Lontalius : It’s Not Love
Pulling a Yeezy-esque release of one new track each week in the lead-up to new album I’ll Forget 17, Lontalius (AKA Eddie Johnston) upholds promise with the chiming It’s Not Love. Continuing the exploration between triumph and resignation in the framework of love or lack thereof, Johnston shows lyrical nuance that draws in alongside wonderfully crafted melody.
Beyoncé : Formation
This feels like perfection, but it never feels safe. I feel like 2013’s self-titled LP was the beginning of a new chapter for Beyoncé, an ascension into all-time musical pantheon, beyond the realm of mere pop star. The journey is still in progress, and Formation is another assured sign that Bey is on the right track. And with lines such as “I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making,” the aspiration is believable. This is important.
Violent Soho : Viceroy
Embracing some of the stronger pop inclinations of golden-era alternative rock, Viceroy slinks along while Luke Boerdom flexes vocal chops in the bare open, the riffs taken for a walk as they pound with dexterity. Things are on the right track for new album Waco, out next month.
Beastwars : Call To The Mountain
The first taste from Beastwars’ upcoming third LP cascades down like waves of magma. The Kiwi hard rock titans do what they do best, better than they’ve ever done, and that thing is: sick fuck-off riffs played fuck-off loud. It’s enough to make album title The Death Of All Things sound like a legitimate threat.
Single of the Week
Marcus Whale : My Captain
After the teaser serving of If (Demo) late last year, Collarbones/Black Vanilla vocalist Marcus Whale releases My Captain, the first single from debut solo album Inland Sea. It follows a similar dynamic to If (Demo) with a slow build eschewing a pop structure. But here, the build is wrought with anxious clatter underneath, soothed by Whale’s disarming vocal, the ‘drop’ amplified to an illogical extreme. It’s a nasty beauty, blindsiding with industrialism while exuding poise and power.
