This week our writers present you with the good, the bad, and the "christmassifying". Enjoy new tracks from the likes of Billie Eilish, Muse, and Amber Run, as well as covers from SeeYouSpaceCowboy... and Michael Bublé. Also, savour the taste of nostalgia and gratitude with Mac Miller's 2011 mixtape.
I Love Life, Thank You – Mac Miller
I Love Life, Thank You, Mac Miller’s 2011 mixtape finally arrived on streaming platforms this week. His sixth mixtape came just before his debut album, Blue Slide Park. The decision to release the mixtape on streaming services now, eleven years later, is just one of the many ways Miller’s family and team continue the rapper’s legacy. Some of his older fans are able to reminisce on Miller’s earlier sounds, whilst some of his newer fans are introduced to a completely new set of songs that they have never heard before. The thirteen-track mixtape includes the song Love Lost, probably the most popular and circulated title from the mixtape, due to its popularity as a TikTok sound a few months back. With the song now on Spotify, it actually has the opportunity to gain the recognition it deserves. Mac’s lyricism across the tracks, combined with the upbeat instrumentals creates a fun mixtape, one that defines Mac’s artistic roots and one that allows fans to see his musical progression. The bubbly mixtape pinpoints Miller’s gratitude for his position as a rapper in 2011-: this was just the beginning of his musical journey and he wants to show his thanks for that. Whilst the mixtape is eleven years old, it is refreshing, as a Mac Miller fan, to be able to add thirteen more songs to your playlist, for it to be easier to access more of his music, and for his old sounds to almost become new again. Hannah Aldred
Driver's License – Michael Bublé featuring BBC Concert Orchestra
This song is unique in my mind, as it straddles the ground between brilliant pop music, Christmas songs, and crooning. Frankly, this was ground I didn’t ever need to hear straddled. The song is objectively not bad per se, but the style of Michael Bublé’s voice doesn’t suit anthemic sad-girl-style-pop nearly as well as it does uplifting orchestral crooning. Therefore, the song comes across all too close to being a Christmas song. To quote Izzy Cole at URN, it “defo feels like he tried to christmassify it” which is probably the nicest way to talk about this song. He even does some fancy vocal lick towards the end, which for a song meant to be screamed through tears or drunk at a club is completely the wrong vibe, and much as I can understand Michael’s desire to tap into the younger generation’s taste, he’s hit the wrong target here and all he’s done is introduce everybody’s mum and grandma to Olivia Rodrigo. Next time Michael, don’t choose an enormous breakup anthem, please ruin a worse song. Jake Longhurst
TV – Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish’s aptly named surprise two-track project Guitar Songs sees her swapping her dark pop synths for… well, you guessed it – guitars. The first track on the mini-EP, TV, allows us to see a more simplistic and pure side to Eilish, harking back to her early releases such as the don’t smile at me EP. Eilish isn’t trying to do anything revolutionary here, and she hasn’t marketed the project as such. It may not be as bold as some of the tracks from her two studio albums, but this doesn’t hold the song back from being hauntingly beautiful in its simplicity, with her vocals suiting the acoustic backing of the track. The track also sees Eilish unafraid to shy away from topics that have dominated the recent news, with the lyric “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial / While they’re overturning Roe v. Wade”, an issue which she spoke out about during her history-making Glastonbury set back in June. Having performed the song on her recent tour, she took the audio from the first night that she played it live in Manchester and incorporated it into the song. By doing so, the track lies on the boundary between a live recording and a high-quality studio version and does so perfectly. Gemma Cockrell
The 30th – Billie Eilish
The 30th is the second track on Billie Eilish’s Guitar Songs project that she released this week, serving as a B-side to TV. Just like TV, this track solely features a gentle acoustic guitar instrumental and one of Eilish’s best and most compelling vocal performances of her career thus far. The lyrics of the track are about a deeply personal incident that Billie has confirmed to have happened to her on November 30th. She describes it as “the most indescribable thing to have to witness and experience”, explaining that she was with FINNEAS when she “was like, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what you were planning on doing, but we need to write this song about this right now!’” With this track being the first that Billie has penned since the release of Happier Than Ever, her fanbase will be delighted to have new music from the artist so soon after the success of her sophomore album, especially with this project coming with the news that she is “going to hopefully make another album in the next year.” Even though I predict that TV and The 30th simply serve as standalone singles, rather than material that will appear on this upcoming full-length album that she has teased, it is perfect to tide fans over until Billie hits the studio to record LP3. Gemma Cockrell
