Kanye West feat. Kendrick Lamar : No More Parties In LA
This is fun. Kanye goes in, sounding like he’s racing the beat to purge thought, his focus everywhere, which plays to his strengths. K-Dot’s verse is solid, Ye is honest, “High speed turbo thoughts”, the biggest punchline coming in another shoutout to the laptop-stealing cousin. Yeezy season approachin’ with the Swish tracklist arriving with the proclamation “So happy to be finished with the best album of all time.” Let’s see.
Iggy Pop : Gardenia
It’s easy to be sceptical of new Iggy Pop material, especially for those burned by The Stooges’ 2007 infinitely shit The Weirdness. Gardenia, the first taste of Iggy Pop’s surprise new album Post Pop Depression (recorded with Josh Homme), is not bad. Not great. But not bad. Pop is in croon mode, a little like Sister Midnight without the danger. A few lyrical clunkers, a dearth of magic moments. Passable, but forgettable.
Pet Shop Boys : Inner Sanctum
A spaced out early-AM club banger, Inner Sanctum is a breathy build to a tasteful drop, an exercise in restraint – to its own detriment, feeling too brief, falling short of potential reward. There’s still worth to be found here, a solid reminder of Pet Shop Boys’ continued relevance.
Jonah And Sandy : Fishy Swishy
A charmer of a pop ditty, Fishy Swishy sees Jonah (15) and Sandy (10) flex melodic chops in an ode to pescetarian dining, never too jokey as to be abrasive, endearing despite its novelty factor. Good on them for having a go.
Camp Cope : Lost: Season One
I’ll never forget that day, rocking up to school, classes virtually a write-off as we spoke about what happened the night before (the discourse was primarily IRL those days, Videogum recaps still a few seasons away). “They took Walt. Who is they? Fuck. What’s in the hatch?” The morning after the season one finale was a great madness – we were kids, joining minds, coming up with bullshit theories. Camp Cope’s Lost: Season One plays on the reference, direct and indirect, nu-nostalgia compounding a wistful yearning. It’s well-crafted emotional rock.
Single Of The Week
The Drones : To Think That I Once Loved You
Farrrrrrken hell.
