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Kylie, Hodgy Beats, Fuck Buttons and more reviewed in the FACT Singles Club, June 3 2013

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 Daft Punk, Boards of Canada, Jacques Greene, Julia Holter and more in the line of fire.

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Lil Bibby & Lil Herb – ‘Play They Role’

 

John Twells: If Bibby & Herb don’t break out soon it’ll be an absolute travesty. They’ve already had nods from Drake and Danny Brown for whatever that’s worth, but with tracks as heavy as ‘Play They Role’ they hardly need it. This is proper street rap with massive horns, thick bass and dexterous lyricism from the two rappers. It’s just a few steps ahead of the rest of the Chicago street scene right now, and while the city’s notable band of weirdos (Chance, Tree, Rockie Fresh) seem to have moved further and further from the street sound Chicago has become known for, ‘Play They Role’ takes it head on and tramples the competition. (9)

Arron Merat: Seems like Lil Bibby is about to be swinging with the big dicks sometime soon and you can see why. His collaboration on ‘Know They Role’ with fellow Chicagoan Lil Herb is testament to some raw ability. But the biggest prize for this track belongs to C-Sick’s production with its beasty call-to-arms instrumental and thunderous baseline. Well done chaps! (8)

Steve Shaw: No gimmicks, just furious. Some of the word play isn’t incredible, and the walkie-talkie ‘getting-pumped-up’ interjections during the chorus are a kind of weak, but their delivery just makes me think they mean every word they say. Brutal. (9)

Tam Gunn: Brilliant overdramatic beat and chorus, and verses that aren’t that memorable but definitely hold their own. Really excited about these two now. (8)

8.5

Kylie Minogue – ‘Skirt’

 

Steve Shaw: Oh, Kylie. What have they done to you? (0)

Arron Merat: Oh gawd, EDM and Kylie really deserve one another. (2)

Tam Gunn: I’m fine with KyliEDM being a thing, but make something properly euphoric with it – like this, say – not stodgy middle-ground dubstep. (4)

John Twells: I wanted to like this, I really did – I’ve had a soft spot for Kylie ever since ‘Confide in Me’ (which was a step in a weird direction for a kid obsessed with metal), and the chance to hear her collaborating with The-Dream? Well, my interest was well and truly piqued. Sadly ‘Skirt’ is a flaccid EDM misfire, coming across like a very poor approximation of the kind of bassy flirtations Britney nailed on her still underrated Blackout album. The chorus is sort of nice (hello Terius) but when that’s the best thing you can say about a track, it doesn’t bode well. (3)

2.3

Fuck Buttons – ‘The Red Wing’

 

Tam Gunn: Not my thing, but was the percussion sampled from a typewriter? If so, cool. (6)

Arron Merat: Love the slight delay on these chord changes and how the track builds into a fuzzy crescendo of post-rock proportions, only to sputter out like Fuck Buttons were just taking the piss. Welcome back boys! (8)

Steve Shaw: Still yet to work out why Fuck Buttons are as popular as they are. This didn’t help. (4)

John Twells: I’ve never really got to grips with Fuck Buttons in the past, but ‘The Red Wing’ has made me reconsider my stance. It’s just such a smart collision of influences; there’s the Stones Thow / Madlib nod in the beat, the ghosts of Boards of Canada in those wormy analogue synths and it’s all drenched in a very tastefully handled psychedelia. There are just so many points where this track could crash into a wall and fail horribly, but the disparate pieces are superglued together so well that it never happens. (8)

6.5

Hodgy Beats – ‘Years’

 

John Twells: Mellowhype’s Blackenedwhite still stands as one of the most consistent LPs yet to materialize from the OFWGKTA camp, yet for some reason Hodgy Beats is one of the crew’s most underrated rappers. ‘Years’ isn’t his best moment (more rapping, less lazy singing please), but sitting on top of what sounds like a Left Brain beat, he sounds both competent and pretty far removed stylistically from Tyler and Earl. Plus the fact that he mentions Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson (one of the world’s top two Swansons) has got to be worth bonus points. (6)

Steve Shaw: This confessional tone in rap about getting FUBAR has got really old, really quickly, hasn’t it? The instrumental was quite refreshing though, like slow Kingdom material. (6)

Arron Merat: Hodgy Beats has always been my favourite OFWGKTA member. His biggest trick is sounding like he’s all over the place belying the sharp design to his flow. I remember seeing OFWGKTA at Village Underground on the day of the Royal Wedding and he – just as much as Tyler – was the reason why the crowd completely lost their heads, most notably when he dropped ‘Turned Down’. ‘Years’ shows him true to form as he ever is and his spidery rhymes work great with the dub beat, especially when he wigs out a bit after the 2 minute mark. (9)

7

Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald – ‘Mars Garden’

 

Steve Shaw: 11:46am at Glade’s idSpiral tent. (4)

John Twells: I’m a massive fan of both artists, but after being bored out of my skull by the Moritz von Oswald Trio I was ready to approach this collaboration with caution. I guess I shouldn’t have worried – Juan Atkins’ subtle electro gives Moritz von Oswald’s dubby gurgles the kind of deep roots that those previous records were missing. ‘Mars Garden’ is a beauty, and sort of sounds like an eroded take on The Other People Place’s underrated, skeletal Detroit electro. There’s not much to it, but that’s why it works so well – less is most definitely more. (8)

Tam Gunn: Absolutely no one’s having fun here, sorry. (2)

4.7

Final scores:

Lil Bibby & Lil Herb – ‘Play They Role’ (8.5)
Hodgy Beats – ‘Years’ (7)
Fuck Buttons – ‘The Red Wing’ (6.5)
Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald – ‘Mars Garden’ (4.7)
Kylie Minogue – ‘Skirt’ (2.3)

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