Each week on the FACT Singles Club, a selection of our writers work their way through the new music of the week gone by.
With the way individual tracks are now consumed, the idea of what constitutes a single has shifted dramatically in the last half a decade, and its for this reason that the songs reviewed across the next six pages are a combination of 12″ vinyl releases, mixtape cuts, Soundcloud uploads and more. All are treated equally – well, most of the time – with Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu, Disclosure, Kelis, Demdike Stare and more in the line of fire.
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Disclosure – ‘Me & You’
Joe Muggs: Solid. Better than ‘White Noise’. Reckon this is one of those ones that will actually improve with ubiquity, too – Heart FM-tastic, mate. (7)
John Twells: I was totally geared up to throw muck at this, and I’m not even sure why. ‘Me & You’ actually surprised me a lot, reminding me of being awkward and 17, covertly zipping through garage tapes and cheapy cd promos in class trying to avoid doing anything too constructive. It’s unashamedly retro, but Disclosure smartly avoid straight up imitation (which I can’t stand) and somehow end up sounding surprisingly current. They’re a bit like James Blake would sound if he got fish and chips for breakfast, dinner and tea (rather than the usual gruel), I imagine. (7)
Lauren Martin: Everything that I like about Jessie Ware’s ‘Imagine It Was Us’ finds a lesser, limper version of itself on this. Even though it’s meant to evoke that “two-stepping on a beach with a mojito in either hand” feeling there’s such a lack of sincerity and warmth to it that Disclosure are now frankly just taking the piss out of house, and I’m coming to really dislike how weak and eager to please the builds in their tracks are. There’s absolutely no tension to this at all and when the hook kicks in it just rattles about like a wasp in a bucket. What makes it worse is that it’s not god-awful – rather just as inoffensive and populist as it gets – and will probably be on played on Radio 1 ad nauseam as a “wicked” track to get you “mad hyped” for T In The Park or some other inane communal drudgery masquerading as a good time. (3)
Joe Moynihan: Don’t tell anyone because I might lose my street cred but these bloody kids have grown on me a bit. Yeah, those omnipresent garish face doodles still make me involuntarily retch up bile but despite all that – and the fromage frais synth overkill – they’ve got a proper knack for bouncy earworms. Eliza Doolittle is – as with often the case with their choice of vocalists – a perfect fit, and floats over this bubbling two-step number, bringing a chorus that’s just as – if not more so – infectious as ‘White Noise’. (7)
Chris Kelly: The boys put it all together, returning to the pristine 2-step of ‘Boiling’ and ‘Control’ without sacrificing the popcraft of ‘Latch’ and ‘White Noise’. Sure, it’s a formula, but this one seems to have ephemeral enjoyment in mind, no? (6)
6
Kelis – ‘Jerk Ribs’
John Twells: Kelis is just fantastic, I even had time for her back in 2010 when she decided to go all David Guetta on our asses with Flesh Tone. It wasn’t pretty but I feel like she takes more out and out risks than many would in her position and that’s what makes her so crucial. Now saying that, ‘Jerk Ribs’ isn’t exactly super risky, far from it in fact, but the warmth and soul of the production does wonders for her distinctive vocals. I don’t know if I could handle an entire album of this stuff, but I’m sure she will manage to switch it up. I have faith in you Kelis! (7)
Lauren Martin: What makes Kelis so great to me is her ability to manoeuvre between Neptunes heyday r’n’b, Richard X electro and big band pop with an almost peerless ease. Her velvet rasp is so unique – pithy, sensual, assured – and this new sound she’s working with feels like a return to form. The terseness of the horns, the low swing of the percussion – it’s just so easy and confident, which is something that I’ve always attached to Kelis. I read on her Twitter the other day that she’s finished recording a new album and if this is the indicative of the standard we can expect, then I’m now super looking forward to it. (8)
Joe Muggs: Ewwwww. She was really good on that Skream track but what the hell is this? Is she trying to be Janelle? You’d need to be a much, much better singer than Kelis to carry this off. Rubbish. (2)
Chris Kelly: Kelis returns with some retro-funk that might as well be produced by Mark Ronson. While she had a nice run as the bizarro-Beyoncé during the 2000s, the last few years have seen that space filled to the gills by everyone from Dawn Richard to Solange. So while it’s nice to see her shake off the Eurotrash vibes of Flesh Tone, I’d like to see her leading the pack rather than following it. (4)
Joe Moynihan: Kelis, I love you, but your jerk ribs don’t make me want to come to the yard. (4)
5
AlunaGeorge – ‘Attracting Flies’ (S-Type Remix)
Joe Monyihan: Oh man that lush percush. From the quasi-Neptunes snare rolls to the exceptional panning effects in the middle to the oh-so potent blasts of low end this remix manages to inject some much needed fire into the original which, good as it is, was kind of driven almost exclusively by Aluna herself. With a voice strong enough to sit on top of beats this beefy and synths this unashamedly epic it’s a shame this wasn’t the single really. Hope she works on more tunes like this. (8)
