More new releases (and new discoveries) this week. I’ve mixed it up and included a couple of album, EPs, and tunes this week. And if you click through any of the cover pics above the reviews, they should link you to that record on Spotify.
Albums of the week
Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here
Lil Yachty burst onto the scene as a teenager with his poppy take on hip-hop, famously receiving hate for not bowing down to traditional rap greats, Biggie and 2Pac. On his second album he went in the direction of another generic Migos-style trap boaster, and I haven’t really followed him since. But the hype around this had me intrigued. He seems to be pitching this as his big artistic statement, with it getting talked-up as a rap take on classic psychedelic rock. It sounds interesting at least, but is it actually any good? Well, sort of.
Firstly, you can largely take away the expectation of this as a rap record. Yachty’s never really been known for having a traditional rap flow, but there’s very little you’d recognise as actual rapping on here, it’s mostly Yachty’s mix of auto-tuned vocals and spoken-word. And the psych-rock aspect is a bit overstated, with the album probably owing more to soul/R&B slow jams.
The opener is where the classic rock elements are clearest. I’ve seen various Dark Side of the Moon references thrown around, and it’s pretty obvious why here. It’s a slow-burner, sounding like Breathe (In the Air) with it’s atmospheric guitar build-up, then culminating in a The Great Gig in the Sky moment, with wailing female guest vocals. I think Yachty’s voice works best on this track. He’s just doing a hushed sing-speak vocal but, alongside the music, it’s the closest he gets to the epic feel you suspect he’s aiming for.
Then there’s a nice little MGMT-esque psych-pop tune in the ride-. That leads into running out of time, a bass-heavy summery groove. It’s not bad, but never quite gets out of 2nd gear. And that’s the case for a disappointing six-song stretch.
On their own, the songs are decent enough. But there’s too many slow-paced songs consecutively; they start to blend together, and this section becomes a bit of a slog to get through. It often feels like a better vocalist is needed as Yachty doesn’t seem to have the range to inject enough life to keep things interesting.
Some of the album’s most interesting lyrics are on :(failure(: (BTW, in case you’re wondering, the song titles are all stylised with weird grammar, which is why it looks crap when I’m trying to incorporate them into the middle of sentences). This is a spoken-word interlude, with minimal backing as Yachty reflects on his perceptions of success and failure. But it’s placement in this section feels like a mistake, it might have had more impact coming off one of the albums bigger musical moments.
Drive ME crazy! brings things back to life a bit, aided by the guest vocals, but Yachty’s section doesn’t really go anywhere after a bright start and it again drags. But things finally do wake up again with … IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!! There’s more Dark Side of the Moon vibes with the extended intro, followed by the album’s first real rock-out.
That marks a bit of a turning point as it leads into sAy sOMETHINg, its another slow ballad but it’s the first one where Yachty manages to inject some emotion into his vocals, although your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for his auto-tuned attempts at notes he can’t quite reach. Things begin to flow nicely from here. paint THE sky has the album’s best hook, but doesn’t over-do it. sHouLd i B? is a short electro-ballad, which wouldn’t be out of place on the Drive soundtrack. The Alchemist. teases being the album’s only outright banger, with Yachty finally letting loose some harder rapping, but it turns into something else entirely and is more interesting for it.
Six-minute-long, REACH THE SUNSHINE, makes a fitting closer. It’s fine, but not really anything interesting enough to justify its length. And that’s kind of the story of the album. It makes the mistake of thinking long equals epic. It’s almost an hour long, but could easily lose about 20 minutes off it’s run-time. It plays as a proper album, with songs flowing into each other, which works well towards the closing run, in particular, when there’s enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. But it’s not like there’s an obvious narrative theme running through which would have made particular tracks indispensable. It’s a decent album which would have been better with a bit more quality control.
Best tunes: the BLACK seminole. IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON!!!! The Alchemist.
The Tubs – Dead Meat
I wasn’t going to include this as I was getting this weird overly-earnest, Morrisey as an Irish Folk singer vibe from the vocals. But after a couple of listens I got used to it, and I really started to like this in the last couple days. There’s also a hint of Michael Stipe, so if you focus on that it’s a lot more tolerable.
