Going Steady: New Singles 10-18-18 – 10-25-18 Reviewed

Prince Charming – Action Bronson – First he falls in love and then he brags about himself, the sample is very sweet – B

Are You There – Aoife O’Donovan – Folkie vibes – C+

Old Friends – Arms, Xara – Has it really been ten years since Kids Aflame? This is mainstream EDM pop  as singer songwriter craftsmanship, and well done  – B

when the party’s over – Billie Eilish – Lo fi teen angst – B-

You’re a Big Girl Now – Take 2 – Bob Dylan – The least fave track on his masterpiece, I prefer this take to the one on the album, that “alone in the rain” line is killer – A

Party Of One (feat. Sam Smith) – Brandi Carlile, Sam Smith – Lovely version of the final song on Brandi’s album, their voices mesh nicely – B

Into the Mist – Built By Titan, Future Rivals – “nice guy, makes music” reads his bio on Spotify… hard to deny, right? EDM Avicii style pop dance – B-

No Matter What – Calum Scott – Well voiced UK popster, this is too maudlin for the Sam Smith wannabe – C+

Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk – Edit – Charles Mingus – From the upcoming Jazz In Detroit, “In February 1973, Mingus released his favorite album Let My Children Hear Music and returned from a European tour. He moved to Detroit for a week’s residency at 46 Selden Street, home of Kenny and Barbara Cox, and lab of the Strata label. He concluded his stay with a private concert at the Strata Gallery accompanied by tenor saxophonist John Stubblefield, pianist Don Pullen, Detroit trumpet player Joe Gardner and drummer Roy Brook”- A

Peggy’s Blue Skylight – Edit – Charles Mingus – If what you want is his bass stick with “Orange” – A

1974 – David Crosby – More art folk – C+

Can’t Fight the Feeling – Charles Bradley, Menahan Street Band – Pretty good soul sound from the late great – B+

Who Hurt You? – Daniel Caesar – Impressive chill r&b H.E.R. buddy with a rabid following who will love this – B+

Don’t Leave Me Alone (feat. Anne-Marie) – EDX’s Indian Summer Remix – David Guetta, Anne-Marie, EDX – The original is on my best singles of 2018 shortlist, this isn’t, it sounds a little tinny – C+

Power Over Me – Dermot Kennedy – The sort of strong voiced melodrama that goes down big in the UK – C

The Passion (Brian Power Remix) – Radio Edit – Jody Watley, SRL, Brian Power – The Shalamar great goes straight up percolated dance trance disco – B-

Jealous Guy – Ultimate Mix – John Lennon, The Plastic Ono Band, The Flux Fiddlers – If you are looking for the Imagine box set, this is the closest I’ve found so far without dropping a c note (ps: Grade: A):

I Love – Joyner Lucas – Nice hook – B

Pienso en Ti – Joss Favela, Becky G – They dub this regional Mexican so I guess they mean it ain’t reggaeton, the country has a western swing to it and Becky G doesn’t make an ass of herself – B

AGEN WIDA – JOYRYDE, Skrillex – Bass heavy house – the DJs are touring together soon – B

Words I Heard – Edit – Julia Holter – If electronica went to Lilith…  – B

Good As You – Kane Brown – If you’ve had problems with Kane’s baritone twang, you won’t on this earworm of a country dreamboat song , country rock with a fun guitar break and a calm joy to its mode. The video is taken from his actual wedding to Katelyn Jae  on October 12th, 2018 –  A-

Cry Alone – Lil Peep – The late great goes full on emo – B+

Woman Like Me (feat. Nicki Minaj) – Little Mix, Nicki Minaj – Middling dance pop by a middling band, Nicki’s verse ain’t much – C

Imposible – Luis Fonsi, Ozuna – Two of the biggest names in Latin American pop join up for a nice mingle of pop genres settling into a mid-tempo love song – B

Die From A Broken Heart – Maddie & Tae – Sad songs say so much, especially with this much twang – B

The Distance (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) – Mariah Carey, Ty Dolla $ign – Mariah ain’t pushing and Ty is the most anonymous singer in the country, this is nothing much – C+

