Our internet has been down for the whole day so we contemplated sending this out via carrier pigeon but we don't own a pad and paper anymore (#GENY) and Lana Del Rey wouldn't give us the rights to send her song via a disease-ridden bird. Luckily the internet came back, our blood pressure can return to normal.
CHVRCHES
Leave A Trace
In just one album CHVRCHES have generated enough hype to make people want to leak details of their follow-up, which means that people really, really care. And by the sounds of the first single Leave A Trace people should care. Once again it centres around frontwoman Lauren Mayberry's delicate yet cutting vocals that are at their peak here. It's another bitter tale of heartbreak but nobody really does it quite as well as CHVRCHES so just keep em' coming.
Wizkid
Ojuelegba (Feat. Drake and Skepta)
This is not your regular Drake remix. In fact, on paper it's bizarre. Ojuelegba was a massive hit for Wizkid in his home country of Nigeria but now Drake and Skepta have westernised it with a verse each. It doesn't deliver up much of a hip-hop beat but the pair make it work effortlessly. This friendship between Skeppy and Drizzy just continues to develop and we're very much in favour of it.
[soundcloud width="750" height="200"]https://soundcloud.com/skepta/ojuelegba-remix-ft-drake-skepta[/soundcloud]
Cosmo's Midnight
Walk With Me (Feat. KUČKA)
There's basically nothing that could go wrong when you put together two of Australia's finest producers Cosmo's Midnight and Australia's most unique vocalist KUČKA. Walk With Me is a wonderfully perky number that sees the trio channel their inner AlunaGeorge. I imagine it will go down even better come summer festival time as its airy disposition is tailer-made for the sunshine.
[soundcloud width="750" height="200"]https://soundcloud.com/cosmosmidnight/cosmos-midnight-walk-with-me-feat-kucka[/soundcloud]
Lana Del Rey
Honeymoon
LDR is back and she's singing about bad boys once again. This time it's a man with "a history of violence," and while it's surely not possible for the singer to attract this many men with a sketchy past, she's so damn convincing as a narrator. Honeymoon is a string-driven affair with that's as grandiose as anything she's done. Her vocals and smokey and waft higher and higher with a certain Hollywood glamour to them. Bad news for the haters, you're probably not going to change your mind with this one.
Gill Bates
Didn't Mind (Produced By Feki)
Aussie hip-hop is in such a good place right now thanks to the likes of Allday, Remi, Tkay Maidza and Baro. Now we can add another name to that crew - Gill Bates. It's probably one of the most accessible Aussie hip-hop/R&B tracks we've heard in a very long time and that's thanks to that brilliant hook crafted by Gates and producer Feki. It may be only his second official single but it sounds just as polished as anything riding up the pop charts today.
[soundcloud width="750" height="200"]https://soundcloud.com/gillbates/didnt-mind-prod-feki[/soundcloud]
M.I.A
Swords
She's becoming a bit of a veteran now M.I.A but luckily she's got no less interesting as she's matured. Swords is taken from her fifth album Matahdatah which, in typical M.I.A style, could be out tomorrow or could arrive in 2019. The important thing right now is that we have this track and it's a catastrophic mess - the only way we like our M.I.A. She's the queen on organised anarchy and yes, this song features actual swords alongside tribal beats and brash raps. The track was featured in her visual project Matahdatah Scroll 01 "Broader Than A Border," featured below.
Mabel
Know Me Better
Mabel is the daughter of Neneh Cherry and Massive Attack producer Cameron McAvy but don't for a minute think that that's all she's got going for her. Know Me Better is a confident, personality-filled debut single. It's sensual and yet brims with energy. "Now there's nothing here between us," she sings, shattering a relationship but seemingly gaining her own personal muscle to walk away better.
[soundcloud width="750" height="200"]https://soundcloud.com/mmmmmmabel/mabel-know-me-better-1[/soundcloud]
Youth Lagoon
The Knower
Trevor Powers aka Youth Lagoon caught everyone's attention with his magical debut Year Of Hibernation and then backed it up with an equally whimsical sophomore effort Wondrous Bughouse. The Knower, taken from his forthcoming LP Savage Hills Ballroom, is no less fairytale-like but there's a little more clarity to his vocals and the instrumental is more immediate. For the first time he really gives us a face. Rather than hiding behind the music, he drives it.
Leisure Suite
Sweet Gin
Leisure Suite are an electro-pop duo from Melbourne and Sweet Gin is the first track following their beautiful self-titled EP. Sweet Gin is an after-dark track with strong seductive vibes. There's a certain jazz quality to the vocals like Ella Fitzgerald picked up a synth and started listening to Ashanti. On a cold day like this it's just the warm hug we needed.
[soundcloud width="750" height="200"]https://soundcloud.com/leisure-suite-aus/sweet-gin[/soundcloud]
Tame Impala
The Less I Know The Better
Choosing just one track from the new Tame Impala record is a little like choosing your favourite kid. For now, The Less I Know The Better is our favourite. But by the time I've finished writing this we probably will move onto something else. The Less I Know The Better is the track that best combines the murky haze of Lonerism with the new-found pop-melodies of Currents. Everything from the funky guitar riff to Parker's impeccable falsetto is perfect and it melts our hearts everytime.
