What sets the song apart from being viewed as an exercise in retro charm is the interesting choice of the samples and the snapping rhythm track. The choral sounds could have been curated for WOMAD by Peter Gabriel, and the fact that they don’t fit the chord progression super-snugly is a dissonant and spooky delight.
Music
This bluesy, soulful cut delivers a message with all the passion you’d expect from the daughter of Grammy-nominated George and Gwen McCrae. Time to give God’s Way a try?
Each time the chorus comes around, its simple, insistent melody drills into your memory, floating above a Björk-like set of rhythmic patterns that seemingly arrive out of nowhere. This is a classy and intricate slice of pop that we should all get our ears around.
Treated strings swoon along like squeezeboxes, guitars work together with a comforting stereo spread. Bass quietly thrums and underpins. The harmonising to the lead vocal is effortless but vital. The harmonies chosen warm the song through to the core. It’s a delicate and thoughtful piece that showcases a tremendous, characterful vocal.
In an age of pitch correction and quantised instruments, here is a journey into sound that allows you to hear every pluck, every strum and every word with a vibrancy and clarity that speaks volumes about the live experience and about an exceptionally well-rehearsed band that have been honing their craft and chemistry together for the best part of twenty years.
Showtime Shegz digs right into contemporary turmoil and seeks to inspire and motivate with this album release, drawing you in from afar with some of the most intriguing artwork to emerge in recent years, and quickly sealing the deal with an opening track that directly and unabashedly addresses his desired audience in an open, honest way.
As emotional songs go, this one digs right into the heart – dog lovers be warned. The tears may flood, but the song also reminds you to appreciate those still with you. An absolute recommend.
Creep deals partly with what the title promises, though topics vary to keep things interesting, and it delivers consistently with this familiar Nirvana-style set-up and the unmistakable yet ever-unexpected innocence of that leading vocal tone.
Stephen Babcock’s brand new single is an easy hit that ticks a whole lot of different boxes. Pouring through with the simple rhythm of an MGMT piece but the vocal swagger and clarity of a blues-rock classic, Fight I Need goes on to become conceptually accessible yet presented in a refreshing and somewhat quirky manner.
The contrast between these spoken word moments and the uplifting brightness of the hook lets the whole thing really hit with impact.
The song begins with a clean riff stylistically similar to The Cult, coupled with a laid-back groove. Both elements are drenched in reverb, and provide a moodier aesthetic. The sheer size of this track is certainly as the name would suggest – biblical.
Emerging under the appropriate title Exit Simulation II, the new project is of such a uniquely interesting and easy to enjoy nature, that you’re likely to find yourself lost in the midst of it as one united and whole experience – a rare and valuable quality for the contemporary album.