This week’s playlist is a big mix indeed. We’ve got some good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll to start off with from the guys in Them Bruins, before getting a bit electronic and off-centre with Jack Grace, Yeo and delicately beautiful with Lanks. We’ve also got a fantastic Martin King remix of Oscar Key Sung, spitfire rhymes courtesy of Little Simz, a straight up jam from Tuxedo and some future R&B sounds from Donatachi and Blair De Milo. We’ve also got a special treat to wrap things up with, from UK artist Obenewa. Hold onto your hats!
Them Bruins – Heading For The Harrows
How about some hard hitting and breakneck rock to get things started? Fresh off an East Coast tour and residency at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar, Them Bruins are back with an absolute ripper in Heading For The Harrows. The falsetto alone is enough for me, not to mention the hard hitting drums, the roaring guitar and the raucous vibe! This would be a frenzy live!
Jack Grace – Hills
This is an interesting one. Sydney songwriter/producer Jack Grace works his magic on Hills, an eclectic mix of downtempo pop, eclectic and unusual production and a vocal hook that got stuck in my head from the first listen. Although I’m not crazy and the random “bouncing laser” samples (that’s what I’m calling it anyway), as I find it takes away from a rather deep and pensive track, it’s still deep and pensive enough to count.
Yeo – Quiet Achiever
Melbournian Yeo may have called his new song Quiet Achiever, but the track makes his return seem anything but. Well and truly back with a bang, Yeo really ups the ante with this latest release, showing he really is a force to be reckoned with. It starts off as what you think would be an R&B jam, before the tropical steel drums come into play and the trap breakdown hits. Catching you by surprise more than a few times, this is a really, really great song. Welcome back, Yeo!
Lanks – Aurelia
Lanks is just about to hit the road on a national tour AND drop a new EP, but he’s squeezed one more single in before doing so – and boy, are we glad he did. Aurelia is taken from his Banquet EP, and is without a doubt the most beautiful track I’ve heard from this artist in the admittedly short time I’ve known of him (there has been extensive listening though). Delicate, intimate and totally sublime, Lanks’ falsetto soars over thick, droning synth chords and crisp, piercing drum beats before things swirl into something that seriously stunning. I love this song.
Oscar Key Sung – Brush (Martin King Remix)
Nu-soul extraordinaire Oscar Key Sung released a bunch of remixes from his recently released Altruism EP, but the stand out for us is Martin King’s take on his track Brush. The duo are hardly strangers, and are the two members of other pop project Oscar + Martin, so it stands to reason that King jumping on this track is a match made in heaven. The rework moves Oscar’s vocals away from his comfort zone and into a higher range, complemented by jungle styled drum work and serious good vibes, but it’s the breakdown that really sets this one apart.
Little Simz – Lane Switch
Little Simz builds on her reputation as having one of the quickest tongues in the game with this latest track. Fiery and pretty damn bad ass, Simz spits back some pretty devastating rhymes over the huge beats laid down by UK producer RASCAL. She said of the track “Lane Switch again is an update on where I am in my life right now and what space I’m in, I’ve been on the road for the longest time and want to update my listeners on how I finding everything,” before citing giving new music to her supporters as her main way of staying creative, as well as “growing and evolving”. Little Simz is definitely one to keep an eye on!
Tuxedo – Without Your Love
Tuxedo are one of my favourite duos of recent times. Jake One and Mayer Hawthorne continue to deliver the goods with their collaborative, jazz-meets-soul-meets-funk-meets-whatever the hell else they can add to their sound, with each track continually outdoing it’s predecessors. Without Your Love was actually a Japan-only release on their debut album which dropped in March, but the guys decided to let the rest of the world in on it as well – and thank God they did! Try get this one out of your head!
Tiger Choir – All Time
Hobart band Tiger Choir delivered one of the happiest tracks of the year a few months ago with their lead single Shani, and now the boys are back with All Time. Mixed by b (who has worked with I’lls and Klo) and mastered by Andrei Eremin (who has an almighty list of collaborations like Chet Faker, Oscar Key Sung and Hiatus Kaiyote), the band are onto something really, really good here! This track has us more than excited for their forthcoming LP.
Donatachi – Neo Ft. Blair De MIlo
Sydney producer Donatachi previously worked under the name Loudun, but has changed his name and his sound with this new project. The future R&B infusion that is Neo is a total dream, only bettered by the presence of Blair De Milo on vocal duties. The smoky, chilled out but emotive and groovy collaboration is one of my favourite recent discoveries, and has put both artists firmly on my radar.
Obenewa – Solid Gold
Saving the best for last, we here at H&E were stunned at this latest song from Obenewa. Taking influence from Mary J Blige or even Whitney Houston, this song is so stunningly lush, gentle but still quite powerful it took a few listens to really grasp the magic going on here with Solid Gold. Flawless.