How quickly a week rolls around. After taking a break last week (exams are no fun), I’m back sans Sam (exams really are no fun) to bring you another week full of new music releases. We’ve got a new collaboration from South Londoners Tom Misch and Loyle Carner, an album from blossoming Django Django, and that comeback album from Craig David as well as some other things worth talking about. Without further ado, I’ll jump into the brand new things gifted to us this week.
Zedd ft. Maren Morris & Grey – ‘The Middle’
After his most recent single with Liam Payne, Zedd is back again to give us a taste of some new material – this time with country singer Maren Morris and electro duo Grey. A relatively simple track, ‘The Middle’ relies on its sparse backbeat and Morris’ trustworthy vocals. It seems as though the singer could be the latest country artist to make it to the mainstream pop world if this latest track is anything to go by. Having never heard of her before, she is certainly suited to the ‘female vocalist on a dance track’ role, but who says she can’t use this feature to spawn a solo career?
Alongside Maren’s vocals is the work of electronic duo Grey, who have collaborated with Zedd countless times in the past. Talking of ‘The Middle’, Zedd remarked: “It was super fun working with Maren, because she is clearly an amazing singer and very talented musician, and, I always love working with Grey, because we push ourselves to make the best music possible and the end result is incredible.”
Django Django – Marble Skies
As early as their 2012 debut, Django Django was determined to remove themselves from the constraints of genre. Their latest record, Marble Skies seems to be a testament to this determination. Their disco/rock/psychedelic sound is captivating, something you’ll likely not have experienced prior to hearing the band. Tracks like ‘In Your Beat’ see lead singer Vincent Neff bounce his way across the track underneath a punchy disco rhythm whilst others such as ‘Tic Tac Toe’ serve warped beats alongside traditional percussion and guitar. Featuring the same kind of experimentation with sound which we’ve seen on recent releases from the likes of Everything Everything, if there is one thing to take away from Django Django, its that they’re probably unlike any other artist you’ve listened to before. A sound completely unique to them alone, there’s not likely to be another band like them ever again either.
Tom Misch ft. Loyle Carner – ‘Water Baby’
I feel like 2018 may just be Tom Misch’s year. ‘Water Baby’ sees the South London singer merge soul with hip-hop on the latest track from his upcoming debut, Geography. Featuring rapper of the moment, Loyle Carner, Misch glides over the track effortlessly whilst Carner interjects with his distinctive matter-of-fact rapping style. The result is an extremely compelling record and one which will fit very snugly amongst his burgeoning discography. Returning the favour, after Misch featured on his Mercury nominated debut, Carner gets personal in his verses (“Cause money is tight, maybe tighter than it was before/I’m helping out on the mortgage, I really can’t afford”) and is really needed on the track (something which cannot be said for the majority of rap features). Misch has a flurry of tour dates planned in the run-up to Geography‘s release. Try and get yourself along to one – you certainly won’t regret it.
The Vaccines – ‘Nightclub’
After their return from a brief hiatus, The Vaccines bounced back with ‘I Can’t Quit’ a couple of weeks ago. They’re following it up with new track ‘Nightclub’ and cementing their ‘return to their roots’ that they’ve been proclaiming. Somewhat similar to the band’s older material, the track also gives us a darker side to the band but with the same kind of angsty sound. Driven mainly by guitar, lead singer Justin Young serves up some classic Vaccines style lyrics, and all in all the track really does bode well for upcoming album Combat Sports.
Sting with Shaggy – ‘Don’t Make Me Wait’
Why/how did this happen?
Selected Other Releases
Albums
Dream Wife – Dream Wife
Craig David – The Time Is Now
Singles
anais – ‘nina’
Ciaran Lavery – ‘To Chicago’
Fenne Lily – ‘On Hold’
Franz Ferdinand – ‘Lazy Boy’
George FitzGerald ft. Lil Silva – ‘Roll Back’
James Blake – ‘If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead’
Jhene Aiko ft. Rae Sremmurd – ‘Sativa’
Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton – ‘Say Something’
Lady Gaga – ‘Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?) – Piano Version’
Mike Shinoda – ‘Over Again’
Swimming Girls – ‘Back of Your Car’
The Aces – ‘Fake Nice’
Thirty Seconds To Mars – ‘Dangerous Night’
Tremors – ‘The Rush’
