Ella Eyre – If I Go 2/5
She first came onto our radar providing some sick vocals for Rudimental’s smash hit ‘Waiting All Night’, and since then things have really blown up for Ella Eyre. The 20 year old has now featured with Wiz Khalifa and Tinie Tempah, and impressive with her debut EP Deeper, which stood strong solo and lent itself to some top remixes (check out the Friend Within mix) as well.
After such a strong past year then, it must be said that debut single ‘If I Go is’ a little bit of a letdown. The track is all to generic, with the only thing lifting above the rest of the templated-instrumental beats floating around right now being the artist’s signature, and admittedly splendid, vocals.
While as impressive as always though, the strong, avid singing of Eyre is simply not enough to make this song stand out, with a routine drum beat on the verses and an underwhelming progression to the chorus, which rises to a drum and bass style instrumental beat, proving all too monotonous.
Little Matador – Reasons 3/5
A real stomper of a rock beat guides the latest single from four-piece Brits Little Matador from the second it kicks off. Strong guitar work is seen throughout and a bassline that loops throughout keeps the listener hooked.
The fuzzy vocals in this track dive up and down over a tenacious back beat, giving a raw, rugged feel to the song that compares to early work from Queens of the Stone Age. Frontman Nathan Connolly offers enough differentiation from the rest of the indie-rock and chart-rock work on offer right now to make this track entertaining, although it still would have probably done better in the charts had it been released in 2010.
JproD – We Here Now (So Much Smoke) 3/5
A simple, synthetic and progressive beat moves up and down early on to lay the way for lyrics that take a nice rhythm and hold a nice line over the continual electronic backing.
The lyrics are genuine, taking on more serious, relevant issues than you’ll find in the Flo-Rida school of nonsense that’s been floating around the charts for the past few years, and JproD seems assertive in his work, laying down his words assertively and with a seemingly experienced confidence that grips the listener.
Unfortunately, unnecessary autotune takes away from the solid work of the artist throughout the song. The autotune comes and goes during the three minute plus record, but really only gets in the way of otherwise good work rather than contributing anything of value.
Beyonce – XO (Full Crate Remix) 2/5
A chilled house remix of last year’s release from pop queen Beyonce. A sweet soothing electronic melody starts off this piece before the lyrics of Beyonce step up a notch and the beat turns into a bouncy electronic sounding which is actually rather irritating.
This circulating beat seems intrusive to the song than complimentary, and when the work reverts back to a more casual house rhythm as Beyonce slows it down, the summer-style record proves much more appealing.
Needless to say though, with the bouncing electronic feature recurring throughout the record as Jay-Z’s other half dives into her verses, this song proves more irritable than irresistible and won’t be getting added to the summer playlist.
Click here to continue and find out what our single of the week is this time around, or hit the read more button below.
She first came onto our radar providing some sick vocals for Rudimental’s smash hit ‘Waiting All Night’, and since then things have really blown up for Ella Eyre. The 20 year old has now featured with Wiz Khalifa and Tinie Tempah, and impressive with her debut EP Deeper, which stood strong solo and lent itself to some top remixes (check out the Friend Within mix) as well.
After such a strong past year then, it must be said that debut single ‘If I Go is’ a little bit of a letdown. The track is all to generic, with the only thing lifting above the rest of the templated-instrumental beats floating around right now being the artist’s signature, and admittedly splendid, vocals.
While as impressive as always though, the strong, avid singing of Eyre is simply not enough to make this song stand out, with a routine drum beat on the verses and an underwhelming progression to the chorus, which rises to a drum and bass style instrumental beat, proving all too monotonous.
Little Matador – Reasons 3/5
A real stomper of a rock beat guides the latest single from four-piece Brits Little Matador from the second it kicks off. Strong guitar work is seen throughout and a bassline that loops throughout keeps the listener hooked.
The fuzzy vocals in this track dive up and down over a tenacious back beat, giving a raw, rugged feel to the song that compares to early work from Queens of the Stone Age. Frontman Nathan Connolly offers enough differentiation from the rest of the indie-rock and chart-rock work on offer right now to make this track entertaining, although it still would have probably done better in the charts had it been released in 2010.
JproD – We Here Now (So Much Smoke) 3/5
A simple, synthetic and progressive beat moves up and down early on to lay the way for lyrics that take a nice rhythm and hold a nice line over the continual electronic backing.
The lyrics are genuine, taking on more serious, relevant issues than you’ll find in the Flo-Rida school of nonsense that’s been floating around the charts for the past few years, and JproD seems assertive in his work, laying down his words assertively and with a seemingly experienced confidence that grips the listener.
Unfortunately, unnecessary autotune takes away from the solid work of the artist throughout the song. The autotune comes and goes during the three minute plus record, but really only gets in the way of otherwise good work rather than contributing anything of value.
