A showcase of some of the best new music releases from the past week.
Astro Children – Plain and Fancy Killings
If you’re still sleeping on Astro Children, consider this your last warning. The Dunedin-based duo - made up of the Millie Lovelock and Isaac Hickey – told The Wireless recently that their approach is darker and more political than ever before. Plain and Fancy Killings features the sinister ‘Play It As It Lays’, and by all accounts it’s their best work so far. Don’t hesitate.
Anderson .Paak – ‘Come Down’
Early days, we know, but Malibu might just be a true contender for best album of 2K16. And while ‘The Season / Carry Me’ and ‘Room In Here’ are among the must-hear highlights, ‘Come Down’ (produced by the legendary Hi-Tek) is a very worthy jumping-off point.
Future – Purple Reign
Trap heartthrob Future has tapped into some sort of next-level productivity in the last 12 months or so and here we have Purple Reign, another new mixtape which dropped seemingly out of nowhere this past weekend. The general consensus on the internet seems to be that either a) this might actually be his weakest release yet or b) he’s going to continue his takeover through until at least 2020. Though, to be frank, if you find yourself deep in the LiveMixtapes comment section like I somehow did just now, it’s probably time to log off. On another note, imagine how much you would get done if you were Future for a day. We’ve all got deadlines, man.
Stephen John Marr – ‘A Point In Every Direction’
Hex – ‘Albatross’
Wellington “pagan folk metal” act Hex shared ‘Albatross’ earlier this week, one of the few releases since they introduced themselves back in 2013 with ‘Witches of the Hex’. Thankfully, that slow patch should be over for a good while since the trio have promised a full-length debut album will arrive later this year. Scope out their Facebook for more.
The Pleasure – ‘Pray’ / ‘Everything Turns To Gold’
Lawrence Goodwin, he of Career Girls, Caroles and CHEATS, has just unveiled two new songs under a new moniker, The Pleasure. So far - apart from this Facebook post - there’s not a heap to go on, but the songs speak for themselves. ‘Everything Turns To Gold’ nods its head to a handful of noise-rock precursors, while the slightly more hard-edged ‘Pray’ blossoms into something real special in the last third of the song.
Kanye West feat. Kendrick Lamar – ‘No More Parties In L.A.’
Raps on raps on raps.
