We’ve had another dry spell this week in the world of music, best shown by the fact that our biggest album is from Pixar king Randy Newman (the man who brought us ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me’). Singles wise, a couple of new ones from Camila Cabello salvage us somewhat, alongside one from the dance music maestro, Four Tet. It’s been a slow one, but here are the things kind of worthy of some words.
Jake Bugg – ‘How Soon The Dawn’
An incredibly easy listen from the notoriously repetitive singer-songwriter, ‘How Soon The Dawn’ is Jake Bugg‘s first sign of new music since 2016’s On My One, a certified flop according to Pitchfork‘s Laura Snapes, who called it an example of when artists “think they’re smarter than the system“. After falling off the radar, the singer (who I don’t think is ever seen without his guitar) is back with a new one, which isn’t any different from anything else you’ve heard from him before. I think it’s fair to say that Bugg will always fall under the category of British singer-songwriter with a guitar.
Camila Cabello feat. Quavo – ‘OMG’
Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug – ‘Havana’
After her departure from the hugely successful Fifth Harmony (whose name, unfortunately, fails to make sense anymore), songstress Camila Cabello has seen successes of her own – ‘Crying in the Club’ stands at 131 million streams on Spotify, and her collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly at a whopping 227 million – and now with two new tracks under her belt, she continues to solidify her place as the pop world’s newest rising star.
‘OMG’ featuring Quavo is an autotune dream with a sound which screams out Migos, whilst ‘Havana’ sees Latin infusions from the singer (“My heart is in Havana”) who was born in the Cuban capital. The two summer tracks bode well for Cabello’s debut album, The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving, set for release in late September.
Randy Newman – Dark Matter
You know it’s a dry This Week In Records when your biggest album release is from that guy who sang ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me’ from Toy Story. Randy Newman’s voice is unmistakable and can’t help but leave you with a warm feeling in your heart. Tracks like ‘Sonny Boy’ sound like there’s a little bit of “You’ve got a friend in me” likely to pop up at any time. That being said, the tracks are hard to separate from this, and unfortunately, make the album hard to take seriously.
Four Tet – ‘Planet’
The king of all things texture and sensation, Kieran Hebden’s latest release is a perfectly balanced dance track with rich instrumentation and constructed sound. The looping vocals, bursts of percussion and some classic synths makes an almost spiritual sound which won’t want to be missed if you’re a lover of instrumental-driven dance records.
Tom Grennan – Found What I’ve Been Looking For EP
Blending classic singer-songwriter style with funk and soul elements, Tom Grennan creates tracks with a passion enviable. His impeccable vocals soar over this EP, its titular track delivers raw emotion, alongside tracks with less production like ‘Silhouette’, with the result being a collection which can be listened to in tons of different scenarios. This is the third EP Grennan has released in the past two years and, with no album on the horizon yet, we can be sure that when it does come, it’s going to be a big one.
Selected Other Releases
Albums
Briana Marela – Call It Love
Charlie Cunningham – Spotify Live EP
Dan Wilson – Re-covered
Fangclub – Fangclub
Fekky – El Clasico
Girl Ray – Earl Grey
Krrum – Evil Twin EP
Moon Boots – First Landing
Mystery Skulls – One Of Us
Nick Heyward – Woodland Echoes
Ross from Friends – The Outsiders
Steve Angello – Genesis EP
Singles
AJ Tracey – ‘Blacked Out’
BANFF – ‘Act of Misacting’
Bicep – ‘Glue’
BOSCO – ‘Cruel’
Coasts – ‘Come On Over’
Dave East feat. Chris Brown – ‘Perfect’
Deep Purple – ‘Johnny’s Band’
DZ Deathrays – ‘Shred For Summer’
Elli Ingram – ‘Table For Two’
Enter Shikari – ‘Live Outside’
Everything Everything – ‘Desire’
Fink – ‘Cracks Appear’
G-Eazy feat. Jadakiss – ‘Get A Bag’
G-Eazy feat. Phem – ‘Just Friends’
Giraffage feat. Matosic – ‘Slowly’
Grace Mitchell – ‘Capital Letters’
Hercules & Love Affair – ‘Fools Wear Crowns’
Honors – ‘All My Life’
Jack Johnson – ‘Sunsets For Somebody Else’
Jamie Lawson – ‘Can’t See Straight’
Joe Hertz feat. James Vickery – ‘Ritual’
Joel Baker – ‘Bag Of Dreams’
Jordan Rakei – ‘Nerve’
J Tropic – ‘Hold Me Close’
Kelela – ‘LMK’
Kele Okereke feat. Olly Alexander – ‘Grounds for Resentment’
Kesha – ‘Hymn’
King Henry feat. Rhye – ‘Moment’
Kungs – ‘More Mess’
Mallory Knox – ‘Sugar’
Marshmello – ‘Love U’
Mullally – ‘She Don’t Know Me’
Playboi Carti – ‘Butterfly Coupe’
Raye – ‘Sober’
Son Little – ‘Demon to the Dark’
The Fizz – ‘Dancing In the Rain’
The Heavytrackerz feat. JME, P Money, Kurt & Donae’o – ‘Control’
The Undercover Dream Lovers – ‘Come Home’
The War On Drugs – ‘Pain’
Wretch 32 feat. Donae’o & Kojo Funds – ‘Whistle’
Young T & Bugsey – ‘4×4’
Yumi Zouma – ‘December’
This Week In Records: Playlist Edition
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