Lemaitre continue new direction in style

[Weekly Listening, Week 1]

I’ve decided a fun thing to write about on here would be what I listened to in the last week, including new music I’ve discovered and old classics I’ve rediscovered. This may or may not turn out to be a consistent weekly series – I need to see if I have enough to talk about every week, so for now its just an experiment. However, I certainly have plenty of new tunes to talk about this week. I probably won’t usually have this much to talk about, so we’ll see how things go.

Control

by Lemaitre (feat. Jerry Folk), Single

18 plays (55:12)

The big news this week is the release of Lemaitre’s shiny new single Control on Friday 20th March. It was probably my most keenly anticipated musical release to date, wracking up nearly an hour of listening in its first week of release. The track reflects a more pop-y approach to music-making from the Norwegians, a move which is displeasing many long-time fans who miss the days of the acclaimed Relativity series of EPs (see my previous post). However, even as a fan of those older EPs, I can be sure in saying Control is a cracking new single. Surprisingly down-tempo in comparison to their dance-y previous single Machine, its a head-banger worthy of long term neck pain. The chorus, like Machine, is very simple but therefore just a catchy, with punchy, stab synth chords reminiscent of Playing to Lose. Add a dash of bass fills, fluttering guitar and instantly recognisable vocals, and you have possibly my favourite Lemaitre song yet. I will say, however, a repeat of the final chorus would have added to the finale even more, and the outro that we receive instead is a little underwhelming. Despite this, Control is certainly a song that will be played many hours more in the future weeks, and is likely to enter into the official Top 20 list, yet it’s rank is yet to be decided.

I’m Not Ok

by Weathers from Kids in the Night, Pt. 1

8 plays (24:09)

A great new discovery this week is the Los Angeles-based alternative band Weathers, who have been making music since late 2015. They may have only released 6 songs, but their brand new EP’s lead single I’m Not Ok has been growing on me all week. On first listen, the first thing you’ll notice is the slightly cringey opening lyric “I can be a handful but that’s why you have two hands”. Get past that and you’ll be treated to a great chorus, although bizarrely the epic, rocky guitars are only even heard on the title lyrics, something which has bugged me every listen. That said, the late entry works superbly after the breakdown – by far the song’s high point – with a brief moment of punk rock from lead singer Cameron Boyer. The whole song sounded a little cliché to me at first, but after several listens I’ve began to like it more and more.

I’m Not Ok is far from Weathers’ only listen-worthy tune. Happy Pills provides a wonderfully rollicking and psychedelic take on the Weathers sound, whereas 1983 is more in the vain of I’m Not Ok. The songs got six and three plays respectively.

Blow Your Mind (Mwah)

by Dua Lipa from Dua Lipa

8 plays (23:48)

Unusually, Dua Lipa’s Blow Your Mind has proved just as much fun on our sitting room piano as on my bedroom speakers. I’d already been well aware of Dua Lipa’s eponymous debut album – it’s hard to miss with it having so much radio airtime – and New Rules and IDGAF had already had their fair share on plays on my phone too. On revisiting the album I reacquainted myself with the scintillating Blow Your Mind which has been (as you’d expect) blowing my mind during the past couple of days. Had I have started listening the it earlier in the week, it would have a had a chance to compete with Control for this weeks top spot. The track is a punchy pop earworm with plenty of scope for a more funk-infused arrangement, such as the one I am already rehearsing with my friends at school. My only criticism is that the chorus synth seems to be lacking ever so slightly – maybe a sharper attack or grittier synth could have helped this. The track also seems to hint at cowbell in the chorus; more cowbell is always a good idea.

Batshit

by Sofi Tukker from Treehouse

7 plays (23:43)

It has to be said, Batshit is what really motivated me to write this blog post – there’s just so much to talk about. It has almost everything I’d usually most loathe in a song: spoken vocals similar to those on Taylor Swift’s shockingly bad Look What You Made Me Do, virtually just one chord throughout and relentless repetition. But somehow, in a way that’s almost as ludicrous as the song itself, I love this supposed monstrosity. It’s just so wonderfully fun. The guitar riff set to the title lyrics is undoubtedly catchy and you’ll find yourself impulsively rocking your body to the first chorus in particular. And I still haven’t mentioned Tucker Halpern’s vocal solo on the breakdown. Wow. No, its not a fluttering, beautiful melody (or even a melody at all), but it is staggeringly low. Halpern purrs like a cat to lead us into the final chorus, a neat culmination of many of the songs established motifs and riffs. Having had a fair amount of musical training, the completely un-musical Batshit has been somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me over the last week but for its outstanding quirkiness and smile-inducing nature, its definitely a song worthy of the full-volume treatment.

Talking Straight

by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever from Hope Downs

6 plays (22:27)

There’s something about Talking Straight‘s chorus that suggests it should be more famous than it is. The chorus as a whole is superb on this alternative tune, with more than a hint of ’80s and rock and roll. The largely spoken verses isn’t really my cup of tea (Batshit was an exception) but its made up for by a great melody, groove and guitar solo. Once the chorus does kick in it’s very singable, and its clear to see this newly released track could prove very successful for the Australian rockers.

Church

by Alison Wonderland from Awake

6 plays (18:23)

I’m still a little undecided on my views on electronic track Church from Alison Wonderland (yes, a very punny name). The breakdown is good, and the bass makes it, but the lead in the the final chorus is a little strange. As for the choruses, I like the pulsating synths and strong backbeat, but its likely not going to be a song the will live long in the memory.

Here’s a quick round-up for some of my other most listened-to songs this week:

• 5 plays – Happy Pills by Weathers; Weathers’ fantastic sophomore single
• 5 plays – Animal Spirits by Vulfpeck; now my second most listened-to song ever, this is a typically fun Jackson 5-esque romp, soon to find its worthy slot in the Top 20
• 3 plays – Hey Ya! by Outkast; a nostalgic, silly blast
• 3 plays – 1983 by Weathers; the next best Weathers track after I’m Not Ok on their debut EP
• 3 plays – Tears Dry On Their Own by Amy Winehouse; possibly Winehouse’s finest work, this song is unforgettably good, and it too is about to break into the increasingly prestigious Top 20. (It’s also worth noting Dua Lipa did a sweet little cover of this song.)