Beyonce – XO (Full Crate Remix) 2/5
A chilled house remix of last year’s release from pop queen Beyonce. A sweet soothing electronic melody starts off this piece before the lyrics of Beyonce step up a notch and the beat turns into a bouncy electronic sounding which is actually rather irritating.
This circulating beat seems intrusive to the song than complimentary, and when the work reverts back to a more casual house rhythm as Beyonce slows it down, the summer-style record proves much more appealing.
Needless to say though, with the bouncing electronic feature recurring throughout the record as Jay-Z’s other half dives into her verses, this song proves more irritable than irresistible and won’t be getting added to the summer playlist.
Click here to continue and find out what our single of the week is this time around, or hit the read more button below.
Gucci Mane – Party Animal (Hudson Mohawke Remix) 5/5
When Glaswegian producer Hudson Mohawke isn’t chilling on a sunny island working on Kanye West’s new album, he’s often rattling up some remixes of his own for our enjoyment. His latest piece, a house-meets-hip-hop take on Gucci Mane’s ‘Party Animal’ is something that really makes you dream of dancing on foreign sand.
A groovy disco-house vibe opens the track with the help of a funky piano, and fast flowing lyrics from Gucci Mane ensure the hip-hop origins of Hudson Mohawke remain on show alongside a cool back beat which ensures you don’t feel like standing still to the resonant sound.
Transitions from a clear piano dominating the soundtrack to a more cluttered backing featuring snare drums, clapping and an electronic input ensure this song doesn’t get dull, and the everpresent lyrics mean this could be a cornerstone song for summer.
It would be single of the week this week, but Jurassic 5 just got back together. Come on.
★ RECORD OF THE WEEK ★
Jurassic 5 – The Way We Do It 5/5
You know when a group you love reform and they try to take their music in a ‘new direction’ and ‘draw from the experiences they had while they were away’? Yeah, it’s normally pretty shit. Luckily for us, Jurassic 5 have picked up right where they left off since reforming, returning with sensational new single ‘The Way We Do It’ – and the track name tells you all you need to know about the style.
Yup, J5 are back, and they don’t have any ridiculous new quirks or directional genre changes, they’ve just got their old school rhythms, beats and lyrics to make any hip-hop lover purr. A sweet piano melody welcomes is in to this track early on and spinning decks and a thumping drum soon combine to take us back to the 90s with a mouthwatering track that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Quality Control or Power In Numbers.
The piano and drum work comes from a jazzed up sample of The White Stripes’ ‘My Doorbell’, and works brilliantly to lay the foundations for J5 to rap sweetly on how they’ll rap how they want – with ‘a gross fetish for beats and dope lyrics’ – rather than taking on any modern nonsense.
Sounds good to us lads. Good to have you back.
Stuart Kenny
When Glaswegian producer Hudson Mohawke isn’t chilling on a sunny island working on Kanye West’s new album, he’s often rattling up some remixes of his own for our enjoyment. His latest piece, a house-meets-hip-hop take on Gucci Mane’s ‘Party Animal’ is something that really makes you dream of dancing on foreign sand.
A groovy disco-house vibe opens the track with the help of a funky piano, and fast flowing lyrics from Gucci Mane ensure the hip-hop origins of Hudson Mohawke remain on show alongside a cool back beat which ensures you don’t feel like standing still to the resonant sound.
Transitions from a clear piano dominating the soundtrack to a more cluttered backing featuring snare drums, clapping and an electronic input ensure this song doesn’t get dull, and the everpresent lyrics mean this could be a cornerstone song for summer.
It would be single of the week this week, but Jurassic 5 just got back together. Come on.
★ RECORD OF THE WEEK ★
Jurassic 5 – The Way We Do It 5/5
You know when a group you love reform and they try to take their music in a ‘new direction’ and ‘draw from the experiences they had while they were away’? Yeah, it’s normally pretty shit. Luckily for us, Jurassic 5 have picked up right where they left off since reforming, returning with sensational new single ‘The Way We Do It’ – and the track name tells you all you need to know about the style.
Yup, J5 are back, and they don’t have any ridiculous new quirks or directional genre changes, they’ve just got their old school rhythms, beats and lyrics to make any hip-hop lover purr. A sweet piano melody welcomes is in to this track early on and spinning decks and a thumping drum soon combine to take us back to the 90s with a mouthwatering track that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Quality Control or Power In Numbers.
The piano and drum work comes from a jazzed up sample of The White Stripes’ ‘My Doorbell’, and works brilliantly to lay the foundations for J5 to rap sweetly on how they’ll rap how they want – with ‘a gross fetish for beats and dope lyrics’ – rather than taking on any modern nonsense.
Sounds good to us lads. Good to have you back.
Stuart Kenny
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