Single Of The Week
Sampa The Great ft Estelle : Everybody’s Hero
The inclination for self-empowering anthems tends to be going all out with hollow bombast to angle for that sweet, sweet reality TV licensing coin. Sampa The Great achieves a fairer honesty on Everybody’s Hero, connecting with mellow Rahki production, and a guest spot from Estelle. It doesn’t aim for the stratosphere. It gets on your level and looks upward.
Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders : Susan
Either doing too much or not quite enough, Susan doesn’t quite do itself justice. It lacks the panache of the many highlights from most recent album Playmates (though it flirts with that aspiration in the bridge), and it doesn’t strip itself bare to ‘80s/’90s Leonard Cohen levels – but comes frustratingly close. The elements are there. They’re just a bit muddled.
Gold Class : Twist In The Dark
Gold Class stick to the formula on Twist In The Dark – barrelling momentum, swathes of guitar menace cutting through in measured stabs. It works, even if it does lay susceptible to being perceived as a polished remaster of what was present on 2015’s It’s You. It’s a pass, but more dynamism on album number two will be needed to stave off diminishing returns.
Darcy Baylis : 100 Days/Empathy
Following up his stellar full-length Intimacy & Isolation, Darcy Baylis traverses further into emo trap with woozy introspection. He hits the mark both as producer and vocalist, with influence from Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, working in Darcy’s favour.
