[Weekly Listening, Week 4]
What a week. After last week’s frenzy of releases, I’ve been listening to and loving more music than ever. Consequently, this post is billed to be the longest in the series so far, with an unprecedented five songs having surpassed 10 plays this week. So make yourself comfortable – there’s a lot to talk about, particularly regarding Middle Kids’ Lost Friends and Bastille’s Wild World.
As you could expect, not all of the dozens of songs fresh to my ears last week have turned out to be hits. With so much to listen to, only the very best tracks have gained repeated listens, making some passable songs get very little attention at all. Before I discuss the hits, here’s a quick round-up for the misses:
- Arctic Monkeys’ headline-grabbing comeback album Tranquillity Base Hotel and Casino certainly delivered on the unexpected. However, to me it seemed like a rather bland, directionless collection of similarities. I found myself craving for the riff-driven rock of 2013’s AM, but instead I was served a brooding but dull collection of lounge-pop. Many liked the album – and the lead track Four out of Five is alright – but it sounds like Arctic Monkeys have left the genre that drew me towards them in the first place.
- I’m afraid Charlie Puth’s Voicenotes seemed destined to fail from it’s first listen. The pop king’s move to R&B is welcome, but that’s a surprise we found out way back last summer with the release of Attention, which features in this album. Inevitably with such a stellar single in Attention, the rest of the album sounds like a bunch of copies, lacking the same oomph and guts of Puth’s 2017 hit. The songs are about as lyrically profound as the album’s title – named after the voice memos app on Puth’s iPhone he uses to record ideas. It’s not all predictable though; the a capella track If You Leave Me Now (featuring Pentatonix-style quartet Boyz II Men) offers some soothing respite, before plunging back into some more derivative pop. It’s not terrible, but it didn’t come close to competing with the other new tracks this week.
- It may be because I only had two days to hype myself up, but Lemaitre’s Rocket Girl really hasn’t taken off for me. It gathered a respectable seven plays, but it is easily the worst received of a string of monthly singles from the Norwegians. The funky guitar riffs in the intro are painfully tantalising, because they’re just what the rest of the song is missing. Unlike other Lemaitre songs, there isn’t much of a hook to speak of either, except perhaps the rather uninspiring chorus bassline. They can do much, much better.
- Bastille’s release Quarter Past Midnight also hasn’t caught attention this week – it’s OK but it has got lost in the flood on cracking songs.
Now, to this week’s winners.
Warmth
by Bastille from Wild World
17 plays (01:05:03)
Ironically, the first song this week isn’t a new release, in fact it’s nearly two years old. Despite passing the hour mark for the first time, Warmth fell just short of this week’s “Song of the Week” (read on to found out which song won it). After listening to Quarter Past Midnight, I decided to try out the Londoners’ 2016 album Wild World and have since developed a new-found love to listening to albums in their entirety. It is a fantastic collection of memorable choruses, strung together by a series of old-fashioned soundbites and anecdotes linking to each song. The highlight is Warmth, an effortlessly catchy pop song that is satisfyingly singable. Right from the synth-lead opening, you find yourself locked into the groove, with a great touch of choral harmonies in places. The chorus is incredible, and Bastille’s skill for perfectly constructed melodies prevails throughout in this euphoric hit.
How Simple
by Hop Along from Bark Your Head Off, Dog
14 plays (53:18)
The hook of the summer has arrived. How Simple only became known to me on Wednesday, but it’s hardly been out of my head since. Hop Along’s style is wandering, refusing to settle in a set melodic pattern or harmonic rhythm, making their songs sound more like decorative poetry rather than something to hum along to. With this alone, the song (and album as a whole), is good, but instantly forgettable. The magic is made when the band stick to a hook, something which is done to perfection in How Simple. With the lyrics “Don’t worry / We will both find out just not together”, Frances Quinlan has found a blissful equilibrium between melody, groove and style. Her voice throughout is remarkable, offering a vast range of colours in a few effortless flourishes. I will say her improvised freestyles on the chorus can be a little distracting, and they’re usually something I’d rather have saved for the final chorus. However, once you get the hang of the tune it won’t matter, because you’ll find yourself singing the hook over Quinlan anyway. It may be many years before I find a hook this effective.
Please
by Middle Kids from Lost Friends
12 plays (40:10)
No, that’s not your morning iPhone alarm going off, it’s the start of Please by Middle Kids, which turns out to be a far more welcome sound. Lost Friends has done something only the likes of Mr Finish Line and Evil Friends has done – produce more than a few very memorable songs. Edge of Town was this album’s early stand-out from last week, but after several listens, Please has emerged as a triumphant favourite. It features a chorus that impels you to stand on your nearest piece of furniture, open your arms out wide and sing at full blast. Sure, you’ll need several years of vocal training to hit the exact note – it even sounds a little on the high side for Hannah Joy – but that won’t stop you from trying. The whole album is similarly driven by ambitious choruses; Never Start, Bought It and Mistake all deserve honourable mentions, but it’s Please that shows the full extent of Middle Kids’ indie rock writing skills. It closes poignantly with an unusual cello and organ duet – adding a touch of originality and giving you chance to nurse your now invariably sore throat before playing it again.
