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Hanni El Khatib Releases New Track “Come Down”

Hanni El Khatib has recently released two short, three-track EPs, Savage Times volumes 1 and 2 – and he’s now about to release the third instalment, ahead of which comes new single Come Down. It might be my favourite new track yet.

The first two volumes showed off an interesting blend of styles, from raucous punk to intimate, emotive acoustic vocals-and-guitar only numbers. Come Down opens on a big, brassy bass that plods along like a tuba, before Khatib’s awesome melody kicks in up above. The track has a kind of playful feel to it once the rest of the music kicks in. It’s dark but warm, and there’s something quite raw and seductive about it all. Toward the end comes a wicked guitar solo, satisfyingly deep and a pleasure to hear. Like most of the tracks from the Savage Times series, the song’s foudnations and layers are fairly simple, but they make really nice little musical snippets.

It’s unsure as to how many volumes we’ll see, or if they will all be eventually released as one album. It’s an interesting way to release music in these short snippets, as opposed to a full album. It not only makes for a clever marketing technique to keep the music in the media cycle, but it’s a great way to allow fans to absorb a few songs at a time, rather than undertake an entire album, which in this day and age of single-focused releases, might be considered a little daunting for some.

Image: Stereogum