Chris Kelly: S-Type turns an off-kilter groove into the type of skyscraper-high anthems he crafted on his Billboard EP. This sounds like a more fully-realized tribute to the period of R&B & rap that AlunaGeorge draws from. You can dance to the original, but you can grind to the remix. (8)
John Twells: I find AlunaGeorge about as interesting as the free magazines they give you on aeroplanes, but ‘Attracting Flies’ is endearing in a sort of ‘its not that bad’ way. Thankfully S-Type manages to strip back some of the musical wallpaper and add the kind of edge (read: balls) the track actually needs and does so with a modicum of charm. He chops away at the weedy percussion and adds a rap jerk that reframes Aluna’s vocals somehow, allowing a sultrier side to show through her usual babyish cutesy-cutesy act. S-Type isn’t exactly turning shit into gold, but he’s done a damn fine job on the spit and polish. Maybe it’ll keep those flies away. (5)
Joe Muggs: Great remix – there’s a lot of mileage in these drum sounds – but the song is just deeply annoying. Trying way too hard. (2)
5.75
Juicy J – ‘Ain’t No Coming Down’
Joe Moynihan: Tokyo isn’t in China you muppet. (4)
Chris Kelly: Standard issue Juicy J, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (no one does a stupid drug anthem better), but the real draw here is the production, from Childish Major and C4. Like Major’s ‘U.O.E.N.O.’, the beat revolves around a brittle, somber melody unique to this corner of rap. (7)
Lauren Martin: Ugghh, yes. The sonic equivalent of a lip curl. Granted Juicy J’s lyrical content is pretty much always exactly what you expect it to be, so the real head turner here is Childish Major’s beat. It just drips with the South. Those opening strings slowly look you up and down with an eerie knowingness and the way he drags those hi hats back and forth through a gloomy swamp of synth twangs and flickering rolls of bass suits Juicy J so well. As much as I like to shake a leg to his all-out club bangers it’s beats like these I feel will keep Juicy J interesting in his continued, post-Three 6 Mafia resurgence of popular interest. (7)
John Twells: I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like Juicy’s been on autopilot lately after a really great couple of years. His currency is up that’s for sure, and why shouldn’t he rinse it for every penny? Still, the constant guest spots and throwaway joints take a toll, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear him capturing a bit of the old Triple Six magic on ‘Ain’t Coming Down’. ‘U.O.E.N.O’ producer Childish Major is on the beat, aided by regular co-conspirator C4 and the two add a sick, atmospheric Southern twang giving Juicy the kind of menace he needs seemingly without even trying.
Joe Muggs: She played his penis like a FLUTE???? (7)
6.4
Black Sabbath – God Is Dead?
Lauren Martin: Who honestly gives a crap anymore? I can just about smell the embalming fluid from here. (2)
Joe Muggs: Really hard to score: it’s Sabbath-by-numbers, and essentially very silly, but even very silly Sabbath-by-numbers is better than 99% of guitar music out there. The gothy bits are a bit boring, Ozzy’s not really giving it much welly, but you just cannot deny those elemental Iommi sludge chords when they hit. You could take each chord, timestretch it 10,000% and make Sunn 0)))’s next five albums. It’s pretty good really but ultimately it made me want to listen to ‘Sweet Leaf’ instead. (6)
John Twells: I’ve got a lot of love for Sabbath, I suppose I have to having grown up on the outskirts of the Home of Metal itself but they really are a band it’s hard not to give credit to. Classic albums aside though, it’s hard to muster up a lot of excitement for the band in 2013, so I wasn’t expecting much from ‘God Is Dead?’, and that’s what makes the surprise so much sweeter. It really isn’t bad at all – Rick Rubin has captured something of the band’s pioneering sludge-metal past and managed to update it without making them sound totally out of place. Ozzy’s voice (which I’m guessing isn’t dry) sounds confident and those riffs, how we’ve missed those riffs. Maybe there’s hope yet. (6)
Chris Kelly: In a year of returns to the spotlight, no one has delivered like the almost-original line-up of Black Sabbath. Nine minutes of nostalgia-drenched sludge that finds Tony, Geezer, and — most surprisingly — Ozzy on top of their games. No reunion is as simultaneously pitch-perfect and entirely unnecessary, though. (7)
Joe Moynihan: I’m the last person you should ask for an opinion about Sabbath really, but this is very cool. Nice moody, thick oil-black sludge. (7)
5.6
Koreless – ‘Sun’
Lauren Martin: Koreless has written some cracking melodies up until now, so it’s interesting to see him take a side-step away from the more pointed and twinkling elements that have become his signature and into this sweeping, celestial grandeur of unravelling synth lines. It’s understated enough to be indicative of his style so far but it’s always great to see people dip their toes in newer, if not entirely foreign, waters. Nice effort. (6)
Joe Muggs: Ha… what was I saying the other week about bass music turning into the new prog house? This is a whisker away from the sort of epic breakdowns Sasha used to play. I really rate Koreless but this is not his best – it just seems a lot of drama for a musical idea that doesn’t quite warrant it. In the hands of a good DJ it could be a whole other matter though. (6)
