There’s a lot to get into here so we’re bus through fast. He’s cut his teeth producing for US minnows like Lil Jon and Soulja Boy but that’s all for nothing when we’re looking directly into the flame of ‘Wanna Act Like’, the aftereffect glowing even after you shut your eyes. Should I ever make the ill-informed decision to found a hip-hop project of any kind I’ll be hitting up Arona for production immediately and you best BELIEVE he’ll be outside my budget. These are expensive beats, bass shifting up and down like a stepper beneath an active-wear warrior, trap snares and a few little production sounds that are very Babushka Boy. He’s roped in Lil Spacely and Kobi Spice for a lick of both Sydney and Melbourne but their race is done when Arona takes this thing into its double time conclusion.
This one’s a co-release with DJ Nino Brown but we’re not putting that into the title are we, really just ruins the flow of it all.
Remember that time you ate 4 tangelos then fell asleep in the sun at Bilgola beach in 2014? That’s right, we’re talking about Citrus Daze here, and while that irradiating experience was ultimately horrifying, I think you’ll find this one extremely pleasant. Today’s heatstroke comes direct from the bright sands of the Gold Coast, a five piece who’ve formed with the evident goal of releasing this incredible debut single and a similarly powerful debut press shot. Both had me clutching my pearls. The audacity of these people to succeed so resoundingly with their first efforts.
Chloe’s voice pops and wanders like a vagrant angel while the untold hero of the song is truly Jess’ bassline. It’s nothing OTT, just the right trampoline for that voice to springboard across lilting guitars. It’s all bittersweet nostalgia of Summers past, engendered through moody words but sunburst back through the the filter of a vocal solar flare. This Summer’s one that’ll live on mournfully, at least in our geographical part of the world and amidst fire and political inactivity, ‘Blue Summer’ feels like just the poison to capture the warmth, the smoke, the sadness and wrap it in a saccharine layer. And sure, I’m reaching quite far to find a political parallel, but I guess I just want you to know that I really eff with this and that it’s been a timely record.
Beyblade let it rip!
Elizabeth, do you hate SEO? I can name, and this is just off the top of my head, two different Elizabeths, or Elizabi. The queen and the one in Austin Powers whose last name I can’t remember. I’d wager there may be as many as double that figure in existence. So THIS Elizabeth wants to go head to head on the google battlefield with four other conames? Seems a gamble if you ask me.
To her credit though, she has this really wonderful pop song called ‘Parties’ in her warchest and maybe that’ll be enough to finally bury Elizabeth Hurley (remembered it) though if dating Warney didn’t put a chink in her armour then she’s nigh on invincible. This song ‘Parties’, it’s produced by John Castle (who’s got a strong list of credits and would’ve come at no small cost) in the spirit of Beach House but it’s Elizabeth’s vocal that steals the show. They float lightly through these sonic hallways yet somehow they still feel huge, powerful, mighty – like a colossal spectre, edging its way through an empty passage.
I think this song strikes me so immediately because lines like “I go to parties like I don’t need anybody but I only miss you more” are such a lived experience for me. It certain doesn’t hurt that this same lyric rich chorus is the musculature built on the bones of a perfect melody. I find myself wordlessly humming this chorus constantly. Between words and sounds, it’s Elizabeth’s sledgehammer melancholy that sticks with me all these listens later.
Also, just a quick answer to one of the questions posed on this one – “when’d you get so good at being bad?”
Bud I’ve got bad news for you, some of us a just born with it. I’ve been good at being trash since day dot.
At first I thought Jayvin’s name was actually Jayvid and it’s like… come on bro, just say David. But someone recently told me that Jayvin is a more common name than I’d realized so sure, there’s egg on my face now. This highschooler is evidently inspired, first and foremost by hip-hop but to look at it singularly through that lens is reductive. The span of production sounds and stylistic choices on display from vocal through to the beat are wonderfully mixed and what’s more, they change at various points through the song so that the final record is ultimately nothing like the opening bars. It’s no stretch to say that hip-hop is transcending it’s landscapes and, I believe, is the spot to look if you want to hear adventure and innovation. This kid’s take is only a thin slither of hip-hop, but I truly can’t find anywhere else to hang my hat if not on that exploratory label, so there it swings. Reportedly he’s been producing music in his home state of WA since he was 10 years old. Now he’s on his way out of high school and alongside his ATAR he brings a manila wallet full of deluxe mp3s like the one below. Stream it, it’s quite something.
Didn’t think I’d find myself writing about a band called Mountain Wizard Death Cult this week but I also didn’t think artists were still uploading to reverbnation* so I guess it was a big week for learning new things. This band get it, and by “it” I mean, the capacity to make heavy records that are exactly what I want to hear in 2019. “Records!?” I hear you say. “They have but one song!!!” Ok, maybe I’m jumping the gun a little here but like… what a song? This caustic bile is some of the better sludge I’ve heard in a very long time, local or otherwise, channeling not just Jacob Bannon’s throat tearing intensity but Kurt Ballou’s angular guitar parts in both fast and slower moments.
*not this band
