Nice harmonies, kind of makes me think of Lucius. "Let Us Die," the final song, is also a good one. I'm surprising myself about this album, but I really enjoy it.
Bartees Strange - Farm to Table. Really odd album, a mix of several sounds. Like, "Mulholland Dr." makes me think of so many different things - Living Colour, Gary Clark Jr., 80's R&B ballads, an emo rock band - while also including some auto-tune voice effects. I don't know what to do with it. "Co-signs" is more of a straight rap soaked in Auto-tune. Dude is weird in the first place, I remember reading a bio about him in Rolling Stone and his whole image is incongruous. "Wretched" is the top track, and surprisingly it only has 1.3 million streams. In my mind, this guy was blowing up in a major way.
Big ol' dude in overalls, looking like a Key and Peele sketch thing about hillbilly folk, and yet his voice is so nice. And the song pops in like a dance party track after the slow intro. Just all strangely mashed together. Sort of makes me think of Khalid as well. "Escape This Circus" starts like an introspective sing-songwriter thing, and then erupts into a blast of rock guitars. You just never know what is next here. Sometimes it makes me wonder if a different album has started. Just like with his voice, swinging from falsetto to depth and back without much warning. I think I actually like it, although its hard to say!
Noah Cyrus - The Hardest Part. Hard to believe I am saying this, but I love this album. Some of the songs in the middle don't hit quite so hard, but the start and end make up for those in spades. Great songwriting, great vocals, nice instrumentation. Just all-around great for me. The acoustic version of "Unfinished" at the end is lovely. "Noah (Stand Still)" is also lovely and really poignant. To me, the killer track is "Mr. Percocet," with killer lyrics and a memorable tune. Although it is the second-most streamed (loses to "I Burned L.A. Down," which is also good) that is the one I want you to hear. 14.4 million streams.
Hey overly pouty lips and fame always make me want to stay away from her, but the chorus of that song is just perfection. "You're only kind when you're all fucked up, you're only mine until your high is gone." You can feel the reality in those words. And the line of "you are malevolent and benevolent" is a slick little turn of the tongue. I just think this sounds slinky and interesting, which being lyrically solid. Makes me wish I could have seen her ACL set last year (but she was against Wet Leg, so there was no chance). Really good disc. I know you are doubting me right now, but just try the first few songs and give it a chance.
Little Simz - NO THANK YOU. I was super bummed last year when Simz announced that she couldn't go forward with her world tour because the costs were just too high. I had wanted a chance to see her do this thing in person. Hopefully, since I have seen her on a few festival posters, she'll head to Austin and throw it down. She just has a great cadence to her flow, a confidence and tone that is really appealing to me. She never gets loud, or excited, or over-the-top, she just cruises along over some relatively relaxed beats, telling stories and being imminently relatable. The big track is the one I hear on the local radio every once in a while - "Gorilla" - with 8.5 million streams.
Those horns bust out like it's about to blow up, but then the beat slides in with a little wink and she starts off by citing Beenie Man. That bopping little bass line and loopy violin bit is just excellent. She just comes off as chill and fun and interesting. I don't think she is saying anything much in that track (unlike some of the others where she rails against the music biz) but it just sounds so chill! Good disc to just bob along to and enjoy.
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