So I haven’t wrote a song-by-song thing, but take the length of the review to reflect the length of the album, which is a brisk 26 minutes. And there’s no real weak spots here. It doesn’t make the mistakes of the Lil Yachty album, instead it sticks to their strengths and then gets out quickly (they probably wouldn’t have expected a Lil Yachty comparison when they made this).
It’s a mix of sharp post-punk and jangly 80’s indie guitars. And it’s banger after banger (or at least, almost-banger) all the way through.
Best tunes: Illusion pt. II, …Round The Bend, Wretched Lie
EPs of the week
The Heavy Heavy – Life And Life Only
This EP came out last summer from the Brighton-based duo (now turned full band), but I’ve just discovered it this week thanks to Miles Kane’s insta.
I was just gonna recommend one tune, but I couldn’t pick between them so just go and listen to the whole thing. It’s 20 minutes of psychedelic pop tunes, filled with fuzzed-out guitars and The Mamas & the Papas-style harmonies. Plus, you can probably pick out a load more 60’s influences in there.
The only reason I didn’t give it the top rating is because it’s almost a bit too retro. It literally sounds like it could have been been made in the 60’s and the lyrics are all on a bit of a hippy vibe, which feels slightly dated now. Plus, there’s a line about a “Hitchiking loner vagabond” which is a bit like a David Brent lyric. I just get the sense they’re trying to replicate the sound of their favourite old records, rather than finding their own sound.
But, to be fair, it’s a cool sound and they’ve nailed it here. If you just told me this was some lost 60’s record, I’d be all over it.
Badger – Democracy Manifest
Badger are an electronic duo from Newcastle. Electronic is simplifying things a bit though as it’s quite difficult to describe their sound, I’d say it sits somewhere between Aphex Twin and Sleaford Mods.
The four songs here all have a slightly glitchy, slightly industrial sounding backing track, with Geordie-tinged rants over the top. It always feels like it’s building to some bigger moment, which never quite comes. But the subtle little melodies and shifts in the beats slowly reveal themselves on repeated listens. And the restrain in the music allows you to focus in on the lyrics, which feel partly kitchen-sink and partly surrealist.
Oh and the title is a reference to a daft Australian viral/video meme. If you haven’t heard of that, look that up as well, it’s full of ridiculous, quotable lines.
Tunes of the week
Ruby J – Try
I’ll start off by setting the bar high and saying that Ruby J sounds like a mix of Amy Winehouse and Macy Gray. She’s only like 17 and already has a few years of releases under her belt. This tune came out last May and she’s had more recent singles, but I thought this made the best introduction of the tracks I’ve heard.
I usually have a bit of an aversion to anything Winehouse-sounding because her music was already quite retro-influenced and she sort of perfected that sound. So I think it’s easy to come off as a poor imitation. But, Ruby J has an undeniably good voice. And this song is a soul-style ballad with a belter of a chorus. Definitely one to watch.
Seb Lowe – The London Song
Seb Lowe is a young songwriter from Oldham. Lyrically, his songs tend to be little slice-of-life character sketches, with a political edge. His earliest stuff was mainly just him with an acoustic guitar and his almost rapped, rapid-fire vocals. But with each new release he seems to be expanding his sound, and this one isn’t quite like anything he’s done yet.
It’s similar to Self Esteem’s I Do This All The Time, with its spoken-word verses turning into a chorus of slightly self-helpy sounding slogans. But the lyrics kind of flip the message, coming from the perspective of someone being in their own head and keeping everything bottled up. ‘We need to talk about mental health’ style messaging has almost become trendy at this point. Not that I have an issue with that, but it can often come off a bit generic and empty, so I think it’s a lot more relatable to look at things as Lowe does here, and explore the mindset of someone who doesn’t want to open up.
Another strong single from a really promising up and comer.
To catch up on previous’ week’s best new music posts, check out the archive below.
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