"Ice.Moon"
SZA
GivePopAChance said...
"On new track "Ice.Moon", SZA's gentle, silky tones float over a thick bass drone and menacing trap beat... Equally suggestive and threatening, just like it should be." READ MORE.
9
"Yung Rapunxel"
Azealia Banks
GivePopAChance said...
"Yung Rapunxel" feels like Azealia Banks' true second single, her first real showstopper since she first dropped "212" about a year and a half ago." READ MORE.
8
"Lay Down in Swimming Pools"
MKS (Mutya Keisha Siobhan)
Although the original Sugababes line-up have flaunted clips of a somewhat lacklustre track called "Boys", this reinterpretation of Kendrick Lamar's modern classic "Swimming Pools" feels like the trio's proper, and indeed appropriate comeback. Bringing the Compton anthem to South London, Mutya's husky murmurs, Siobhan's haunting vibrato and Keisha's trademark vocal flourishes fit together better than ever, and the harmonies are spellbinding. 13 years down the line, it feels like the girls, young and ambitious when they began, now world-wise and seasoned, are only finally beginning their career together the way it was meant to be.
7
"We Can Be Ghosts Now" (feat. Shura)
Hiatus
GivePopAChance said...
"...(Shura) opens up her vocal chords just enough to let the gorgeous melody bounce charmingly against Hiatus' warm, glossy backdrop." READ MORE.
6
"Shallows"
Daughter
A fragile, haunting and very impressive debut record from London band Daughter dropped this month, one of the years best records of 2013 so far, one track stands out in particular, album closer "Shallows". Bringing to mind Explosions in the Sky, it has a tender, post-rock touch that eludes many similar acts (and there are many), and singer Elena's tender Romi-esque (xx) voice trembles with emotion but resides itself to defeat when she utters the words "if you leave" as the guitars melancholically arpeggiate her loss. It's a heartbreaking moment, and one that the song revolves around.
5
"Imagine It Was Us"
Jessie Ware
GivePopAChance said...
"...(Julio) Bashmore surrounds Jessie's warm tones with familiar warm synths and an almost european dance beat that ensures the track pushes every guilty pleasure button whilst still being utterly irresistible." READ MORE.
4
"Digital Lion"
James Blake & Brian Eno
GivePopAChance said...
"Eno can be heard in the shimmering, warm, 70s-flecked pads, but Blake's voice steals the show as it breaks through the fuzzy atmosphere like a ray of sunshine, rather than hiding his gorgeous jazzy croon beneath it." READ MORE.
3
"Borderline"
Classixx
GivePopAChance said...
"The new wave synth chords of "Borderline" pulse along purposefully through a typically gorgeous, balearic chord sequence, and the melt-in-your-mouth vocals of Jesse Kivel from the similarly sunny synthpop band Kisses float thoughtfully up into falsetto." READ MORE.
Also check out a more euphorically inclined remix courtesy of London producer lostchild.
2
"3 Days"
Rhye
Rhye's debut record "Woman" is so far my favourite record of 2013. A true frontrunner in the gradually growing 80s soul revival brought about by Julio Bashmore and Jessie Ware et al, Rhye's Mike Milosh (yes, that voice that drew so many comparisons to Sade comes from a man) has a voice that mesmerizes and warms, and the band's arrangements are, whilst on paper cheesy and dated, in reality tasteful and perfectly underplayed.
"3 Days" comes out as a personal favourite from the record because their choice of arrangement, one they do not even attempt to recreate live (they slow it down to a jazzy shuffle), is one that ticks every cliched 80s chillout box, but comes out with something that suspends any comparison in our minds, and just sounds like Rhye. And that's the sign of a band with a fruitful and much coveted career ahead of them.
1
"Me"
The 1975
For a band so well known for their gutsy, anthemic singles, on their EPs, The 1975 paint from a much more varied palette. For those not willing to give themselves to the band, but only to their popular songs like "Sex" and "Chocolate", are shooting themselves in the feet. On their EPs, The 1975 prove themselves as a thoroughly complex, beautiful act. Their catalogue thus far is practically musically bipolar; the singles show them as rebels, hedonists and teenagers. And then there are songs like "Me".
"Me" is the band's darkest song, lyrically and musically. The words are apologetic, full of self-loathing and disturbingly blunt, but musically synths wail in the distance as bass rumbles quietly in the foreground. The music is beautiful, and every line ends with the shy, residing phrase "don't you mind", but the statements and confessions that precede are harsher. Singer Matthew Healy confesses he's "put you all through hell", "hurt your brother as well" and, most overwhelmingly, "I thought about killing myself". It's heartbreakingly confessional. If "The City", "Sex" and "Chocolate" are the party, "Me" is a hell of a comedown. I don't actually know which I'd prefer, both sound enticing to me.
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