The Future Says Thank You – Ithaca
Ahead of their album release this Friday, Ithaca have dropped what I would guess is the final single of the album cycle, and it’s a good one. It feels less rooted in hardcore than some of their other releases, but still with plenty of heft and power behind it. However, the song displays both sides of singer Djamila Boden-Azzouz’s voice, giving her ample room to show off her soft and tender cleans as well as her biting screams. The song is one of the most technically difficult the band have ever put out and winds its way through till the very end where the song finally opens and revels within itself to feel full of hope and light. The song really feels like the most in-control the band have ever been of their sound and their output, and with the remarkable consistency of their singles, the upcoming album should absolutely be one of the most notable releases in metallic hardcore this year. Jake Longhurst
Kill or Be Killed – Muse
Muse's latest single Kill or Be Killed, which will be featured on the upcoming album Will Of The People, is the heaviest song that Muse has produced to date. With a modern metal essence, the song introduces a harder rock sound of Muse. Chugging guitar riffs open up the song this is something never heard from Muse before, even showcasing a double bass drum and growling vocals to Muse's discography. The lyrics dive into the adversity of life and the worst of human nature, with what lengths human instinct will go to survive. Matt Bellamy, the frontman and vocalist of Muse, shares that the lyrics take inspiration from Paul McCartney's song Live and Let Die. This is a new and unusual direction for the band which has been received well by fans. I thoroughly enjoy the heavier sound Muse has introduced alongside many others, relighting my interest and love for the band! Kerenza Hudson
A Madman from Manhattan – Jack White
Jack White has released Entering Heaven Alive, the follow-up and companion album to Fear of the Dawn, which was released in April. Whereas the latter record was a joyously unhinged and experimental, electro-tinged hard rock album, this one is in more of an acoustic-led, singer song-writer style, which interprets some of the same lyrical and instrumental motifs from Fear. From what I’ve read, I seem to be amongst the few music writers that enjoy the weirdness of the latter more than the former. Yet, some of Heaven’s best tracks embrace the quaint and gentle cabaret tone that permeates the record, particularly A Madman from Manhattan. There’s a bossa nova acoustic guitar, a groovy, descending-ascending bass guitar, and piano flourishes, all creating a sense of forwarding movement. This somewhat parallels the mysterious and playful lyrics, which describe a character on a journey through New York: “Catch a train with name of an alphabet letter, had the brains to remain with the dame. He let her think she was on the brink of a breakthrough.” The song feels like a 1940s noir film and shows how, even ten years into his solo career, Jack’s songwriting talent is with him in spades. Caradoc Gayer
Kawasaki (I Love It) – Bambie Thug
Taking a bold step away from their darker, more mysterious sound, Bambie Thug surprises us with Kawasaki (I Love It); a bubble-gum-pop, infectious track that showcases a new era of the up-and-coming star. Along with a massive aesthetical change in Bambie’s hair, makeup, and outfit, Kawasaki (I Love It) infuses femininity, sweetness, and a delicious mix of Sharpay Evans- with Paris Hilton-core. Many expect an image from non-binary artists that stands equally on the border of masculine and feminine. But this track maintains Bambie’s validity as a non-binary artist despite the track’s hyper-femininity. I like that you never know what to expect from Bambie Thug, but you can guarantee extravagance, chaos, and sex-positivity no matter the direction they take it. From the first listen you can hear how much fun they have had creating this track, so I can only hope this is just the beginning of the unleashing of the scope of their talent and creativity. Roxann Yus
