Going Steady: New Singles 4-22-22 – 4-28-22 Reviewed
Hollandaise – Ab-Soul – one of Top Dawg’s great signings, the self portraiture rapper is at the top of his form on this addictive slice of superior hip hop – B+
Love of My Life (feat. Vince Gill) – Ann Wilson – Heart were loved for what they represented but songwise? There are two sure shots from back in 1975 and another one a year later, now fast forward forty plus year and this lachrymose purely lousy ballad has no use for the man who coulda been a contender and chose… what? The Eagles? – D
Need a Break – April Rose Gabrielli – 70s style pop rock anthem is the singer songwriter at the top of her powers – A
Voodoo (with J Balvin & Tainy) – Badshah – Latin trap with Badsah’s first rate rap leading the ways and a dolphin sounding loop – B+
Crazy Angels – Carrie Underwood – a nice little country rock rave up – B
Birthdays – Craig Finn – his singing is a bit better than usually and the bridge is major – B
2step (feat. Lil Baby) – Ed Sheeran – pretty and also pretty iffy, Ed has something about him that changes everything he touches into generic pop and Lil Baby ain’t up to much – C
Tiny Dancer – Piano Demo – Elton John – the eagerly awaited Madman Across The Water super deluxe 50th-anniversary reissue is on its way, till then here is the Elton John “Tiny Dancer (Piano Demo)”, though far less a demo and far more a piano guide – B
Free – Florence + The Machine – of the three singles we’ve heard off the upcoming album, “Free” is the best from the Jack Antonoff co-produced soon come. Florence’s best work since “Dog Days Are Over” B+
Green Green Grass – George Ezra – George Ezra (remember “Budapest”?) returns with yet another good singer songwriter song but lively and a fun tale of imminent mortality – B+
Heloise – Julia Holter, Geologist, Harper Simon, Meditations on Crime – Yes, ugh, the duo are way too staid for good taste – C+
FEED THEM – Kelis – I once met Kelis circa “Caught Out There” and her afro was so big I couldn’t get within a mile of shaking her hand – B
PROVENZA – KAROL G – a slice of pure modern Latin pop from the Colombian superstar with a percolating beat – B+
Better Days – Liam Gallagher – Oasis is to the Beatles what Liam is to Oasis, however this isn’t his worst song – B-
Tetris – Logic – Logic has seen his star dim quite a bit since he joined Twitch, he is back with a WIz Khalifa tour and new single, a smooth rap and dexterous word twister – B
H Spot (with Yo Gotti) – Lil Poppa – the Jacksonville storyteller has signed to Interscope and he shares the mic with Yo Gotti as they trade and interrupt and merge – A-
Tomorrow Me – Luke Combs – in 2018 Luke was the classic country performer to beat but since then Morgan Wallen has pissed on his chips, “Tomorrow Me” is one reason why, good sure, but not more than that as country ballads go – B-
HIGHWAY TO YOUR HEART – Lykke Li – the sound is really lovely, an electronic beauty, the song isn’t as much – B-
Pants Is Overrated – Lyle Lovett, Jim Cox – one part nursery rhyme to two parts country blues, much better than the first single – B
Plan B – Megan Thee Stallion – a devastatingly put down and a female supremacy track, Megan is never better than on a straight up rap track with a simple and strong sample – SINGLE OF THE WEEK – A-
Glide – cover – Mitski – a beautiful take on Takeshi Kobayashi’s original – B+
Where you are (feat. WILLOW) – PinkPantheress – pretty good use of a Paramore sample from the sadgirl by other means (by which I mean Skrillex co-produced) – B-
Be Like Water (feat. Stevie Wonder & Nas) – PJ Morton – modern r&b with the classicist and natural Wonder and a smooth verse from Nas – B
words – piri, Tommy Villiers – EDM thump with girlish singing – B-
Conspiranoia – Primus – Les Claypool at his most accessible on a fine slice of playful progginess that keeps getting better over eleven minutes – A-
Unholy Affliction – Soccer Mommy – a goth, singer songwriter bore – C-
American Campfire – Ted Nugent – sure he is a putz but Ted has his moments and this little rocker is a goodie and with no excess political weight – B
Riptide – The Chainsmokers – not in the same league as “High” -a song that deserved to be a huge hit and wasn’t, “Riptide” should sink without a trace, not helped by co-writer Chris Martin – C+
Thousand Miles – The Kid LAROI – of the twinks currently vying to be the next Justin Bieber, Kid Laroi was way on top but this is a huge bummer and won’t displace Jack Harlow at the top of the charts – C+
Free In The Knowledge – The Smile, Hugh Brunt – a dreary disaster, if Thom wants a busman’s holiday from Radiohead, for fuck’s sake let it be Atoms For Peace – C
Home – Radio Edit – The Umoza Music Project, Paul McCartney – “The Malawian artists sing in their native Chichewa language, commonly spoken across Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. The lead single features a very special guest musician – Paul McCartney playing his Hofner bass.” -first rate world music, a must hear – A-
Out of Time – KAYTRANADA Remix – The Weeknd – A great heavy beats take, but the original was better – B+
