The best (and worst) new singles: jade imagine, Sampa The Great and more
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24.07.2019

The best (and worst) new singles: jade imagine, Sampa The Great and more

Jade Imagine
Words by Augustus Welby

Villagers and Ezra Furman also feature.

Jade Imagine – ‘The News’

We’d all be better off without the 24-hour news cycle. There’s a sense of neglecting your civic duty by not staying up to date with each local and international development. On the other hand, what good is compulsively devouring news reports when the main emotions stirred are disappointment, nihilism and despair? “I can’t keep up with the news,” sings Jade McInally in the latest single from the Melbourne band’s upcoming debut LP. It’s their most infectious release to date, amplifying jade imagine’s ability to turn cerebral complexity into soothing indie rock.

Label: Milk! Records

Sampa The Great – ‘OMG’

Almost without fail, Sampa Tembo’s releases have prompted a sputtering of superlatives since The Great Mixtape showed up in 2015. The Melbourne-based MC claims her moniker’s descriptive complement is something to aspire towards, and she’s never recoiled at the task. ‘OMG’ finds Sampa in characteristically radiant form; unapologetic rhymes buttressed by Kwes Darko’s world-building beats. The self-belief that springs from her work is wildly inspiring. The fact she keeps one-upping herself is scary.

Label: Ninja Tune

Ezra Furman – ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend’

Bubblegum doo wop chord progressions have taken on folk music utility for those wanting to flesh out their gender and sexual identity struggles in a glamorous way. Ezra Furman prefers he/his/him pronouns, but here deliberates about whether to ditch Ezra for Esme and desires nothing more than to become his crush’s girlfriend. It’s punchy, melodic and charmingly unkempt. The line, “Baby, it’s not all about what you thought that you wanted / It’s about the way I can make you feel,” will resonate with any digital-daters constantly wondering who else might be out there.

Label: Bella Union/PIAS

Villagers – ‘Summer’s Song’

What a beautiful lad Villagers’ Conor O’Brien is. That sounds patronising, but his songwriting typically sends a glaze of adoration across your face. ‘Summer Song’, a standalone single that comes less than a year after the Irish band’s The Art of Pretending to Swim LP, sounds like it was produced by a collaboration between Kevin Parker and the late Richard Swift. Compared to some of O’Brien’s quintessential compositions, it’s centred more on a feeling than penetrating lyricism. Lines like, “We’ll climb the sunlight one beam at a time,” still hit where it hurts.

Label: Domino Recording Company