Music reviews always tend to contain bold claims.
If you were to scroll through the life work of any music critic you’ll no doubt find ludicrous predictions regarding the apparent next big things that we’ve all now forgotten about; not to mention silly claims like Razorlight being a timeless super group, the next Weezer album being the one that returns them to form, and James Bay being anything more than just a hat.
In this week’s New Music Monday I won’t predict anything that bold, only that it won’t include any mention of Donald Trump – we had enough of him last week.
Glassjaw – New White Extremity
Off with a bang, our first track marks the return of legendary east coast hardcore band Glassjaw.
Like a lot of their contemporaries, At The Drive-In especially, the band have been endlessly in hiatus, causing fans no end of turmoil with rumours of reunions and tours and new music. This time however, thirteen years on from their last album, the band looks to be back for certain.
‘New White Extremity’ is exactly what you’d expect from the band. It’s loud, aggressive, and syncopated in all the weird ways that make New York hardcore so much different to regular rock music.
The 1975 – UGH!
I’ll admit, the last track from The 1975, ‘Love Me’, was only included in New Music Monday because I’m their biggest fan (no exaggeration) and a little biased. Whilst still being a fun track, it’s not exactly lived up to the expectations set following their debut album, has it?
‘UGH!’ is at least a little more toned down than ‘Love Me’. The eighties vibes are still present but only in a more aesthetic capacity, rather than dominating the track like the band let happen previously. Compared to the band’s previous work, the song draws most similarities with ‘M.O.N.E.Y’ and ‘Menswear’ – subtly pleasant tracks but worryingly not at the level of ‘Robbers’ or ‘The City’, the statement singles that we should be expecting from their second album.
Nada Surf – Believe You’re Mine
Nada Surf are a band with quite an interesting story. Having shot to fame in the nineties with the incredibly grungy single ‘Popular’, the band’s following album caused a disagreement with the label which led to the band being unceremoniously dropped whilst on tour.
In order to recover from that rather major setback, the band formed their own label and had to take regular day jobs for three years before they could release another record. Whilst they might not have since had the commercial success of ‘Popular’, they have gone on to produce a number of critically acclaimed albums.
‘Believe You’re Mine’ is a dreamy-smooth breakup song. Miles away from the angsty aggression of ‘Popular’, the band are now a much more mature, spacious indie outfit in the vein of The Shins or The Decemberists, carrying that woodsy quality that makes them so fitting for the winter season.
Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment – La Luna Ft. Moxie Raia
By now you’ve probably seen a lot of ‘Best of 2015’ lists in your Twitter feeds and Facebook timelines, despite the year not even being finished yet. If there were such a list taken from our New Music Monday features, Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment would right at the top. ‘Sunday Candy’ is tune of such epic proportions that the mere thought of it makes me put it on repeat for a good hour – which I’m doing right now.
To mark the would be 100th birthday of Frank Sinatra, the group have produced a cover of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ with the help of singer Moxie Raia.
The track is such a departure from the fifties classic that it’s had to be retitled. Instead of smooth crooning there’s Kanye style auto-tune and the brass big band has been replaced by synths and drum beats – it’s not Frank, but I like it.
What do you think of our picks this week? Let us know in the comments below!
