This week, dance-music reigns as we review a number of different takes on the genre from smooth RnB to EDM to PC Music. Enter the madness that is First Impressions below:
Tkay Maidza- U-Huh
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/tkaymaidza[/soundcloud]
Bianca: U-Huh is a more than palatable pop song with some serious hip-hop influences. The hook is instantly infectious and I’m excited to see what else is to come from the Adelaide-born, PG-rated, Azaelia Banks Jnr. firecracker. 4 Bianca’s Pick
Sam: This is a perfect example of when you let a great pop song eventuate under the most natural of circumstances. Every major label in Australia take note- this is how you craft a hit. It’s effortlessly melodic, full of personality and fun to boot. Tkay is surely bound for huge things. 4
Lizzie: I have been a Tkay fan for over a year now, I just think she is the shiz - not just because she is from Adelaide but she has this incredible universal appeal and at just 18 years old, her production skills are impressive. It's not as punchy as Brontosaurus, but I feel this Summer-time nostalgia - similar to that, after listening to M.I.A's Paper Planes. 4
Hannah: Alright Lizzie, we get it. You're from Adelaide, she's from Adelaide, you can claim her. I agree though, Tkay Maidza is a much more bearable Australian answer to M.I.A. She raps across the beat with effortless attitude. It's fun and instantly infectious. 4
Airhead- Believe
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/thump/a1-believe?in=thump/sets/airhead-believe-ep[/soundcloud]
Bianca: The ping pong echoes put the club into the church, evoking visualisations of a Sunday sermon that offers a little less bread and a helluva lot more wine. The record crackling sample also adds a subtle, nostalgic touch. The TV beep effect, however, is a little less welcoming on my ears. 3.5
Sam: The industrial production of this one makes sure that the bass bangs you right into next Saturday. The production feels icy cold, yet the preaching vocal sample that runs under it is comfortably familiar. Some of these sounds just echo around my head, bouncing off dead space (and believe me, there is quite a lot of that). 3.5
Lizzie: I can feel myself float away with this track. This song could be on repeat for hours and I would have no idea - it's very much a song that just blends into the background. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just has its own special place in my iTunes library. 3
Hannah: The bass on this one is pure, paired-back house. Something you'd expect to find during the early hours of a Berlin warehouse rave or beneath a Jimmy Edgar track. Its intricate and complex use of layered sampling keeps you interested, while the vocal pleads with you to believeee in the track just enough to keep you pulsing right on through. 3.5
Steve Angello- Wasted Love (Feat. Dougy from Temper Trap)
Bianca: This song feels like it belongs in 2009 and I think my 19-year-old self would have loved it. Dougi Mandagy’s voice has a nice familiarity to it but, sadly, I ain’t 19 no more. 2.5
Sam: Dammit. Don’t get me wrong, this is more same, same EDM with barely anything to set it apart from the rest but I’m such a sucker for a crisp, pop hook. Dougy brings that in abundance but I’m so confused. I usually can’t stand the whiny aura of The Temper Trap but there is something somewhat euphoric about this. Also is this not Sky Full Of Stars p.2? DM me if you have answers. 2.5
Lizzie: This track is all about Dougy's voice, and not about Steve Angello - his production here is subtle, and I think it works really well. It's the perfect Summer tune; uplifting, all about love and just in time for the Tomorrowland after-movie soundtrack! 3.5
Hannah: This is just more of that tried and tested EDM formula circulating at the moment. Chiefly, hide the fact it's yet another unbearable, stock standard EDM song, beneath some very cleverly placed, makes-you-want-to-sing-along vocals. Eh. 2.5
TOKiMONSTA- Realla (Feat. Anderson Paak)
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/tokimonsta/realla-feat-anderson-paak[/soundcloud]
Bianca: Was it really necessary to spell ‘real’ the way it's being pronounced? Ugh this track is way too smooth for my liking. 4 realz. 2
Sam: *Adds Anderson Paak to iPod* TokiMonsta kills the productions of this one with those jabbing, brass undertones but Anderson Paak, am I right? The man just murders it on this one flicking between drawn-out RnB vocals and singing rap-like verses. 4 Sam’s Pick
Lizzie: Please listen to this track with your eyes closed. It is the only way to truly appreciate the layered sounds and surround-sound experience this song creates - it's spine-tingling. Then the horns come in, oh when the horns come in. I'm sold! 4 Lizzie's Pick
Hannah: For Realla baby, this track hits you with an instantly welcomed Frank Ocean, Channel Orange nostalgia. That brass, that bass, that cascading vocal sample that falls between Paak's third verse rap. Grind. Just grind. 4.5 Hannah's Pick
Bianca: Yeah, okay. I see how it is...
GFOTY- Don’t Wanna/Let’s Do It
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/pcmus/dont-wanna-lets-do-it[/soundcloud]
Bianca: I really can’t seem to get into PC music. A kid pressing random buttons on a soundboard would produce better noise than this techy headache. 0
Sam: Unlike Bianca, I think PC Music is one of the most interesting and exciting things to happen in the last year or two. Like everything we’ve heard from the label, this is bonkers but it’s even more so than the others. The bipolar flick between I don’t wanna do it/Let’s do it is something I deal with on a daily basis. I have the same conflict with this song. I love it, I also hate it. I’m going to flick to I love it, purely because I keep going back to listen for more. There’s so much hidden melody in this, it’s just chopped up and displaced everywhere. Beautifully incoherent. 3.5
Lizzie: Please, I beg of you, tell me this is not music!? It sounds like a toy-store coming alive when everyone's asleep. Wake me from this nightmare!! 0
Hannah: When an EDM queen dishes out a zero, you know the song's clutching at straws. That said, this song has moments of rhythmic crescendo and almost satisfying bass, but ultimately it's riding an escalator to nowhere. Is that the point of PC music? Who knows. I feel though in the hands of a remix master, that sample could have potential. 2
Perfume Genius- Queen
Bianca: Mike Hadreas is truly making a statement with his comeback track. The steady, marching beat sets the tone with more pomp than a high school graduation. His haunting vocals and synths are gloriously juxtaposed with the cheerful whistling instrument, giving Queen a slightly creepy quality. 3.5
Sam: I found Perfume Genius’ last album a little too introverted to completely get into but Queen is a different story. It’s so outwardly bold, that it feels like a different artists altogether. I would’ve liked a bit more of a climax in the final quarter but apart from that I’m captivated. Please sir, can I have some more? 3.5
Lizzie: I took one whiff of this Perfume Genius and can't say I am a fan of the broody and creepy vibe, it's just not my style. While I can appreciate all the elements - the slow beat, variety of kooky instruments and echoing vocals - I just can help but feel a little sad after listening. It's a Monday and I need a pick-me-up! 2.5
Hannah: If I was still the Hannah that listened to The Editors and Cold War Kids, I'd be right on board with this suburban angst track. As it is, the languid vocals over what feels like an incredibly lazy guitar-meet-drum-kit production just doesn't do it for me. Why the dog barking sample? 2.5