Joe Moynhan: I have had a whopping high school style crush on every tune Koreless has put out; like, properly writing the words ‘4D’ and ‘Away’ in awkwardly-drawn love hearts on lined paper levels of adoration. The whole subtly pitched and deftly cut vocal samples, simple synth chords and rolling tom approach could have melted me for years to come but here he goes on some ambitious, cinematic, aliens-descending-on-earth-and-teaching-humanity-how-to-love-one-another-properly business and – be still my beating heart – it’s utterly sublime. (9)
John Twells: I dig this track but it’s a tune that really has to be heard rather than explained. Nothing much happens; there’s hardly a beat to it, it’s sort of ambient, it’s sort of orchestral but then it’s driving, not floaty. See I know from that it sounds totally crappy, but it’s really not at all. The one thing it reminds me of most of all is the soundtrack to the forgotten classic Acorn Archimedes game Twin World, which just so you all know was one of my favourite games as a kid. That’s probably why I like it – I’m easy to please. (7)
7
Demdike Stare – Testpressing002
Lauren Martin: Demdike Stare are just remarkable. ‘Grows Without Bond’ is like one hundred tiny paper cuts trying to heal but with each hissing analogue drone and turgid swell of distortion, they crack open again with a sting more unforgiving than the last. In that same vein, ‘Primitive Equations’ confirms something I’ve felt for a while about the viscerality of a gut reaction. When I go see an over-the-top slasher film, I want to jump and squeal with my head behind my hands. When I go see a slow burner of a thriller, I want to edge further and further off my seat until I’m nearly hanging from it. That’s how ‘Primitive Equations’ feels. Those muffled hi-hat crashes are so discomforting and carnal that it’s bordering on masochistic how many times I’ve reloaded it. Really amazing work. (9)
John Twells: Yes, yes, yes, yes. I’m not going to bother getting into ‘Grows Without Bound’ or we’ll be here all damn day, but the flipside ‘Primitive Equations’ is just perfection. Someone obviously got the memo that I’d been rinsing my old Photek discs again, and the track does a great homage while retaining the sort of gruesome atmospherics that remind you that you’re listening to Demdike Stare. The noise quotient has been lowered since ‘Collision’, but while ‘Primitive Equations’ is leaner and cleaner than its predecessor it’s still laced with the same kind of undeniable moody energy and sense of mystery that’s sorely lacking from most electronic music. And that subtle 303 towards the end? Guys you’re killing me! (8)
Joe Moynihan: That bit in Silent Hill when the sirens ring out and the world around you transforms into something so fucking terrifying you struggle to fathom that any human could have ever imagined it. ‘Grows Without Bound’ is what that moment sounded like. ‘Primitive Equation’ is a little – only a little mind – kinder, with some wicked Hessle-era Blawan drum patterns scattered across wavering beds of whispers and a gaseous atmosphere. Obviously both tracks are phenomenal. (9)
Joe Muggs: God DAMN they are amazing producers. ‘Primitive Equations’ is beautifully done, and that vocal pitch shift thing is just hilarious, though oddly I don’t feel quite as drawn into it as that last jungly one of theirs… ‘Grows’ is the one for me here – one of those tracks that can never be loud enough. (8)
8.5
Janelle Monae feat Erykah Badu – ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’
Lauren Martin: I find Monae’s faux-quirkiness with the suit-wearing, tap dancing schtick so forced that it usually puts me right off her but I have to admit it, she has a gorgeous voice and her retro-futuristic ATLien pop sounds so smooth and well-rounded here. The three movements of electro-funk screeches, Erykah Badu sneaking in there all nonchalant with the bass line and strings and then back to Monae for an unexpected puffing of the chest with the spoken word at the close creates a great sense of pace and variation, and it’s fun to her Badu tell it like it is over something more light-hearted and than her usual jazz fair. (7)
Chris Kelly: In the second return of the week, Janelle Monáe sheds some of her android obsession for throwing shade, serving face, and twerking in the mirror. The track is better when she partners with Erykah for some Funkadelic fun, as the outro (conscious rap over strings) is a bit heavy-handed. (5)
Joe Muggs: Took a couple of listens – felt like there was too much going on at first – but yeah this is fantastic. Sounds like N*E*R*D at the beginning, then takes about four different sharp left turns, but it grooves like a mother all the way through, and crucially it’s fun first, clever second. I found myself not wanting it to end, because that sparser second half just feels like it’s getting going – maybe it’s part of a bigger suite on the album? (8)
6.6
Final standings:
Demdike Stare – Testpressing002 (8.5)
Koreless – ‘Sun’ (7)
Janelle Monae feat Erykah Badu – ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’ (6.6)
Juicy J – ‘Ain’t No Coming Down’ (6.4)
Disclosure – ‘Me & You’ (6)
AlunaGeorge – ‘Attracting Flies’ (S-Type Remix) (5.75)
Black Sabbath – God Is Dead? (5.6)
Kelis – ‘Jerk Ribs’ (5)