It’s Me on the Dance Floor – My Brightest Diamond – Starts otherworldly and ends up shuffling and moving before an eccentric break… welcome back Shara – B

Indeed I Do – Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney – An outtake from Wild Life, with Paul unable to suppress a giggle at Linda’s wobbly back up – B

Mystery Hour – Pavo Pavo – Starts like twee indie and then erupts in symphonic splendor – B+

Steal the Night – Pete Molinari – Pete claimed this: “I just wanted to remind the world that rock ‘n’ roll, when it’s done authentically, can still be the most powerful force in the world,”  and it might be but the song (featuring Evan Rachel Wood, stuck in the bloody and boring “Westworld” as an avenging bot) isn’t good enough to matter – C+

Sunflower – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Post Malone, Swae Lee – This is where the question as to Post Malone’s future,  highlighted during that Olive Garden segment on “The Tonight Show,” comes into focus, face tats notwithstanding, he is a mainstream pop star and this is how that emo-rap sound works when it is heading chartwise – B

This Time Of Year – Ra Ra Riot – The last album stiffed, this catchy soul move should be OK and the bridge revs up before subsiding –  B

The Rumble – Róisín Murphy – Moloko lead singer goes house – B

Ny#1: Keith Shocklee Remix – Sam Huber, Keith Shocklee – The original worked as a reboot of Finland  soul superstar gets a deep house workout from Public Enemy leader of the Bomb Squad that throws it right onto the dancefloor – B+

The End of the World: Keith Shocklee Remix – Sam Huber, Keith Shocklee – A powerful reworking off the album’s last track with an ace guitar hook and heavy disco beats. Sam has claimed it was inspired by Keith and I am guessing he means the multi sample dubbed out “Bring The Noise” which this channels and updates till it where the terrordome meets the pleasure zone, the bass hook is incredible – SINGLE OF THE WEEK – A-

Hymn – Sarah Brightman – Aiming for opera ends up with sloppy seconds though in 2018 its bigness is a pleasure and its spiritual a wink that doesn’t sink to CCM  – B

Chasing Parties – Sasha Sloan – She is like a young Lana Del Rey, an obsessive heartacher without the chops to jump into soundscapes, or maybe without the urge. This is sweet and sad  from the sadgirl – B

NATIVE TONGUE – Switchfoot – A finger snapping little rocker – B-

It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) – The 1975 – The most mainstream UK rocker they have ever written, and the worst of the current crop though their fanbase should eat it up – B-

End of summer (now I know) – The Front Bottoms – Typical Front Bottoms, interesting arrangement, the back up singers seem to creep in, but the song is just what they do…  “I will love you till my hair falls out”? I don’t mind that Brian Sella has a career, he seems like a pleasant enough fellow, I just don’t like listening to it very often – C+

Above The Law – The O’Jays – Not bad r&b, but “Backstabbers” it ain’t – C+

Como Yo – Tito Nieves, Sergio George, Pacho El Antifeka – A legend of Latin pop on a swinging salsa track – B

DrIP DrIp Drip (feat. Meek Mill) – Tory Lanez, Meek Mill – This was to be Tory’s year, the Canadian Latin r&b guy maneuvers his way through the beats with great skill, but despite ending his fight with Drake and even guesting at a concert, doesn’t quite get it right – B

Revelation (From “Boy Erased”) – Troye Sivan, Jónsi – From the team that brought you Bloom, a strong song about the joys of homosexualityL not as immediately catchy as “Seventeen” and much quieter than “My My My” it could be a new form of CCM, it has the deepness that makes the sex holy – B+

You Come First (feat. Saweetie) – Zak Abel, Saweetie – Whistling never works as a hook – C

Ruin My Life – Zara Larsson – This Swedish electronic popster crafts a catchy sucker – C+

Fingers – ZAYN – Not untypical electro pop sex song, sweet but not particularly original – B-

Mono – Zero 7, Hidden –  Quietly, deceptively, brilliant pop move from the UK production duo – B-