Going Steady: New Single Reviews 7-21-17 – 7-27-17
Diamonds – A$AP Twelvyy, A$AP Rocky – samples Phantogram’s “Mouthful of Diamonds” for a laid back beauty of dream stirred hip hop – B
Believe – A-Trak, Quavo, Lil Yachty – A-Trak corrals two of the biggest stars of Trap for an autotuned and echoed sex track with a vaguely oriental beat track and a smooth ease – B
Watcha Gonna Do – Diddy, The Notorious B.I.G., Rick Ross – Diddy and Rick brag about how rich they are and an obscure Biggie rap is added to the end. Is that Steve Miller being sampled? PS Biggie raps circles around em – B
Momentum – Don Diablo – Tiesto’s buddis is old school House on this terrific EDM special, all beats and strange sounds you aren’t quite sure how he manufactured and a constant “right here, right now” interloping – Fatboy Slim is not forgotten – B+
Neighbors – Grizzly Bear – A break-up song, like technic bordered Americana Brooklyn experimentation – C+
God Bless This Mess – Jillian Jacqueline – Good enough, old school country which resists the urge to turn it up a notch – B
She’s On My Mind – JP Cooper – Manchester lad performs blue eyed soul if Ed Sheeran played blue eyed soul -meaning he adds a touch too much beat and flourishes – C+
Pleasure (Live) – Justice – What’s the difference between live and recorded EDM songs? Not much on this ordinary slab of a track – C
Back For More – Justine Skye, Jeremih – State of the art r&b, Justine has a sweet voice and great sense of tempo, Jeremih is a legend in the making, and the song is a goodie – B+
No Love – Kevin Gates – Gangsta rap with a terrific vocal by Kevin, it seems to rattle at the prison guitar doors he is stuck in though really, he kicked a female fan at a show? – B
Attitude – Leikeli47 – Nursery rhyme rap against a simple and clever bear – B+
Overload – Lloyd Banks – He has been doing it for decades and has a unique voice, rasp without being deep. This is all about the rap and the rap is a good one, all flow – B
Judo – Magic & Bird – From Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed, good little dance rap track – B-
Back To You – Louis Tomlinson, Bebe Rexha, Digital Farm Animals – A surprisingly good dance-pop track, absolutely charming and addictive and low powered yet an instant draw – SINGLE OF THE WEEK – B+
Would You Mind – PRETTYMUCH – Rock pop with close harmonies behind the lead by the boys, and really, isn’t there a hole in the market place for a cute boy band? – C+
Poor Me – Shania Twain – Ho hum – C
Strangest Things – The War On Drugs – It makes perfect sense to keep on releasing singles from an upcoming album, this slow brooder with a lovely guitar part is the band’s second winner – B
