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John Preston shares his picks of the seven best songs for the week beginning 21 October 2021.
Mitski, ‘Working for the Knife’
It’s an exciting week when Mitski returns and sounds so unexcited, lamenting a life that she can’t control and one that she’s desperate to escape. The Bowie-esque soundscapes are piercing and near overwhelming as ‘Working for the Knife’ crashes out of view. Mitski proves once again why she sits at the very top of her profession.
Hatchie, ‘Crush’
Hatchie takes a song that Jennifer Paige made famous decades ago and she still manages to make the song her own. This is despite using a similar musical mood, which more than just nods to 90s chart pop and was previewed so solidly for her return single ‘This Enchanted’. This is Hatchie’s moment and I can’t wait to hear more.
Millie Turner, ‘Made A Vow’
It’s only a few weeks since ‘Luv, Luv, Luv’ was being championed by the Vada crew, and now Millie is back with an even better synth grinder that demonstrates just how well she can dominate the genre. Millie is one of the many, relatively new artists who need a bigger platform to spread their perfection – so seek her out.
Arca, Sia, ‘Born Yesterday’
‘Born Yesterday’ works best as a curio – in that this is what a remix of a Sia demo, that’s been floating round the internet for years, done by art-pop visionary Arca sounds like. Sadly, because the song is just mediocre and this is a surprisingly straightforward reimagining of it, the most perplexing question for Arca is why?
Daddy Squad, Dita Von Teese, ‘My Magic Number’
The remixes of ‘My Magic Number’ are in and this by Lauer is probably the best of a strong bunch. Dita Von Teese deadpans about laser beams and working swivelled hips in a thumping track that straddles Bobby O high-energy and electro house in the most debauched and delicious way.
ELIO, ‘TYPECAST’
‘TYPECAST’ is somewhat of a departure for the talented and craftily creative electro-dance singer ELIO, but then I suppose that’s the whole point. The quality is as high as that heard on her Can You Hear Me Now? EP, released earlier in the year, but with a harder and more swaggering stance which is strongly affected by R&B.
CXLOE, ‘Close’
CXLOE piles on the sonic drama with the snarling contrast of near-whispered verses and a thundering chorus on career highlight ‘Close’. It’s a long worn-out marketing ploy now to throw out as many singles as possible to see what sticks before investing in an artist. CXLOE surely has proved her worth, though, so let’s have that album now please.
