Going Steady: New Singles 5-27-22 – 6-2-22 Reviewed
Hawk For The Dove – Amanda Shires – an intricate blues country electric borrows from “Heart Of Gold” – B
¿Qué Nos Pasó? – Anuel AA – the rap is first rate and the sound is a Bad Bunny emo-reggaeon variant – B+
Van Hayden – Bankrol Hayden – newcomer rapper Bankroll was really good at Gov Ball last year and here the rapper embraces rock stardom (the Van in question is Halen) – B
Potion (with Dua Lipa & Young Thug) – Calvin Harris – Dua and Calvin try to conjure a new “One Kiss” and fail and would fail bad only Young Thug saves em on what will be a big hit – B
A Bar About a Bar – Chance the Rapper – the return of Chance who wrote it by himself, which maybe explains the abrupt ending 65 seconds in – B
Fuck Me (I Didn’t Know How To Say) – Crawlers – the UK rockers deal with a complex idea about sex as both trauma and PTSD with a first rate vocal and harmonies fighting in the face of horror – A-
DEAR MISS HOLLOWAY – easy life, Kevin Abstract – indie r&b from England with the great Brockhampton leader the icing on the cake – B+
True Love – Kanye West, XXXTENTACION – saw the light of day in February on Donda 2, an album I am the only person in the world to love unreservedly and still believe it is his worst to date, and even there the song featuring an XXXtentacion chorus was far from a standout. Ye has fiddled with it since then (he had problems with the drums) and here it is completed and off his Stem Player, and it is a whiny problem piece about children and divorce… the rest of the album is much better – C+
Another Sketch – Lil Silva – back after a six year break, the r&b soul guy who can write House anthems when the mood takes him, with a strongly arranged piece of electronica dream soul – B
Orville (feat. Like, Blu & Exile) – Logic – Gilbert O’Sullivan gets a writers credit but I can’t find the sample, and, really, an ode to that boring space opera? – C+
The One – M.I.A. – always well beyond welcome, and just signed to Island, her art meets electronic dance is a blast and “The One” is well worth the wait, immediately one of the best songs of the year – SINGLE OF THE WEEK – A-
Hideous – Oliver Sim, Jimmy Somerville – The XX bassist Oliver Sim writes about discovering he was HIV positive at the age of seventeen and how it upset him on an excellent song with Bronski Beat’s Jimmy Somerville as the angel on his shoulder – A-
Intrusive – Rico Nasty – when I saw her on stage, Rico seemed overwhelmed by her DJ and the production here is an electronic beats work out with weirdo rapping -in other words, a producer’s art – B+
Don’t Forget – Sky Ferreira – her great return, the heroin(e) on a loud beat, electronic dance track – B+
She Still Leads Me On – The London Suede – I can’t say that Brett Butler is much missed on this Suede facsimile back to big guitar sound stuff from the other Brett, Anderson – B+
IFTK – Tion Wayne, La Roux – London drill with a great hook from La Roux – B
A Spoonful of Cinnamon – Travie McCoy – the Gym Class Hero who self-destructed spectacularly with a serious look at the effects of miscegenation on the children – A-
Zion – U-Roy – the follow-up to last year’s excellent Solid Gold is a brooding piece of dub and rastaman vibes – B
Other Side – Wynonna, Waxahatchee – the first release since her mom Naomi’s suicide is beautiful Americana with a huge assist from Wax, who always writes great songs (what Wax doesn’t do is perform them well) – B+
