LISTEN UP, LISTEN DOWN
While you’ve been locked down, music for every mood has been made, and some of it is spectacularly good, writes
With the world ending and all, you could be forgiven for missing the tsunami of new music that’s come out since we went into lockdown. Strangely enough, once locked in our home cages, new music slides down the priority list. Nonetheless, it’s been coming out like a clip from an uncomfortable late night internet video and some of what’s new and available is nothing short of spectacular. These albums are the best depending on the mood you’re in:
HORNY NEWLYWEDS OR NEW COUPLES
The Album by Teyana Taylor
Thank goodness Kanye West wasn’t in charge of this project. He was the executive producer on Taylor’s last project and while it was brilliant, it felt a bit like good sex that was over far too quickly. This time round Taylor had creative control and the result is an album that’s languorous, sexy and contemporary. This is the kind of RnB that you let play during foreplay, coitus and the post-coital desert scrounging. Watch out for Still, Lose Each Other, Concrete.
WHEN IT’S TIME TO FOMENT REVOLUTION
RTJ 4 by Run The Jewels
The rap duo of Killer Mike and El-P have been calling for a revolution for a while now and it seems like the Zeitgeist has finally caught up to them. The latest in their RTJ quadrilogy is … interesting. On one hand, it’s exactly the revolutionary soundtrack we need. It’s timeous, aggressive and energetic. At the same time, they’ve made better projects. It’s not that this is a bad project. In fact it’s a brilliant project but in comparison to what they’ve done before it’s a little meh. Like if Shakesepeare wrote a sub-par sonnet. Watch out for Ooh la la
(Greg Nice & Dj Premier), Walking in the Snow, A Few Words for the Firing Squad.
WHEN YOU’RE NOT SURE HOW YOU’RE FEELING BUT IT’S MESSY
KiCk i by Arca
Arca’s last album was my best album of 2017. This one isn’t. It’s good but Arca was a difficult listen at the best of times and this latest album, which moves towards a more upbeat vibe, makes it all a little more difficult. Sure, play it around some uber progressive folk you’re trying to impress, but you’re going to struggle to find a comfortable place to listen to it by yourself. That said, the last track is phenomenal. Watch out for No Queda Nada.
MILDLY TIPSY AND MOSTLY OVER YOUR EX
Dark Lane Demo Tapes by Drake
Hip-hop’s emo king bought himself a giant new mansion and decided that the best thing to do with it was to record new music. Luckily for us, he’s not mad at all his exes, just contemplative. It’s the kind of ruminating that comes from having too big a house and too few people to fill it. Either way, it’s a return to the dark and moody rapping Drake that most of us fell in love with in the beginning. Songs to watch out for: Deep Pockets, When To Say When, Demons, War.
NIPPLES-DEEP IN EMOTIONS
After Hours — Weeknd
No-one is quite sure how he does it and the Michael Jackson comparison is modern hyperbole at its finest but Abel Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd is undoubtedly the voice of a generation. In particular, a jaded generation. A generation whose interactions with significant others have gone as well as a middle-aged parent trying to make a TikTok video — only existentially pretty. We don’t know who did what to him but we hope they keep doing it because they’re creating a sad, tortured, angel-voiced diamond. Listen out for Until I Bleed Out, Escape From LA, Heartless.