i love when you haven’t heard a song in a long time and you’re blown away all over again….
While you are away My heart comes undone Slowly unravels In a ball of yarn The devil collects it With a grin Our love In a ball of yarn He’ll never return it So when you come back We’ll have to make new love He’ll never return it So when you come back We’ll have to make new love While you are away My heart comes undone Slowly unravels In a ball of yarn
I absolutely adore Låpsleyand the English musician’s soulful brand of alt R&B and electronic art pop. Her debut full length Long Way Home dropped in 2016; we haven’t heard much from her since. I’ve oft wondered whether she was working on new material, and tried to keep a lookout for any news from her, yet somehow I managed to miss out on her glorious return until just a few days ago despite My Love Was Like The Rain arriving a couple weeks ago. Without further ado, let’s take in the magnificent beauty of the shadowy, graceful reflection that is her long awaited new single. There’s no mistaking this song for anything but Låpsley, from her rich sonorous voice to the song’s fluid, spacious electronic production. The music video for My Love Was Like The Rain also entrances with its nod to old school rave aesthetics, as well as road scenes that remind me of Radiohead’s Karma Police and underwater pool shots that remind me of Nirvana’s renowned Nevermind cover art. My Love Was Like The Rain is a glimmering light in the dark, a shadowplay of a delicately entrancing song. And it’s a superb return from an artist we’ve been missing dearly. It’s taken from a forthcoming EP entitled These Elements, out November 22nd. Pre-save/pre-order, here.
Due to certain events and certain misfortunes recently, I haven’t been to as many shows as usual. But there’s one that I’m making sure I don’t miss out on this week, and that’s FKA twigs tomorrow night at the Fox Theatre in Oakland. It’s the second night of two that she’s performing here on tour. I’m ready for a spectacle for both eyes and ears and have all the love and respect in the world for Tahliah Barnett, who as you likely know if you’re a fan, fought through some critical physical ailments to continue dazzling us as the sensational performer, musician, and dancer that she is. The tour of course, is in conjunction with release of FKA twigs new album MAGDALENE, off which we’ve heard a bevy of amazing songs in the last few months. Cellophane and her pole dancing routine for the song is jaw droppingly beautiful. Holy Terrain featuring Future is more of a Rosalia-esque hip hop infused treat. And ‘home with you’ with its artistic visuals sends chills through my very soul each and everytime I take in its billowing splendor. ‘sad day’ is our new taste from MAGDALENE. It’s a gorgeously enchanting ballad that very much reminds me of Kate Bush’s more contemporary releases, but with hypnotic production shards. No doubt MAGDALENE is going to be an immense spectrum of sound considering the diversity of all we’ve heard from it so far. And it drops THIS Friday! Magdalene, which was produced by venerated music man Nicolas Jaar, can be pre-ordered, here.
I’m a huge fan of Mackenzie Scott’s project TORRES. The American singer songwriter’s lyrics are always raw and affecting, while her blend of alt rock and sometimes folk-tinged indie tends to dramatically mesmerize and intensely stir, sometimes with a snarling bite, and sometimes with a tasteful jab. So I was eager to dive into her latest single, which appropriately dropped right ahead of Halloween since it’s named Good Scare. The song, more of the tasteful jab type than the snarling bite type, is the lead single and opening track from TORRES’ newly announced album Silver Tongue, which will be released via Merge on January 31st next year. Good Scare sits somewhere between her 2015 album Sprinter (still my favorite) and her 2017 album Three Futures with its smooth melodious lilt and lush electronic atmosphere, which also feels a bit St. Vincent like at times. TORRES is currently on a short tour on the East Coast, and she’ll be headed across the Atlantic next March. Hopefully, a more extensive North American tour will be announced for 2020, too. Pre-order Silver Tongue, here.
I mentioned Perfume Genius in our previous feature tonight, so it’s only proper that we now follow it up with the latest gem from the esteemed Iowan, whose true genius always shines through on the immense array of chamber pop music he’s given us this decade. I first fell for Mike Hadreas just before he released his 2012 album Put Your Back N 2 It, just before he became the darling of the indie world with his followup releases. He brings back some of that record’s sparser intimacy in the opening minutes of Pop Song, which despite its name, is no conventional pop ditty. But who would expect anything mundane from Hadreas? Pop Song soon breaks out into grander scale movement, flush with other worldly percussion, enchanting chimes, and a verdantly textured, fluidly shifting soundscape. Pop Song will be on Perfume Genius’ immersive dance project The Sun Still Burns Here, which makes its way to the Joyce Theatre in NYC on November 13th with musician himself, choreographer Kate Wallich, and dance company The YC in attendance. Performnace runs in Minneapolis and Boston follow in December and January. Stream Pop Song, here.
