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 pages are a combination of 12″ vinyl releases, mixtape cuts, Soundcloud uploads and more. All are treated equally – well, most of the time. On the chopping block this week: Jamie xx, Todd Terje, Jay Z & Jay Electronica and more.
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Todd Terje & Bryan Ferry – ‘Johnny & Mary’
Joe Muggs: Vangelis x Avalon! The TT album is pretty fantastic, and though this track was underwhelming to start with it’s a proper grower. Ferry’s voice is sounding a bit ravaged, don’t know if that’s deliberate but it suits the song. Not mind-blowing, but very, very nice. (8)
Kristan Caryl: Bit creepy this. Sounds like what your dad might put on in an attempt to woo your mum and remind her of the sexy times they used to have back when they were twenty. Despite that mental image, I’m still into the melted synths and ‘80s shimmers. (8)
John Twells: Cheesier than a Frenchman’s pantry and smoother than Tom Cruise’s chin, this one – in a good way, of course. It’s very clear that Terje’s having a lot of fun here, but it’s not comedy music, there’s bags of #feels, mostly provided by Bryan Ferry. Hard to complain, to be honest. (7)
7.7
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Jamie xx – ‘Sleep Sound’
Kristan Caryl: Has someone been listening to Floating Points? Sure sounds like it, but that’s fine, especially with floaty light drums, multi-focus melodies and nebulous rhythms as correct as these. (8)
John Twells: Even the chopped vocals sound bored. Yawn. (4)
Joe Muggs: I’ve heard some snippy things being said about this release, but if ‘Sleep Sound’ was credited to Four Tet I bet people wouldn’t be half as mean. The title is appropriate: it’s like a big snuggly duvet of a track. (7)
Chris Kelly: Definitely feels like a Jamie xx B-side, right? It’s just too pleasant and unassuming to hold my attention in the way that ‘Far Nearer’ did (and still does). (5)
6
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Dark0 – ‘Chaos’
Chris Kelly: There’s nothing chaotic about this one: five minutes of carefully-plotted tension on some final boss shit. (8)
John Twells: There’s a lot of instrumental grime out there right now, but Dark0 cuts through with a ragged urgency that’s hard to ignore. ‘Chaos’ sounds like a spectre-laden secret dungeon from some random r@re RPG you’d have to have to snatch from your dodgy mate only half translated from Japanese, but with more bass. I approve. (8)
Joe Muggs: Old school grime still has this really un-determined sense about it, because its rules were never set in stone, and it was never really given its chance as DJ/dancefloor music, so it’s ripe for this sort of re-boot – but it really, really has to be done right. The real mark of this guy’s talent is how he gets away with those unbelievably cheesy and naive melody lines. It’s just got a really keen sense of what sound goes with what, how to play light against shade, when to change it up etc etc, and it sounds like real dance music. Top. (8)
Kristan Caryl: Ooohh pretty colours. (7)
7.8
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TeeFliii – ‘24 Hours’
Joe Muggs: Some day I’ll probably have a Eureka moment and understand that, yes, Mustard is the new Timbaland – but that hasn’t happened yet. This sounds like it took half an hour to make, including vocals, and not in a good way either. Boinky-boinky-boinky “Ooh yeah let’s have it off, then have a nap, then have it off again baby” boinky-boinky-boinky. Sure, ok. It’ll probably sound better when it’s finished. (3)
Kristan Caryl: Sure to be the soundtrack to plenty end-of-the-night fingerings in parochial puke pits the length and breadth of the country, no? (7)
Chris Kelly: All the fun of the DJ Mustard-produced ‘Show Me’ without having to listen to Kid Ink and Chris Brown. This guy should have done every hook on YG’s album. Minus 1 point for each Chain. (8)
John Twells: TeeFlii has some of the best hooks in the game right now, and ’24 Hours’ is yet more proof of his slippery star power. It’s probably his biggest tune since ‘This D’, and that’s saying something. Quite why this isn’t all over the radio right now I’m not sure, but his time’s gotta be close now. (8)
6.5
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SZA ft. Chance The Rapper – ‘Child’s Play’
John Twells: XXYYXX’s instrumental was already a winner, and who can argue with SZA’s luxurious, smoky moans? It’s easy to complain about icy-cool hipster r&b, and the subgenre’s not without its faults, but ‘Child’s Play’ just works. (6)
Kristan Caryl: Those woozy tones and lazy snares are as seductive and sexy as SZA’s breathy delivery. Sounds a bit like a tripped out Suzanne Vega, too, which is nice. (9)
Chris Kelly: SZA and Chance write lyrics that demand attention (“Ripping heads off all my Barbie dolls”), and they’re a perfect fit on a languid XXYYXX beat. I like the overlapping verses but this would benefit from a stronger pop structure: as it is, it sounds like an interlude. (6)
Joe Muggs: Well THAT’s how to do a feature. Basically amazing. (8)
7.3
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Jay Z & Jay Electronica – ‘We Made It’ (Freestyle)
Chris Kelly: I can’t phrase it better than Weiss: “Jay Z and Jay Electronica rapping over a Soulja Boy beat with the Migos flow is like watching your dad wear skinny jeans and a Supreme hat.” Points are for Purp Dogg’s beat only. (4)
John Twells: Hov might be sounding better than he has for ages here, but the very idea that this return to form involves him aping Quavo’s flow over a Soulja Boy beat is sort of terrifying. As for Jay Electronica, does anyone still care what that dude does? (5)
Kristan Caryl: Stirring, rise-up production and a similarly uplifting message…decent. (8)
Joe Muggs: Is Jay-Z getting melanin and melatonin mixed up? Still, “I been inoculated from snakes in the face” is an amazing line. In fact, there’s so much gibberish and brilliance all tangled up together here, it’s really refreshing and mental. And if he’s having digs at Drake, so much the better. More of this sort of thing! (7)
6
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Final scores:
Dark0 – ‘Chaos’ (7.8)
Todd Terje & Bryan Ferry – ‘Johnny & Mary’ (7.7)
SZA ft. Chance The Rapper – ‘Child’s Play’ (7.3)
TeeFliii – ‘24 Hours’ (6.5)
Jamie xx – ‘Sleep Sound’ (6)
Jay Z & Jay Electronica – ‘We Made It’ (Freestyle) (6)
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