A Highly (unqualified) Music Review
All of us are self-proclaimed music connoisseurs and the best backseat DJs on a long roadie, so me, an intellectual, is here to tell you what I think is hot in music right now. Quick facts: I know nothing about music theory, don’t play any instruments and I’ve struggled with the kazoo. I will now present myself as a better music person than you. Do you write for Debate? Didn’t think so.
A song to flex on your homies that you have diverse music taste
Fresh off the press, we have People by The 1975, the first single to come out of a highly anticipated fourth album titled Notes On A Conditional Form. With this single, we hear the band take a different direction with their music towards punk rock, rather than their usual soft indie pop sound. I enjoy the direction that they are taking with this single as a lot of mainstream pop bands at the moment are still into their synths and phat bass. I was quick to notice that the autotune from previous tracks has been completely stripped back, putting an emphasis on Matty’s voice.
I score this bad boy a hot 9/10; A certified banger.
A song that will make your level 10 Grandmaster piano skills cry
It’s time for you to curl up into a ball in the corner of your room and be mesmerized by Jacob Collier. This man has spent the past year working on four full length albums, with two out of four already released. Djesse: Volume 2 in my opinion is one of the best albums to come out in 2019 and it’s super hard to pick out which song is the best because they’re all bloody good, but if I had to, I’d pick Feel (feat. Lianne La Havas). It’s not necessarily the most complex track in the world so all you level 10 piano gods out there will still be able to play it, but I think that in Jacob Collier’s case, less is definitely more. It’s the simplicity of the song that blows my little mind. After you have a cry in the corner, enjoy his voice become your warm big spoon.
I’d score the song a solid 10/10: Mad talent from both Jacob and Lianne. I’m a sucker for good vocals. Watch his tiny desk - it was hands down the most wholesome 19 minutes and 35 seconds of my life.
A song that you can relate to
Wanna be woke on up and coming New Zealand artists? I’ve got a mad banger called Thursday by Only Brothers, a four-piece soul pop band from Auckland. We’re all out here living from paycheck to paycheck and this tune is about waiting for Thursday to roll around and save our asses. If you ever have the chance to catch these guys live, I’d highly recommend. I give this banger 9/10 slaps.
Some more artists that I rate at the moment include: Marianne Wren, Half.Alive, Wells*, Faye Webster and last but not least, Tania Maria for some jazzy beats. Cheeky plug to my gram @dxterc where I do weekly song recommends for those of you who are seeking a highly unqualified review that solidifies my superior music taste.