A revolving cast of contributors showcase some of the best new music releases from the past week.
Career Girls - 'Apex 45'
The beauty of Career Girls, something that is only becoming more evident as Lawrence Goodwin’s work progresses, is the aptness to enable an exuberant, frenetic explosiveness to his pieces - something that you soon realise is more transportive than it is hyperactive.
Take in the deft switches and cuts within 'Apex 45', an intensely progressive track that, within two opening-minutes, goes through four major shifts in groove, swiftly followed by more. But it's not a flippant flinging of grooves or feels, it's a burrowing.
A considered feeling within the track is consistently built upon (or possibly broken down?) into an array of sister-sounds. They come from that same area of consideration, but represent a totally different means to acquaint yourself with the track.
You’d think the track’s bittersweetness would be something hollow and shell-like, but so very quickly, 'Apex 45' conveys that it's really not; it’s progressive. It's all at once leaden, bone-shattering, introspective and ascendant. - Thomas Shoebridge
Dresses – ‘Catch’
Back in my Tumblr youth I was an avid follower of a teenage girl who went by the handle ‘bonerdoner’ also known as Timothy Heller. With her unusual first name, sharp wit, and cute webcam ukulele covers, I became a fan of her pretty much just as a person. Internet crushes come and go but I always remembered Timothy, and though I grew up and deleted my Tumblr, I followed her on Twitter for sentimental reasons.
I am happy now to reframe this vague voyeurism as prescient talent scouting, and in years subsequent I have again become a fan of Timothy who, along with bandmate and former boyfriend (!) Jared Maldonado, has formed the band Dresses, and who have just released their new track ‘Catch’.
Mixing their harmonies and their metaphors with lines like “Don’t wanna be another one that you throw back/ this is a two way street not a cul-de-sac”, ‘Catch’ evokes cute old-timey pop without being twee, while their description of anxious, tentative romance is simple and universal.
Reminiscent perhaps of boy-girl indie pop duos such as She and Him, Dresses are less preoccupied with vintage affectations, and the effect is nuanced rather than naff. Their particular brand of indie-pop is by no means groundbreaking: it is however melodic, melancholy and completely charming. ‘Catch’ is fun, summery and totally (*wink*) catchy, and I wholeheartedly welcome bonerdoner back into my life. – Katie Parker
Mayer Hawthorne – ‘Handy Man’
‘Handy Man’ is a previously unreleased cut from the How Do You Do sessions back in 2011 - Mayer Hawthorne’s sophomore release as a solo artist. Like the rest of that record, ‘Handy Man’ flawlessly re-creates a 1970s rhythm and blues groove with all the classic Mayer moves - stonking horn riffs, a basic A-B-A-B topline, piano and baritone sax solos in the bridge, and his signature blue-eyed soul swag on top.
He’s not, and never has been, a vocal powerhouse, but that’s never really been the point of Mayer Hawthorne. (A history, for the uninitiated: Hawthorne came to making throwback soul music because he didn’t want to pay to license old samples for the rap songs he was recording. A friend heard Hawthorne’s “half-baked soul tunes” (his words) and happened to mention them to the head of Stones Throw Records, Peanut Butter Wolf, and the rest is… well, you know.)
For anyone who feared that Tuxedo, Mayer Hawthorne’s new collaborative project with Jake One, spelled the end of his falsetto-wielding funk-soul days... this one’s for you. Perhaps not an assurance of the old Mayer Hawthorne’s return, but at least something to keep the hope alive while he turns disco throwback tricks with Tuxedo. They’re playing September 18th at The Studio, incidentally. – Sarin Moddle
Molly Nilsson – ‘1995’
Molly Nilsson is hard to categorize and place in a neat little box to easily describe to friends or commit to paper. I like that aspect of her very much and it’s what I enjoy immensely about ‘1995’. There’s an eerie unsettling quality that reminds me of Julee Cruise’s ‘Falling’ and the forlorn saxophone underscoring the final refrain just adds to it. Despite that, it’s also strangely upbeat in terms of its instrumentation, and this makes a perfect juxtaposition that makes revisiting the song a real pleasure.
Nilsson’s vocals here are heavily processed and multi-tracked. It strips a little bit of the humanity of her voice that, when combined with her deeper register, is a great springboard for her to work with.
Lyrically, ‘1995’ doesn’t really grab you, but that doesn’t matter so much in the context. The vocals are just another texture. Previously, her vocals have been reminiscent of Nico, but in this case the processing cuts out some of the harsher vowel sounds and her register has a flash more treble.
Overall, ‘1995’ has lovely swathes of black gloom, white light and in the right places grey skies which makes it utterly compelling. – Luke Jacobs
Childbirth – ‘Let’s Be Bad’
Childbirth’s ‘Let's Be Bad’ mocks with more than a wink and a nod, indulging in every kind of romcom cliché faster than you can say "hughgrant" three times. The best line is “let's split a dessert”, which is like when you ask your frenemy if they want to split the last of the wine bottle with you, except you know, deep down in your heart, that you want all the rest of the bottle to yourself (you are probably wine-addled anyway, seeing as it's the last of the bottle).
By using every cliché in the book, Childbirth subvert these notions from the realm of "ha ha dessert" into something more concrete and anthem-like, as the guitars swell yet never overdo it. “It's a ladies night” turns into a battlecry, as if taking sad pub signs everywhere (the ones that say "Ladies Night!! 2 for 1 special!” and are written in chalk-approximations of comic sans).
Other websites have called this a “punk freakout”, but let's be honest, it's really great pop. The whispered dessert line is the best whispered line since the fat guy from The Pixies made sing-whispering a thing in 'Is She Weird'. Eat your dessert and have it too. – Eden Bradfield
What's your song of the week? Tell us about it in the comments section.