Space Cadet – Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert has been very active this week, with a string of singles being dropped unexpectedly and unofficially to their SoundCloud profile. Following this, four of these songs (Space Cadet, Hittin’ My Shoulder, Flex Up and I Know) were officially released to all of the artist’s streaming services, and it is thought that they will all appear on Uzi’s upcoming Red & White EP, which was announced on Instagram last week. Space Cadet is the latest of these tracks to appear as an official release, and with production by Brandon Finessin, Bally and ShaunGoBrazy, the track is very characteristic of Lil Uzi Vert’s sound and style, with the rapper switching between quick rap flows in the verses and singing vocals in the chorus. They have been open about their efforts to revert to the spirit of their career-making project LUV Is Rage and their come-up into the scene as a ‘SoundCloud rapper’, and Uzi has achieved this both in terms of the sound of Space Cadet as well as the somewhat chaotic roll-out of the upcoming EP using SoundCloud. It is refreshing to see Uzi in touch with his roots like this and still engaging with the platform that gave him his big breakthrough in the first place. Gemma Cockrell
Merkurius Gilded – Imperial Triumphant
Imperial Triumphant have just released their new album Spirit Of Ecstasy, and the jazz-infused black metal of their previous releases is just as good as ever. The band state that they play the sounds of New York as they hear them, and that their city that was “once so bright, grand and spectacular” is now full of “greedy maggots”. That’s one way to describe your hometown, yet bizarrely this comes across very well in their music, as New York jazz and New York black metal both have a specific sound to them, and the group have managed to capture both across the whole album. This song, in particular, Merkurius Gilded, features a saxophone fairly prominently over the droning black metal and churning vocals that speak about the fall of the city, from its golden age to now whereupon it’s become a haven of guilt and greed. They are an incredible band to listen to, so if you want something new and interesting don’t hesitate to listen. Jake Longhurst
Seven years – SeeYouSpaceCowboy…
SeeYouSpaceCowboy… have joined forces with a number of bands on a compilation of covers named Dead Formats Volume 1. The band paid a tribute to Saosin by covering their song Seven Years. The band have demonstrated how important this era of music is to them and does it justice by bringing it into a new era of modern music. Seven Years is the opening track of Saosin’s 2003 EP Translating the Name and has clearly influenced the own music of SeeYouSpaceCowboy…. SeeYouSpaceCowboy… bring an emotional grit to the classic track, with a pop-punk-esque start to the track it quickly crashes into gritty screams. The vocals of Connie Sgarbossa bring a hardcore edge to the song. Anyone who has heard of Saosin or is part of the Hardcore-punk scene should rectify their love of both with this cover. Kerenza Hudson
Cradle – Amber Run
Former UoN alumni Amber Run have released a new song Cradle, another instalment in a loose album cycle, preceded by two EPs The Search (Act 1) and The Start (Act 2). All of this recent music has seen the boys going in an instrumentally-stripped-down direction, contrasting to their earlier work. This song fits the trend: gentle electric guitar arpeggios and a gradual drum build-up towards the end create a lullaby-like tone, whilst singer Joe Keogh’s falsetto sounds as chilling as ever. It’s a relatively straightforward, imagery-based love song, and the boys have certainly composed more instrumentally-out-there songs in the past. Nevertheless, it’s still a lovely, nocturnal track that could easily play over the climactic scene in a romantic indie-movie, or something similar. Caradoc Gayer
I EXIST – VUKOVI
My money is on this new VUKOVI album as becoming one of the best this year. In six tracks, VUKOVI has shown us their dominance in the alt-rock scene, whilst also expressing their loyalty to classic rock practices, such as intense guitar work. VUKOVI might be one of the first bands in this new wave of electronic-infused rock: their opening track 17359 from Fall Better includes a robotic, calculating voice that continues in their work two years on, but also has been recreated in the work of many other rock artists. I EXIST showcases Janine’s stunning, clean vocals layered on climactic instrumentals that ultimately lead us to their iconic use of robotic, autotuned voice. Although staying true to their beginnings, their sound has become a fully polished version of what we know VUKOVI do. Following from the high expectations of what has become one of my most-listened-to-tracks this year, HADES, I EXIST fits perfectly within their newest creative project. Roxann Yus
Time Bomb – The Chainsmokers
Grammy award-winning and chart-topping duo The Chainsmokers’ latest single Time Bomb has been added to their most recent album So Far So Good for the third and final bonus edition of the album. The track features an uncredited female vocalist, whom the internet is rumouring to be Chloe George, an LA-based singer-songwriter. This method of featuring female vocals over their production was successful for the duo in the past on some of their earlier releases, including Closer (featuring Halsey) and Roses (featuring ROZES). However, Time Bomb has a relatively mellow and relaxing sound throughout, reverting away from and contrasting to the EDM-style beat drops that occurred in these female-led tracks from the duo’s early career. Most of So Far So Good relied on Drew’s vocals, and he still does contribute vocally to Time Bomb, adding some backing vocals and providing dimension and contrast to both the lyrics and vocals of the track. My main complaint is that the identity of the female vocalist is a mystery, and she remains uncredited, although she deserves to be recognised for her performance on this track since her vocals sound unique and beautiful against the song’s synth-heavy instrumental. Gemma Cockrell
