Pusha T : Untouchable
“I drop once every blue moon to separate from you kings of the YouTube”, opens King Push on Untouchable, backing up the claim with precision missile perfection. Along with a lofty Biggie sample for a hook, vicious bars compound a creeping beat that nearly matches Numbers On The Board. Taken from the just-announced album Darkest Before Dawn, a prelude to the massively anticipated King Push, due out sometime in 2016. Hopefully.
Big White : Dinosaur City
Big White struck magic with the dreamy You Know I Love You, backing it up here with the more down-tempo Dinosaur City. It’s pretty shit. Maybe that’s just in comparison to what came before, but Dinosaur City doesn’t go anywhere. It lacks any dynamic, and the overwrought lyrical playfulness continually falls flat while everything congeals into a smear of nothingness. A betrayal of promise.
Lafawndah : Tan
A welcome shot of refreshment, Lafawndah constructs a sparse, vocal-led beast in Tan, an affront to any notion of trend, and a triumph of originality. Emotion is there, devoid of conceit, and presented with genuine ideas. Arresting and hypnotic, with nasty percussive flair elevating it to another level throughout. The title track to an EP, due February.
Oh Pep! : The Race
Oh Pep! have an assured faith in their off-kilter lyrics. On The Race, the confidence pays off, rewarding those who keep up. The jaunt threatens to offend through obnoxiousness, but a measured approach shows good taste. Largely breathless, impressively so.
Goon Sax : Boyfriend
There’s a deadpan charm within Boyfriend, a blank canvas for projected emotion – ironic if you want to – but that’s not to say its heart isn’t strong. It resonates realness in its yearning for “anything real” during stop-start lethargic verses. Threats to “break your heart” are delivered with a knowing defeat, but that just adds to the charm.
Single Of The Week
Francis Inferno Orchestra : Harmony
Harmony feels reliable, like clockwork, lulling with gentle hiss and a hypnotist’s bell, layered with strings that cut in and out of vision like a dream. Then, a house beat that hits the spot, somewhere in the heart. It’s one of the strongest, if not the strongest, local releases of the year – it’s got presence but never verges on tiresome.
