A revolving cast of contributors showcase some of the best new music releases from the past week.
Archy Marshall - ‘Arise Dear Brother’
Photo: Unknown
Any fan of purebred Londoner Archy Marshall (aka Zoo Kid, DJ JD Sports, Edgar the Beatmaker, Lankslacks) has been running on fumes since the release of King Krule’s 6 Feet Beneath The Moon in 2013. Archy has been submerged for a while since the debut album but in the last two weeks has resurfaced with a plethora of artistic explorations sure to top the tank up and keep you moving until the next sweet release.
A New Place 2 Drown is a collaborative effort between Archy and brother Jack and, alongside the album, it features a 208-page artistic outpouring in the form of photographs, sketches, and poetry, as well as a mini-documentary on the brothers’ artistic process. The music, however, is what we’re focusing on here, and what beautiful music it is. The 12-track album hones in on Archy’s beatmaking and solo production – it’s a nice half-hour ride to get lost in.
‘Arise Dear Brother’ is the third song on the album, a brief and gentle wave that washes over and ends all too early. If comparable, it carries the vibe of King Krule’s ‘Neptune Estate’; a hard-hitting hip-hop-esque drumbeat with soft synth and guitar layered on top, made complete by Archy’s vocals, deep in both sound and meaning. Lyrics like “another week, I feel weak / pretty sure I’m dying as I speak” carry an enticing, beautiful melancholy that seems like a recurring theme in most of Marshall’s music.
The album is out now on all the platforms but if you want the full experience, buy the book and watch the short film too. – Oscar Mein
Katy B x Four Tet x Floating Points - 'Calm Down'
British singer Katy B has collaborated with producers Four Tet and Floating Points on her new single ‘Calm Down’. It’s the first release from her upcoming project Honey, which will see her team up with a bunch of other artists and producers.
Katy B has a talent for staying ahead of the dance music curve and there’s something about ‘Calm Down’ that feels skittish yet sultry. The groove feels so Lundun, and has me yearning for that dreary city and the Brixton clubs.
As is often the case with a Katy B track, its her magnificent voice that makes ‘Calm Down’ so alluring. “When, are we ever going to calm down / Know I should do but I love the sound / All I really want to do is dance”, she sings, leaving her lover at home to stay out dancing until “the colours seep into the sky”.
It’s a promising first single from her next full release. I’m sure, given Katy B’s keenness to experiment and collaborate, that the next we hear from Honey will be something completely different but just as strong. - Ellen Falconer
Willow Smith – ‘F Q-C #8’
As is the style nowadays, Willow Smith - spawn of Will and Jada - surprise released her debut album Ardipithecus over the weekend with barely a tweet of warning.
Anyone acquainted with the online presence of the Smith children will be familiar with Willow and brother Jayden’s brand of smug new agey enlightenment and, though 15-year-old Willow may ostensibly be the less weird of the two, her take on Ardipithecus contains more than a few Jayden-isms (“…it makes me feel so blessed to be able to share my evolution with the LightEaters as I continue excavating my inner worlds…”). With her ‘Whip My Hair’ days but a distant memory, this pseudo-philosophy is now Smith’s primary fodder, while her current sounds takes more inspiration from Bjork than it does hip-hop.
But what’s surprising about ‘F Q-C #8’ is how well it works. With a two-part structure - one waily, one chanty - Willow’s presence is effectively stylised, and with her strange, clearly inauthentic Euro-esque patois, her faux-intellectualism feels enjoyably theatrical. Even the strange second half – which is reminiscent of meditation apps and invites you to “grab your neighbour’s hand” and “get comfortable” - narrowly evades cringiness thanks to Willow’s effortlessly self-assured speaking voice.
Of course many will beg to differ, and it seems a shame that the Smith children have become so (in)famous for their bizarro personas which, though at times bemusing, undermine the charm of a track like ‘F Q-C #8’. Yet it’s also this kind of complete unselfconsciousness that makes the song so striking. Though her age is evident, Smith’s confidence in her own point of view is surprisingly convincing. – Katie Parker
Die! Die! Die! – ‘Dark Arrow’
Here we have a single by Die! Die! Die! who are New Zealand’s go-to band for ‘edgy’ punk-a-thons. But they have never made a good album - sometimes that whole punkster teeny-bopper thing never translates since records are stuck in a moment and rely on factors other than Playing With All Your Heart. Here, though, the Die-sters give us a melody and a wonderfully short playing time. It’s almost over before it begins and that’s swell.
The band appears to have ditched the aesthetic of over-loudness and sharp drums (or: ‘Steve Albini, Math-Rock’s Saviour’) and moved into almost orchestral territory, where the band and drums provide a kind of dense soundscape, acting as scenery to the vocals. In doing so, these chirpy lads advance beyond Playing With Heart and into the wilderness of a workable record – not the type you just buy cause it’s on the merch table. And at least it’s fun to listen to, right? – Eden Bradfield
Saul Williams – ‘The Noise Came From Here’
If you’re old enough, you may remember Saul Williams’ blistering track ‘List of Demands (Reparations)’ from the early 2000s, his performances alongside hip-hop and neo-soul royalty (Nas, Erykah Badu, Blackalicious, The Fugees), and his high profile in the world of slam poetry. What you may not remember is his close working relationship with alternative artists like Nine Inch Nails and the Mars Volta, and it’s these genre-spanning predilections that shine through on ‘The Noise Came From Here’, the third track that Williams has released off his forthcoming album MartyrLoserKing.
Produced by Justin Warfield (She Wants Revenge), ‘The Noise Came From Here’ starts with a looped tribal chant and handclaps. Electric guitar strums and synths join the party before the bass kicks in. Williams’ signature syncopated rhythms drive the whole thing, and - much like the previous ‘Burundi’ featuring Warpaint’s Emily Kokal - the drumbeats sound like a military-tribal hybrid. It ends abruptly, without apology.
MartyrLoserKing will be Williams’ first body of work in nearly five years, although he’s continued to publish literature and guest on tracks with the likes of Janelle Monae and Vic Mensa. Williams has always been an evocative and poignant songwriter, no more so than when he sings “there won’t be silence, no, the noise came from here”. – Sarin Moddle
What's your song of the week? Tell us about it in the comments section.