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John Preston picks his seven favourite tracks of the week.
Chlöe, ‘Treat Me’
Chlöe continues her solo venture, as one half of Chlöe x Halle, with ‘Treat Me’ – a slick hybrid of new and old school R&B that will appeal across the board. With a prominent sample of Bubba Sparxxx’s ‘Ms New Booty’ and a video that TikTok will lap up, Chlöe proves she knows how to dominate the scene.
Confidence Man, ‘Push It Up’
Confidence Man specialise in retro house music – the type which used to command packed dancefloors as well as top global pop charts. A whole album of this (it’s the duo’s second, called Tilt), is very nearly too much of a good thing. But tracks like ‘Push It Up’ prove that they can deliver material equal to their heroes.
Empress Of, ‘Save Me’
Following three albums that each take a related but significantly different sonic path, any new release from Empress Of is eagerly anticipated and not easy to predict. ‘Save Me’ leans more on the singer’s experimental side, but is very much a dance track which refuses to compromise.
Latto, ‘Big Energy’
Latto is a young rapper from Georgia who recently released her consistently entertaining second album 777. With a big Dr. Luke production which heavily samples Tom Tom Club’s ‘Genius Of Love’ (which many will know from Mariah Carey’s 1995 single ‘Fantasy’), ‘Big Energy’ is an anthem in the making.
Maggie Rogers, ‘That’s Where I Am’
Maggie Rogers returns after a near three-year absence with a sound and a song which imply that Rogers wants an even bigger bite of the massive pop-cherry pie this time around. Frantically chopped-up loops and bright vocals wrap themselves around the irresistible guitars and lethal melody.
Kae Tempest, ‘Move’
It’s thrillingly disconcerting to hear Kae Tempest’s dynamic rhymes performed over such tough electro beats. ‘Move’ takes their musical soundscape to unexplored territory and this is expanded upon further on their fourth album The Line Is a Curve. A compelling success, Tempest remains an intriguing poet, performer and songwriter.
BANKS, ‘Meteorite’
BANKS has largely reimagined her sound and her fourth album Serpentina is a more acoustic and ballad-heavy set of songs, with less of the electro gothic R&B that has typified her style. ‘Meteorite’, however, so effectively mimics Nelly Furtado and Timbaland’s sound from 2006 that you can’t help but want to relive those naughty noughties.
