This is, of course, a very
cynical stab at a very easy target in the world of musical media, so it
seems only fair to make the effort to check out these hip young peeps for ourselves. We'll make an objective judgement of their chances amongst the plethora of hotly
tipped acts that tend to emerge in the press at this time of year.
So here it goes:
ONE: Grimes
They say: Not actually grime at all, Claire Boucher is rethinking electro pop instead.
Subtext: It's electro pop, but a bit darker and with varied tempos. She's probably given that some thought.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? Current single Oblivion has a slightly hypnotic dreaminess to it which shows promise ahead of forthcoming album, Visions. Contrary to fair assumption, this is not her first release, after 2010's Halifaxa and a couple of other independent releases (including one on cassette, the cool thing). It's interesting, certainly, and could well be quite exciting live, but it's hardly jaw-droppingly good.
TWO: Spector
They say: Fred Mcpherson's latest project, a dapper arch indie collective.
Subtext: His previous two bands weren't particularly mainstream, so here's hoping it's 'third time lucky'!
Is it worthy of merit so soon? McPherson's previous bands - Les Incompetents and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man. - did moderately well but never broke through much outside of their native London. Spector feels strongly like a final attempt to do so. His glasses make him look eerily like Ron from Sparks and the music falls somewhere between the aforementioned band's artistic approach and the 80s stylistics of last year's success story, Hurts. Current single Grey Shirt & Tie sounds overly thought out, and if you're not convinced at first, you may well be persuaded when you hear the combination of strings and French poetic ramblings come the song's outro. Despite this, they're likely to have a decent year.
THREE: A$AP Rocky
They say: Harlem's new rap prodigy, just signed for big bucks.
Subtext: He's from the 'hood but has sold out to a major label, but he's still edgy and tough and you should respect him for living the American Dream.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? No. It stands for everything wrong with American hip hop. See the 'Just Say Yes' pro-drug bullshit that is Purple Swag as one of several examples currently on the web.
FOUR: DZ Deathrays
They say: Australian noiseniks that call to mind The Scare. Remember them?
Subtext: We don't really remember The Scare - few people do - but they're kinda similar, right?
Is it worthy of merit so soon? What is sure to be pretty chaotic on stage sounds lacklustre on record. Animal from The Muppets-like drums and a fast-paced three chord guitar are combined with not-quite-sung vocals to create a loosely-hinged noise. It's fine, but it's a fad.
FIVE: Howler
They say: 2012's answer to The Strokes - expect a very successful year from this lot.
Subtext: The last album from The Strokes was disappointing, so let's pin all our hopes on these imitators.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? We don't need "an answer to The Strokes"; we have copies of The Strokes' albums for that in 2012. To be honest, Howler don't sound massively like their apparent idols, but Back Of Your Neck shows them acting like they wished they were. It's summery with a catchy (yet hollow) chorus, but has little else to offer besides this. Listening to Angles would be better, even if it's not Julian & Co's finest work.
SIX: Wise Blood
They say: A gloriously chaotic mess of Led Zep beats and Outkast-style funk.
Subtext: If in doubt, stick two cool bands together and you've got yourself an eye-catching tagline.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? Not to be confused with Jim Thirwell's Wiseblood (as if you would), Chris Laufman has conjured up something pretty interesting here. Loud Mouths is seemingly a mixture of real sounds and samples with a claustrophobic groove. Fortunately, there's more where this came from. Wise Blood has actually been going for a while now, so he's not strictly speaking new, but this is a minor technical detail to the NME.
SEVEN: Azealia Banks
They say:
Subtext: What?!? You've never heard of her!?! Have you been living in a cave or something?!? We've been banging on about this girl for all of two months! She's on the tour we put our name behind in the New Year! You're a fucking imbecile. You know nothing.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? Azealia has one of those 'butter wouldn't melt' looks which enables her to take the edge off when she drops the C-bomb repeatedly (but not aggressively) on 212. In the modern world we live in, it's sad to say that listening to a female artist with some grit within the male dominated music industry is refreshing, but it's true. There is an R 'n' B overtone to her tracks in a similar vain to Rihanna too, only with charisma. Azealia is an easy choice to tip for success on account of her being a breath of fresh air within a suffocating genre.
EIGHT: Friends
They say: Angular indie thrills from the indie collective.
Subtext: Did we mention they were indie? I can't remember. Let's say it again just to be sure we get our message across. They're indie.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? They're from Brooklyn, which seems to score a band points before they've even played a note these days, though to be fair it is the city which has brought us Dirty Projectors, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Grizzly Bear in recent years. Anyway, I'm His Girl is a too-cool-for-school warning to a bunny boiler delivered with typical NY nonchalance. If Friends were from London they'd sound wanky and pretentious, but these Yanks are frustratingly on the money so far.
NINE: Discopolis
They say: Clue's in the title - kind of.
Subtext: They play dance music, and disco is a type of dance music, and that's all we can think of.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? Laurie, Fergus and.....DAVE make up a trio of loveable idiots from Edinburgh who make electro-fuelled melodies for lovers who aren't necessarily getting any action at the moment. Lofty Ambitions is a heartfelt dancefloor-filler which sounds achingly similar to Friendly Fires. Discopolis could easily be dismissed (and kind of have been in the last two sentences you've read) but they should be credited for their sense of humour within a genre of music which is predominantly all about having fun.
TEN: Willis Earl Beal
They say: The fact XL picked him tells you all you need to know. Go listen.
Subtext: XL also picked Adele, so perhaps we'll be sick to death of him come April.
Is it worthy of merit so soon? It's hard to tell. People can be fickle. The boy can certainly sing, with Same Old Tears having the outback-of-America roots sound that works well acapella, and sounds even stronger with a full backing band, but it may not push everyone's buttons. On the basis of what is out there at the moment, Beal probably deserves to flourish, and on some level he undoubtedly will. Credit to XL for taking what could be a risk here (on the basis of sales, not talent), and here's hoping that it pays off for the artist himself. As far as the NME go, Beal doesn't fit in with their usually favoured acts, and his inclusion in their list only emphasises their craving to say "We told you so" should things work out for the best.
That's all for Part One. Part Two will follow very soon. Please let us know your thoughts and come back again soon.
Twitter: @JukeboxSoapbox E-mail: mail@jukeboxsoapbox.com
No comments:
Post a Comment