Degradation Rules – Ozzy Osbourne featuring Tony Iommi
Who would’ve ever thought Ozzy would ever start a song with a harmonica? Not me certainly, but when the song sounds as good as this, who am I to complain? The guitar work of Tony Iommi is naturally some of the best Ozzy has ever had, sounding suitably Sabbathian. However, this is possibly the first time in an Ozzy solo song where the drums have jumped out to me on the first listen, which I was taken aback by the first time through and is now a highlight of the song for me. Of course, the bluesy metal style of Tony’s guitar work is also a massive highlight too, especially his little solo towards the song’s end. Ozzy’s lyrics are a bit crude on this song, as it’s essentially a story about a boy in his room who is fantasizing about “asphyxiation, masturbation, degradation” and ends up using a magazine and a laptop. To be very fair, this is a more down-to-Earth side of Ozzy than we’ve heard for a while, as much of his music is about the supernatural, and it’s been a long time since he sang about something so simple as sex, or the idea of it. Ultimately, it is a weird song but it’s a great listen, and worth a go. Jake Longhurst
Just Can’t Get Enough – Channel Tres
The infinitely stylish, against-the-grain Compton rapper-producer, Channel Tres, has followed up his recent instrumental EP Refresh, with Just can’t Get Enough, a single from his upcoming debut Real Cultural Shit. The track sees Channel retaining his west-coast-house-music style, albeit with more vocal samples. The track is also primarily driven by some summery trumpets, with the signature Channel Tres retro-sounding synthesizers only coming in the outro. The track runs to over five minutes, so does start to feel a little over-indulgent, and hasn’t got the enjoyably concise feel of songs from Refresh, or the I Can’t Go Outside EP. Nevertheless, Channel sounds as charismatic as ever, as he lays down smile-inducing verses like “Windows fogging up, trunk sounds like the club, old head walking by, nodding yeah he know what’s up, that head got thinking way ahead, picket fences, family man.” No doubt, in times when rap music might habitually take itself a little too seriously, there’s probably nothing we need more than a whole album of Channel Tres tunes. Caradoc Gayer
Middle Of A Breakup – Panic! At The Disco
Who is even part of Panic! At The Disco anymore? This was my main thought going into this review. Even though I became a casual fan of the ‘band’ in around 2013, it can be very hard to keep up with who is actually part of it anymore. After a quick Google search, I found out that it is a solo project of Brendon Urie now, who calls their new track Middle Of A Breakup the “theme song for all of our breakup seasons” – I am not manifesting this energy right now, but I decided I was still willing to give the song a chance. Much like what is expected from Panic! based on their previous releases, the track is bursting with energy and power-pop influence. Whilst the track is a bit too energetic for me to imagine myself casually listening to it on a regular basis, it is catchy, anthemic, and full of fun, so I’m sure fans of Panic! will be happy with this release. It will appear on their upcoming album Viva Las Vengeance, which is due to be released on August 19th. Gemma Cockrell
Night Stalkers – Megadeth featuring ICE-T
Megadeth are back and bloody furious. The second single ahead of their upcoming album is absolutely as fast and frenetic as they’ve ever been, featuring a brief yet blistering guitar solo only after the first chorus! The band then slow down slightly with a crunchier riff, before getting straight back into the thrashy intro riff and carrying on with a pace not seen in many bands half their age. Dave Mustaine’s sneering attitude has given way to something more akin to anger or determination, and I have to say that I do think it suits the band. ICE-T’s verse is not what I expected to hear at all, but it is a brilliant addition to the song, bringing a change of pace and tone but keeping the aggression and atmosphere, and frankly, I wish it had lasted longer! That said, I’m very glad to hear so much of Megadeth doing what I want to hear from such a band, thrashing their way around leaving a dust trail in their wake. When they turn up the tempo, there are few bands on Earth that can really match them. Jake Longhurst
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Featured image courtesy of Mac Miller via Facebook.
Commentaires