a Fool’ channels late 70’s rock pop through the lens of contemporary lo-fi indie. Guitarist Nick Kivlen supplies us with the most soothing of jangly lines and he and bassist Julia Cumming share the mike to evoke Lynsday Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in their prime.
Flying Lotus ‘Post Requisite’
Flying Lotus made a film called Kuso last year and most critics who saw it regarded it as an inexplicably gory fever dream with a plot that’s borderline incomprehensible —so of course it’s already being hailed by those who haven’t see it as a soon to be cult masterpiece. But the singular vison of the producer was always just as present in his music and ‘Post Requisite—which appeared in Kuso—continues in that trend. A smoothly surreal composition that’s creamy and choppy in equal measure, the track is proof that Lotus’ Trademark trance isn’t going away any time soon just because he’s become a filmmaker.
