Private life has been busy lately - I've been itching to get this posted and now the wait is finally over. Yes! Bring on the spring tunes!
10 - "It's Not Over", ON AN ON
So a couple of years ago, I think I posted about a song called "Drifting" by Nate Eiesland. About a year after the post, I found the song "Drifting" on iTunes by a group called ON AN ON and it turns out it was essentially the same song. So Nate seems to have rebranded himself as part of a trio. "It's Not Over" is way more pop than the folk vibe felt in "Drifting", which was a bit of a surprise. A very light confection for the summer.
9 - "(At Your Best) You Are Love", Frank Ocean
I have no idea how this slipped past my radar last year. Apparently, Frank dropped this Isley Bros. cover online last January on the occasion of the anniversary of Aaliyah's birthday (she also covered the song back in '94). I do love me some falsetto and it's been way to long since Frank Ocean has been in the public eye, so yeah, I'm into this and looking forward to seeing if anything else surfaces in the near future.
8 - "Clearest Blue", CHVRCHES
I'm just about completely done with digesting this album. Consider this the death rattle. But if I had pimped this track earlier, then I would have missed out on this video that was put out in February!
7 - "Chillin'", Rudresh Mahanthappa
I'm not sure how I've been digging up the jazz lately - it's not like I'm expressly looking for it - but there is some interesting stuff out there. I am definitely big on sax and trumpet/keys are probably my runner-up instruments...bonus points for double bass. Rudresh has been putting out albums over the past decade and this track is from his most recent release, 2015's Bird Calls. Love it.
6 - "Afterthought", Disclosure
Another album I've pretty much worked my way through, front to back. Enjoyed seeing the parade of special guests they trotted out on the Coachella feed Saturday night. I have my tickets to this summer's Osheaga festival and am really looking forward to seeing Disclosure, although I'm not holding my breath that they'll be bringing any special guests.
5 - "Love for That (feat. Shura)", Mura Masa
19 years old. Man. I have always been a sucker for the use of strings in pop music. Flutes are a nice touch too. Not sure if Alex Crossan has an album on the way or if tracks are going to continue to drip drip drip onto the web. Either way, he has my attention.
4 - "Five Minutes", Her
I know very little about Her. They are two guys. They are French, from Paris. This is their Facebook page. Their first EP, featuring "Five Minutes", came out in January. Their second EP, featuring a cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come", is due out in a couple of weeks. I heard "Five Minutes" for the first time late last year and it has turned into a total ear worm.
3 - "Them Changes", Thundercat
Funky! No, seriously. The first funk jam I've been into for a while. Great bass work and a sweet falsetto...nice cameos from Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington too. My kids are fascinated by the lyrics. "What's happened to his heart?" "Why is there blood on the floor?" "Did someone die???". Also, thanks to the Song Exploder podcast, I know that this is the second time in this blog post that the Isley Brothers (drum sample from "Footsteps in the Dark") are influencing my current tastes.
2 - "Evil Twin", Krrum
Last summer's "Sparta" by Ten Walls was the first track in a while that I've been into that featured some bass brass. "Evil Twin" is going back to the well. Some marching bands need to bang this out pronto. All I know about Krrum is that he's from Leeds in the UK and that "Evil Twin" might be only his second release.
1 - "Kiss it Better", Rihanna
Um, NSFW. These days Rihanna seems to be a bit all over the map. Last year's "FourFiveSeconds" was a solid release but then "Bitch Better Have My Money" was pretty out there and "American Oxygen" was not my jam. "Kiss" is, though. Easily her best single (imho) since "Stay" and it might be my favourite song of hers. As in ever. Time will tell.
Thanks for listening!!