Good Grief
by Bastille from Wild World
8 plays (27:32)
If you’re into chart music you’ll likely recognise Good Grief from being one of the songs of the summer in 2016. It’s still one of Bastille’s most popular tracks, and opens Wild World with style. Textbook backing vocals are heard here, and hooks are packed into every nook and cranny of the song. You’ll also notice more of those soundbites on two separate occasions, leading into a final, joyous chorus. It fits into a guilty-pleasure region of pop, but I’m finding this song difficult to dislike.
Other listen-worthy highlights from Wild World is the brooding, wonderfully sickening An Act of Kindness and a great synth-y verse in The Currents.
The Run and Go
by twenty one pilots from Vessel
5 plays (19:05)
This song was surprising to me at first. I’d been aware of the Blurryface-mania that hit Britain in 2015 (particularly amongst my generation), which was an extremely well received album lead by the viral single Stressed Out. That seemed to present a hip-hop / electronic combo, using the running theme of the difficulties of songwriting in modern times and generally dark subject matter. With exceptions (Car Radio), Vessel seems to offer a more chipper mood, featuring the ukulele-powered House of Gold. The Run and Go is one such track, with an American Authors-style whistling riff that’s so twee and happy it’s almost insulting. Also compared to Blurryface, it’s a pretty basic piano, drum and vocals trio (with a few notable extras). twenty one pilots explore basically all that major-key pop harmony has to offer, with all the classic chord progressions you’d expect on a 2000s hit. There’s even a Bohemiam Rhapsody-esque transition to a contrastingly soft middle eight that of course leads into a return of the now familiar theme. If you’re a fan of Blurryface, you’ll be wondering where’s the twist – twenty one pilots are not ones to conform to songwriting standards, in fact it’s a regular topic of criticism in their lyrics. So why is this so far pop at it’s simplest form? The twist thankfully comes at last in the breathtaking final chorus, with the lyrics “Tonight I need you to stay”. An octaves synth bass kicks in that will have MGMT fans frothing at the mouth, the drums turn up a notch and suddenly you’re listening to a thrashing rock song. Tyler Joseph even goes a step further into full on punk mode at the end, leaving you wondering where that sprightly whistled riff went.
Stones
by ZiBBZ (Single)
5 plays (14:50)
It’s time to confess – I like Eurovision. Or perhaps I should say “liked”, because this year I’ve not been feeling the same hype as I did back in 2015 and 2016 when Sweden and Ukraine won. Just one song became worthy of a download this year (compared to the dozens that came after the contest in 2016), and it was disappointingly ditched in the semi-final, perhaps not quite suiting the Eurovision mould. The song is Switzerland’s entry Stones, performed by siblings Corinne and Stefan Gfeller on an unusual combo of just drums and vocals (with a backing track of course). Corinne’s voice is suitably gritty and the drums are suitably thumping, perfect for the theatrics of the Eurovision stage. It’s a shame Stones didn’t make it through to the final as it would have been my definite vote, but winner Israel wasn’t too bad and at least that cocky bloke from the Czech Republic didn’t win.
Wide Awake
by Parquet Courts from Wide Awake!
5 plays (13:14)
The beginning of Wide Awake sounds like the sound effects on a secondary school keyboard instrument with it’s twanging, steady percussion groove and occasional random whistle. It’s actually a tight, funky jam that doesn’t try too hard to impress, just settles into a catchy groove and drives it home until you’re getting tired of it. The semi-spoken vocals “I’m wide awake” make it seem like the perfect alarm clock song, but it turns out when you’re half asleep in a comfortable, warm bed, this song is annoyingly cheery in telling you your time for sleep is over.
So Long Farewell I’m Gone
by Middle Kids from Lost Friends
4 plays (13:42)
If you’ve read my reviews of Outro and Smile, you’ll know I love a good finale. I’m pleased to stay Middles Kids don’t disappoint in Lost Friends. The album closer, So Long Farewell I’m Gone, is awesomely climactic, opening with simple piano octaves and ending on a stunning, clattering refrain. A prominent snare gives the track a regal feel (much like Smile), before Joy pauses for a second to let cymbals and electric guitars take over. She returns emphatically with the title lyrics, as emotion is turned up to maximum on one of the most hard-hitting tracks of the album. Like Please, this demands a singalong, and the full volume treatment. If you’re planning for the end of an era or leaving something you love, this is absolutely a song you need to hear.
Returning from last week
- Happy Man (20) by Jungle – there it is folks. Happy Man gained an unprecedented 20 plays and over an hour of listening, easily surpassing Control‘s record set four weeks ago. After listening to it some more I’ve found it’s as deep as it is groovy – running over the age-old philosophy that happiness cannot be bought, not even in the commercialised modern day.
- Edge of Town (10) by Middle Kids – still one of the album’s best.
- On My Knees (4) by Middle Kids – becoming the first song to reach at least four plays three weeks in a row.
And some notable newbies, mostly from Wild World and Lost Friends that I just didn’t have time to discuss in full:
- Rocket Girl (7) by Lemaitre
- Bought It (5) by Middle Kids
- Not Abel and The Fox in Motion (both 4) by Hop Along
- Maryland, Mistake and Lost Friends (both 4) by Middle Kids
- Power and The Currents (both 4) by Bastille
Undertone 
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