Sup listeneaders/readisteners! Now onto the fifth straight week of new music tracks, having fun with this series, hope you’re enjoying hearing these tracks too. Yet again, it was a pretty varied & interesting seven days, it seems as if the more attention and effort you put into searching for new tunes, the better gems you’ll find. As is the case with this week.
Average Rap Band – “Fly Casual”
Tom Scott’s current project Average Rap Band is in the process of releasing their next effort El Sol, and dropped this track in advance yesterday. Along with the earlier promotional video, the visuals in “Fly Casual” are packed with 1980s/1990s nostalgic aesthetics – including neon-clad rollerbladers, 32-bit video games, TV advertisements and old school hip hop videos. The track itself, feeling like an alternative R&B/hip hop fusion, aims for a mellow, chilled vibe and pretty much nails it. 3.5/5
Flatbush ZOMBiES – “R.I.P.C.D.”
FINALLY! 3001: A Laced Odyssey is here, the debut LP by Flatbush Zombies after years of mixtapes from the Brooklyn collective. It’s something of a coincidence to see a track titled “R.I.P.C.D.” seeing as Kanye West tweeted about the “death” of CDs a few days ago. Though I often consider the so-called ‘demise’ of physical formats from a collector’s POV, there is another dimension as well – how it affects musicians, as Eric Arc Elliott says on the hook “RIP to the CD, can’t even play my hits / Cause new computer shit without the means to play the shit”. Potential line of the week from Meechy Darko as well – “My semi-automatic will splatter a nigga like Jackson Pollock”. 4/5
Joey Bada$$ – “Brooklyn’s Own”
March 9 marked the 19-year anniversary of the death of Notorious B.I.G., the undisputed king of Brooklyn. Joey Bada$$, who would have been just 2 years old when Biggie died, dropped this track as a way of tribute, another teaser for what I can only assume to be a new project following B4.DA.$$. In comparison to the tougher, aggressive & confident track “Ready”, this sees Joey back in his comfort zone – jazzy, laid-back beats with a catchy hook, straight out of the Digable Planets/A Tribe Called Quest playbook. 3.5/5
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “Gamma Knife”
GAMMA! Aussie psych-rock outfit King Gizzard’s next full-length Nonagon Infinity is due next month. “Gamma Knife” bursts with electrified walls of psychedelic guitars, barking “uhhrrrwooo” vocals and a slightly manic rhythm section. It’s like Pink Floyd’s “Let There Be More Light” amped up by several more notches – maybe even up to 11. Syd Barrett would’ve definitely been tripping out to this, front & centre – facepaint, cult robe and everything. 4/5
PJ Harvey – “The Community of Hope”
Alt-rock/folk-rock queen PJ Harvey’s The Hope Six Demolition Project isn’t far away – about a month to be exact, a short space of time considering the 5-year gap after Let England Shake. It packs quite a bit in for a 2:24 track – strong guitar & rhythm sections accompanied by forceful yet melodic vocals from Harvey and backup singers on the chorus. It’s slated to be the opener on the new album, detailing a small township or community negatively affected by government and corporate development projects, ironically called “The Community of Hope”. Will be interesting to see how this concept plays out through the rest of the album. 4/5
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