- 5 Songs You Need To Hear This Weekend - 2 August, 2013
- 5 Songs You Need To Hear This Weekend - 26 July, 2013
- 5 Songs You Need To Hear This Weekend - 19 July, 2013
FIVE SONGS YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT.
1- Kendrick Lamar ft. Lady Gaga – Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe (Remix)
Kendrick Lamar has been described as the saviour of Hip Hop, with his clever lyrics, classic production and polished rap style. This track breezes on by like the best of Snoop Dogg, KanYe West and Kid Cudi all put together. The addition of Gaga on the remix will certainly get the song noticed, even if it is one of her most subtle releases to date. It will certainly split the audience as to whether her inclusion is at all necessary, but for me, I’m pleased just to hear her doing something a little less forced. ‘Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe’ is everything that was great about Hip Hop, and if my glass is half full, perhaps the future of it too.
2- Iggy Azalea – Bounce
I’m hoping to get on board with this quicker than I did with her debut, ‘Work’. This week Iggy Azalea premiered her follow up single, ‘Bounce’, which shows an entirely different edge to her as an artist. Whilst ‘Work’ is a wonderful slow-burner, with a lot more depth, ‘Bounce’, as you can imagine by the title, is a total unashamed slut-dropping, booty shaking, all out party track. This is about as instant as a song can be, hurriedly launching into quick-fire hooks and a massive electronic bass. However, like most instant highs, I expect the comedown to follow soon afterwards, so enjoy this while that lasts.
3- Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Young Blood
This week sees the return of everyone’s favourite posh bird, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who failed to develop her style with the paint-by-numbers electropop sound on her 2010 album, Make A Scene. ‘Young Blood’ is a free demo released to fans as a taster of what’s to come on album #5, expected later this year. Thankfully it’s a much more refined affair, echoing back to her early days in 90s indie-band, theaudience. Simply, Sophie’s beautiful voice over a piano is all that’s required to make this track soar. There’s a definite nod to people like Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton and Laura Marling who have perfected this style in the last decade or so. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get tinkered about with too much in the final edit.
4- Nero – Into The Past
With the soundtrack to the movie The Great Gatsby released this month, it appears to be a tale of two halves. On one hand there’s the already over-saturated Emeli Sande murdering a Beyonce classic, while Beyonce herself does an all out massacre of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’. Then on the other hand we have an epic journey through the likes of Florence + The Machine, Sia, and this from gods of Dubstep, Nero. But surely ‘Into The Past’ can’t be the same guys that gave us the club hits ‘Guilt’ and ‘Promises’? This gallant beast of a track seems to bulldoze its way through the speakers, with soothing vocals over a whopping great production that leaves the rest of the soundtrack for dust.
5- Kelis – Jerk Ribs
The exciting thing about Kelis has always been the totally unknown. You never know what’s coming next. From the Neptunes’ barking production of her debut album, to the bonkers ‘Milkshake’ and through to her last Euro-dance album, Flesh Tone. ‘Jerk Ribs’ is a real grower of a track. Instantly recognisable by voice, but this one blends together R&B, Neo-Soul and even some jazz with the presence of horns throughout. The title however seems more like a desperate attempt to get noticed, rather than bearing any relevance to the song, which originally came with the more sensible title, ‘Call On Me’. But who am I to question the genius in the girl that stomped her way into the business by shouting ‘I Hate You So Much Right Now’ on her debut? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.
