TRACK OF THE WEEK
Aldous Harding
Elation
With her earthy voice – as timeless as the autumn leaves falling on to your moth-mangled winter coat – New Zealand’s Aldous Harding could be singing this rich, wistful ballad on the Titanic in 1909, or around a campfire on a hippy commune in the 70s. Thankfully, though, she’s doing it in 2017 … although doesn’t an episode of Black Mirror about a time-travelling folk-goth sound sort of amazing?
Wretch 32 ft Kojo Funds and Jahlani
Tell Me
Tottenham rapper Wretch 32 first rose to fame with 2011 single Traktor, and its refs to Jeremy Kyle and getting smashed. He has grown up a fair bit since then, sampling the Stone Roses and getting political along the way. Tell Me is an effortlessly cool mix of a Whitney Houston loop, Afrobeats flair and an obligatory nod to Hennessy, the drink that definitely doesn’t taste like shoe polish mixed with petrol. So on trend it’s basically in the future.
The Sound of Arrows
Don’t Worry
Ikea. Meatballs. Abba. Er, H&M and Ulrika Jonsson. Just some of Sweden’s finest exports. You can add the Sound of Arrows to that list, too, thanks to their proficient, Pet Shop Boys-lite pop. However, unlike the rest of their back catalogue, Don’t Worry fails to shine. From its Pure Shores-ish intro to its relentless strings, this goes for a consciously epic feel. Unfortunately, the result is the sort of faux-inspirational tune you hear while waiting to speak to someone about your broadband installation.
Kelela
Waitin
Kelela makes dreamy, 90s-inspired alt-R&B bangers that are velvety yet empowering, the musical equivalent of those pep talks girls have with total strangers in nightclub loos. Case in point, Waitin, which is a slick song about on/off love and how “winter’s always warmer when you’re around”. Cute, but it’s probably just climate change to be honest, love.
The Darkness
Southern Trains (Are Officially Awful!)
According to the ancient proverb, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Which kind of explains why the Darkness – a band whose popularity ranks somewhere between Ebola and bubonic plague – have decided to reach out to fellow users of perma-delayed train operator Southern Rail. A canny PR move, but this screechy mess about a “journey into pure despair” with a “choo choo” middle eight is only likely to add to commuters’ stress.
