Quick Hits, Vol. 296 (Little Simz, Go Fever, Clairo, The Harder They Fall Sdtrk)

Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.  This album has been an earworm for me for a while now.  Can't get enough of it.  It's weird, not a straight-forward rap disc at all, and it's not perfect, but I really can't quit it.  From the power horns of "Introvert," to the laid back chill of "Woman," to the soul-sampling funk of "Two Worlds Apart," the opening of the disc is excellent.  Well, and then the next song breaks out like it's a James Bond theme song before the beat drops.  Fun stuff.  The top track is "Woman," with 12.6 million streams.

Her flow just makes me so happy.  Sounds like someone just having a good time and hoping that you do the same.  I also have grinned at the voice mail outro repeatedly.  PICK UP THE PHONE!  "Point and Kill" is also a fun one - digs into her African background (she is British-Nigerian) with a good groove.  The wild thing is that this is her fourth album!  Never heard of any of it until now.  Good on her.  I haven't been able to quit this album so I'll let it hang around.

Go Fever - Long Run.  Really digging this disc.  These are some local folks who KUTX was pimping a few months back, and its good times rock and roll.  Nothing fancy, not too hard, just happy times and chugging guitars.  The top track is the opener, but I'll give you the second track - "Nobody's Business" with 15k streams (criminally small!).  By the way, if you click on the top video I found for "Go Fever," it was a boring ass presentation about people who want to launch rockets before making sure it is safe.  And anyway, I won't give you that song because it doesn't have a video.  Here is a live thing at KUTX studios.

Bummer, the description of the video says that the couple in charge of the band are actually moving to California to finish their degrees.  Do they not know that Austin happens to have a good University where they could finish up that degree?  Duh!  But I guess she's Australian anyway, so it is hard to try to claim her as one of Austin's own.  Anyway, those three songs are a good representation of what you get here - poppy indie rock with a good grove.  Sweet!

Clairo - Sling.  Not sure where this one came from, but it is a lovely disc of low-key indie stuff.  Sort of reminds me of that newer St. Vincent album at times, a little throwback/lounge-y, but with a charming wit and smooth sound to boot.  Apparently produced by Jack Antonoff, but you never get any of his bombast or 80's vibes in here.  Maybe on the top track, you at least get a quick beat that pops up after the first verse.  "Amoeba" is that track, with just over 34 million streams.  That's a lot!

I dig the groove, and the lyrics make me grin too.  "I can hope tonight goes diffеrently, But I show up to the party just to leavе."  Most of the album is less snappy than that one, the instruments kind of smear around and her voice is rarely clear or forced to the front.  Feels insecure.  But it also sounds lovely and charming!  I like it.

The Harder They Fall Soundtrack.  This is pretty great.  I had thrown it into my queue before even seeing the movie, but after having seen the flick (which is bloody as hell but still enjoyable) the tracks work even better.  It is a weird mix, especially when you know that it goes along with a western movie, to have reggae and rap and soul as the genre selection, but it works.  Also, I like the little skit bits of dialogue they use in here.  The "nincompoop" one makes me grin each time.  You get all sorts of big names - Jay Z, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Seal, CeeLo Green, and lesser folks who are still rad, like Kid Cudi and Koffee, and then a bunch that I don't know at all.  As usual, Jay Z sounds cool but ain't saying nothing.  And of course his two tracks are the ones with the most streams because that is just how the world works now.  I'm going to give you the CeeLo one instead though, because I dig it.  846k streams for "Blackskin Mile."

CeeLo's voice is so good.  If you haven't watched the movie, you really should.  Some very good performances and some ridiculously ridiculous gun battles.  Anyway, fun soundtrack that works really well with the substance of the flick AND isn't just a bunch of old retread tracks being thrown together for nostalgia.  Like, I don't know Barrington Levy at all, but his "Better Than Gold" is an excellent reggae track that has a sweet groove and nice vocals.  Reading up on the guy, there was a time in the 80's when he was the "biggest star" on Jamaica.  Cool to have that tucked among current-sounding rap tracks.