A revolving cast of contributors from the Music 101 and Wireless teams showcase some of the best new music releases from the past week.
Ryan Fisherman. Photo: Facebook
Ryan Fisherman – ‘Wake Up Son’
Ryan Chin has his hands busy these days; he currently serves as the drummer for Doprah and the bassist for NAKEY. This week he has released his debut EP for his solo country project, Ryan Fisherman. All the best country music is made in Canterbury, which makes sense considering all the dust that floats around there.
‘Wake Up Son’ is the final track off The Nest Egg EP and the most steady. At its core it doesn’t stray, operating with a basic sense of rhythm. The ‘country’ layer is made up of sticky guitar and a gazing and earnest vocal delivery. For decorative measures, we hear a range of subtle piano and beefy guitar licks. It’s not a cardboard cut-out of how country music should behave though. The strength of the guitar towards the finale disturbs the calm, distancing the track from its original aims. It would be damaging if the playing wasn’t so thrilling - I suppose that’s what turns country into alternative. – Alex Lyall
Beirut – ‘No No No’
Beirut has been laying low since 2011 and ‘No No No’, feels like Zach Condon has swayed a little bit into the sunnier side of the spectrum. There has always been glimpses of joy spread through his work but nothing to me has felt as overt as this. The twirling horns and keys are all very familiar to Condon’s repertoire, but the arrangement is more spritely and sharper.
His voice is as enchanting as ever too, but even more than usual it forms a base for the horns. Even though the template is familiar across the last three Beirut records, there is always something that Condon emphasises or polishes a little more to give the music some more life and vitality. In ‘No No No’ it’s the playful nature of the various keys and horns that give the track warmth and staying power. – Luke Jacobs
Lee Bannon – ‘Disneµ Girls’
With every new musical venture that Lee Bannon embarks upon he shows us a whole new set of strings to his production bow, and continues to prove his worth as a musician who cannot be labelled. After establishing himself as one of the freshest up-and-coming hip hop producers through his work with Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era, he surprised everybody with his debut solo album Alternate/Endings, an apocalyptic jungle masterpiece that seemed to rattle from the bowels of a hellacious metropolis.
Now, with the first glimpse of his follow-up album Pattern of Excel, we are brought into a world that couldn’t be much further from any of his previous offerings. ‘Disneµ Girls’ sounds like a cross between an Ennio Morricone soundtrack and the music from a scene in Zelda where you’re trying to swap a blue hammer for a bottle full of faeries. Although laced with irony, there’s something heartfelt and beautifully nostalgic about this piece, as if Bannon is pointing out and sympathising with the hopeless romantic we all conceal, laughing with us – and at us – at the same time. But underneath that beauty are rumblings of the darkness that characterised his first album; a Twin Peaks-esque cynicism that draws us in and sends a shiver down our collective spine. The warping last thirty seconds of the track seem to confirm the suspicions that we had all along. The confirmation is bittersweet. – Luke Owen Smith
Frazey Ford – ‘Done’
‘Done’, the latest single off Frazey Ford’s Indian Ocean, is a grenade of rejection wrapped in a disarming, midtempo groove worthy of Mayer Hawthorne. Ford - a founding member of The Be Good Tanyas - marries a neo-soul vibe with a slightly folk aesthetic. In that sense, her musical upbringing reflects her early years as the daughter of an American draft-dodger living in the rugged Kootenay mountains of British Columbia. Here, her effortless, honeyed vocals are backed by a tight Motown-influenced rhythm section and a Greek chorus behind her.
The video, meanwhile, looks nothing like what you’d expect just listening to the audio. It’s an IDGAF parade of gold lamé and glitter jumpsuits through East Vancouver streets that would make Lena Dunham proud. It also foregrounds the healthy amount of profanity scattered throughout the song that Ford’s mellifluous voice tends to hide... and when she sings “I was taking every hit from you, you drive-by-shooting son of a bitch”, her lackadaisical delivery makes it even more believable. – Sarin Moddle
Nate Ruess ft. Beck ‘What This World Is Coming To’
Nate Ruess, front-man of fun. has teamed up with Beck, who lends his vocals to ‘What This World Is Coming To’. The two worked together earlier this year at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, so why stop a good thing? With a decidedly 1960s sound, the track intimately laments 21st century relationships through a huge ballad. Between the saccharine lyrics, acoustic strumming and his signature pop-rock falsetto, the song is just what we need from Ruess during his band’s hiatus. Keep an eye out for his solo album Grand Romantic on June 16. – Hannah Martin
A$AP Rocky - At Long Last A$AP
Although he is just as aesthetically pleasing in terms of technique and innovation, A$AP Rocky's visuals can often overpower his sound. His latest album, At Long Last A$AP, suggests we get the real Rocky.
In his second studio release he's matured and comes donned with a belt full of notches including names like Rita Ora and Chanel Iman. Where he was private about his relationship with Iggy Azalea during the press roll out of his last album, this time he talks frankly about her on ‘Jukebox Joints’, a track featuring Kanye West and newcomer Joe Fox. The album also has plenty of references to his late friend and A$AP Mob founder, A$AP Yams, who co-produced the album with Dangermouse.
Pop culture in general has swooned over Rocky, whether it be for his raps, or good looks. Making his big screen debut alongside Zoe Kravitz in the upcoming film Dope, he has a powerful platform and seems fully aware of it. ALLA is further refined and sonically developed to a style older fans may not feel straight away, but in saying that it’s easy to see that he’s outdone himself. – Aleyna Martinez
Flesh World – The Wild Animals In My Life
Flesh World have just released their debut, The Wild Animals In My Life. It's leanings on haze and melody are somewhat of an oddity within the Iron Lung roster, a label that is known for their hard noise or hardcore roster of artists.
Highlights includes ‘To Lose Me’'s distorted jangle juxtaposed with trebly lead guitar lines and vocal harmonies; ‘Here In The Dark’ for its waves of guitar that hit at the 2.30 mark and turn into piercing solos; and ‘Poolside Boys’ with its pounding rhythms and repetitious chorus.
Unlike their shoegaze brethren, Flesh World’s willingness and emphasis on audible melody helps cut through the malaise of current guitar based bands. – Zac Arnold
What's your pick? Tell us about it in the comments section.