Calling Luigi Masi ‘pop’s best kept secret’ is a bit of a stretch of the imagination but his new single ‘Strobelight’ isn’t actually half bad even if it offers anything particularly new to the masses. Filtered vocals, big synth sweeps and some nice melancholy key changes make this one of the songs ‘you thought you might hate but actually like’. There is a raft of remixes available as well but in this case you really are best off with the original and album cuts. Efforts courtesy of Wideboys and Agent X just overdose the listener on handbag beats and Samson’s recut just loses too many positive aspects of the original (while sticking an unecessary vocal from Sabrina Washington into the equation).
Its out on October 20th.
Next up is The Foxes with their new single Trauma Town (also out on the 20th). I never thought I would find someone as bitter as myself but listening to the opening salvo from this release (‘I don’t use public transport ‘cos its full of twats) I feel a certain vindication for my almost permanent bad mood. Its a straight up and down pop rock number in execution from here on in but contains enough vitriol to make this reviewer think about going out and kick puppies, ace!
Fight Like Apes return from a triumphant summer on the festival circuit with an abrasive ‘am I lo fi or not’ single in the form of ‘Jake Summers’. Starting off in a most uncomplicated fashion it could actually be any number of skinny legged bands around at the moment. Its not long however before all manner of hell breaks loose and you have wibbly analog synth sounds and enthusiastic yelping vocals spiralling all over the place like something that just leapt from a party popper. Quietly inspired lunacy I reckon, they need to watch themselves on the “ooh aren’t I ironic and wacky” lyrical front though, on another day I could just as easily have been scathing about them. Today though, they left a good impression.
On the 27th is the single ‘La La La’ by Ava out on the 27th October. Harking back to the 70’s golden age reggae. Ava does possess a knack for sweet spot vocalisation and the production that sits behind the song is spot on. Her material is the sum of a range of influences and that holds a good deal of promise for the future, definitely one to keep an eye on.
Closing today’s reviews is the latest single from Esser, a sprightly bit of dancehall pop, armed with a worldly wise vocal that waxes on the subject of relationships and how to keep your woman happy (not like that you cheeky monkey) while quick stepping beats, low slung bass and barrelling rag time piano rolls across the backdrop. Spot on remixes crop up on this one courtesy of dub legend Mad Professor and Sheffield wunderkind Toddla T & Ross Orton. Marvellous stuff.
