A revolving cast of contributors from the Music 101 and Wireless teams showcase some of the best new music releases from the past week.
Future Brown Photo: Unknown
Future Brown - Future Brown
This party music super-group have been burdened by heavy epithets in the media, both positive and negative, due to their dense aesthetic (futuristic: it’s in the name, dummies), the dizzying number of genres reflected in their music and the generous swathe of talent from largely underground MCs that appear on their eponymous first album.
It’s a utopian effort for fans of ghetto/global/bass music, but I fear the real shame is that this may only be understood by those already in the know.
Cerebral shit-fights aside, I’m grateful this album exists. The rappers featured are fire in their own right and each breathes life into an equally fire zone constructed by Future Brown. Chicago Bop kings Sicko Mobb are no exception – their appearance on Big Homie paints cool and stylised hues, far removed from the wonderfully delirious sound world they normally inhabit. - Sophie Wilson
Kanye West – ‘All Day’
After a low-quality version leaked months ago, Kanye’s ‘All Day’ premiered officially this past week, boosted by a notable performance at the Brit Awards featuring a black-clad posse dozens deep and a couple of flame-throwers to boot. Ye's first single since the pared-down 'Only One' features, as he's reputed to do, mainstream-unknowns who've been making serious noise in the corners of the internet - here it’s 21-year-old Minnesotan Allan Kingdom and Brooklyn singer Theophilus London. The beat is combustive and somewhat frenzied but it's KW's verses that come up the most fascinating; his insults are sharp and his delivery his clear and confrontational.
The track is lifted from his forthcoming seventh album, So Help Me God, which is apparently going to be a surprise drop (à la Beyoncé and Drake’s recent releases) and with his publicity tour seemingly in full effect (check his recent interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe or his lecture from Oxford University), it surely can’t be far away. Listen above, buy it via iTunes, and BYO flame thrower. – Hussein Moses
Carly Rae Jepsen - 'I Really Like You'
Like ‘Call Me Maybe’, Carly Rae Jepsen’s 2012 earworm bait, ‘I Really Like You’ is not lyrically challenging – she sings “really” 67 times on the track. If you enjoyed the vaguely 1980s pop sound of 1989 or Robyn’s ‘Call Your Girlfriend’, then you might enjoy this. It’s all synth and digital drums and cutesy story. It’s frothy and bubblegum, and Billboard calls it a pop banger. I would not go so far.
I’ve listened to it three times in the time it has taken me to write these three paragraphs, and already the chorus “I really really really really really really like you / And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?” is indelibly marked in my brain.
With a video starring Justin Beiber and Tom Hanks, The Verge says the song might herald the return of Carly Rae Jepsen. Are any of us ready for that? - Megan Whelan
Carnage feat. ILoveMakonnen - 'I Like Tuh'
That hook is the most persistent earworm that was released this past week and is hard to shake off. Luckily it’s a pretty fun track - one that cements Makonnen’s personal brand as “work hard, play hard”.
The Atlanta rapper teamed up with trap DJ Carnage to create the siren-heavy tune (after all, what is a certified club banger without sirens?) and was apparently written in an hour. While the quick turnaround is obvious in the simple production style, the snappy hook is testament to Makonnen’s songwriting skills. - Ellen Falconer
Surf City - 'Leave Your Worries'
'Leave Your Worries' captures the vibe of those nights or, more truthfully, the nostalgia of looking back on them. The venue closed last May and the hole in Wellington's nightlife still hasn't quite been filled.
Hopefully Surf City will serve up some more heavenly pop hits when the band's new album on Fire Records drops on March 24. - Marcus Stickley
Courtney Barnett - 'Depreston'
'Depreston' is the second single from Courtney Barnett’s sophomore Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit out on Milk! on March 23. The album’s first offering 'Pedestrian At Best' was all Mark E Smith and distortion whereas 'Depreston' is the polar opposite. It seems to roll along at almost a paced amble with gentle guitar interplay and lyrics that hint at suburban gentrification. Amen to the line about saving money on coffee too.
I remember the drunken dads at Barnett's show last year at The Kings Arms. All they wanted was their new Bob Dylan. Someone who has a bit of a ramble along to some guitars. While 'Pedestrian At Best' may have initially scared them off this second album, 'Depreston' will have them sticking around. - Zac Arnold
Marina and The Diamonds - 'Forget'
Since late last year Marina Diamandis has been dropping a track each month in the lead up to the release of her album Froot, and through this drip feed method she has reached new heights on various singles charts including the NZ top ten.
'Forget' has a clearer pop appeal than recent releases 'I'm A Ruin', 'Immortal' and 'Happy' but isn't as lyrically profound as those introspective treats, even if it shares the focus on an isolated narrator. This version of Marina is uncertain of her strength from the very first line but even with that upfront declaration of her doubts her forceful vocal delivery doesn't give the listener the chance to question her strength. - Shaun D Wilson
Honourable mentions
Skepta - 'Shutdown'
Lontalius - Covers (2014)
SJD - 'Little Pieces'
Best Coast - 'California Nights'
Team Dynamite feat. Laughton Kora - 'Feet In The Firma'
The Go! Team - 'What'd You Say'
Warpaint - 'No Way Out (Redux)'
Pale Heads - 'Thomy Cut Off A Head'
Did we miss something? Tell us about it in the comments section.
