Latest Music + Reviews

(Published: 2020/07/09)

I'm feeling very energised about posting so I have decided to listen to some albums, EPs and singles that are being released right now and review them. I will try to put my own music taste to one side during my reviews and give an unbiased opinion on the quality of the music. The albums I am reviewing have been released within the past couple of weeks.

First up..

Aquilo – Sober EP

A hazy and beautiful dream of a past relationship.

Electronica duo Aquilo’s 4-track EP Sober is their first major release since the success of their first two albums, ii and Silhouettes, and continues to explore their ambient, dreamy style. Written with songwriter Jon Green, who has written and produced for Kylie Minogue, Linkin Park, and Paloma Faith, the EP follows a relationship coming to a complex and bitter end. The first track, ‘Sober’ is as raw as ever, detailing the moment the speaker ‘wakes up’ to the reality of the other person wanting to end their relationship. It leads into the next couple of tracks, ‘Just Asking’ and ‘Always Forever’ which continue to share the speaker’s thoughts about the ending relationship and his love for the person he’s in the relationship with. It is clear that the speaker still wants to be with the other person and his thoughts are said painfully honestly, in true Aquilo style. Finally, ‘Moving On’, the most upbeat track by far, appears to be a song about the speaker after the breakup, trying to find the things he dislikes about the other person. However, the people he meets in his journey to move on “all look like [her] these days”. The EP is a collection of painfully honest breakup songs that are not cruel in their honesty. The beautiful, mellow harmonies and soft piano all add to the atmosphere of the EP, the sound embodying the feeling of the lyrics themselves. It is a sad, beautiful, and well worth a listen.

Favourite Track: ‘Moving On’

Favourite Lyric: Just ’cause someone says it’s over/With their head upon your shoulder/And suddenly you’re sober

Similar Tracks: For atmosphere: ‘Cursive’ by Billie Marten. For lyrics: ‘Body’ by Julia Jacklin. ‘Casio’ by Jungle is a little similar to ‘Moving On’.

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Cavetown – ‘Smoke Signals (ft. Tessa Violet)’

New direction with old heart.

Cavetown is the alias for 21 year old Robin Skinner, a singer songwriter who became popular at age 14 through his YouTube channel of the same name. His latest single, ‘Smoke Signals’, a collaboration with Tessa Violet, is a sweet love song that takes Cavetown’s music in a new direction. While it is still sounds distinctly ‘Cavetown’, ‘Smoke Signals’ sounds more mature than Cavetown’s other acoustic songs. The lyrics are poetic, the harmonies are as smooth as silk and the chord progressions are almost hypnotising. The song moves like a final dream before you wake and try to savour it. It will be very interesting to see the direction Skinner’s music takes from here.

Favourite Lyric: Took the lock but lost the key/Guess I set you free

Similar Tracks: ‘Angel’ by FINNEAS, ****‘Billie Holiday’ by Warpaint

Saint Motel – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Pt. 1 & Preach

A chaotic pop-funk journey.

Saint Motel is an indie-pop-funk band formed in LA in 2009. Preach is the partial release of their upcoming EP Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Pt. 2 which follows part 1, released last October. Part one sounds exactly like its name: a soundtrack for a crazy, fun, retro, college-age, buddy-cop movie. How chaotic. And chaotic is exactly how it sounds right up until the final track, a surprisingly heartfelt track after its jumpy predecessors. Even the first track, a slow love song called ‘Old Soul’, feels like it rushes along. Somehow, part one of the two EPs did not reach the peak of Saint Motel’s upbeat tracks. Preach‘s opening and title track somehow exceeds the happiness of the tracks in part one with a style similar to that of Dua Lipa’s hit ‘Don’t Start Now’ and reminiscent of Breakbot’s ‘Baby I’m Yours’. Preach takes a dark turn and ‘A Good Song Never Dies’ is musically, the darkest song of the EPs. ‘Van Horn’, the final track, while happier than ‘A Good Song Never Dies’ also has a darker undertone. However, the result is that the second EP has a more mature, grounded sound than the first EP. Overall, Preach is a good start to the second EP and explores a darker sound while keeping the danceability level off the charts.

Favourite Track: ‘Save Me’ from part 1, ‘Preach’ from part 2.

Favourite Lyric: Cause the more I get to know you/Well, the more I feel I knew you/In a lifetime a long time ago

Similar Tracks: ‘Baby I’m Yours’ – Breakbot, ‘

Elderbrook – ‘My House’ + ‘Numb’

**Promising first singles from Elderbrook’s upcoming debut album.

Elderbrook’s latest single, ‘My House’ joins the latest trend of retro style dance music, and it does it well. With its driving bassline and synth stabs, it makes you want to get up and dance! It also covers themes of appreciating the important things in life rather than getting caught up in materialistic aspirations. It’s certainly a message that is very apparent in this era of COVID and lockdowns. ‘Numb’ is a more traditional electronic track. It has a spacious sound and finds a nice balance between being danceable and good to relax to. Both ‘My House’ and ‘Numb’ are apart of Elderbrook’s eagerly awaited debut album, Why Do We Shake In The Cold?. It is scheduled to be released on September 4th of this year.

Favourite Track: ‘Numb’

Favourite Lyric: Oh, reachin’ in the dark/Nothing’s there to touch/I wish I could love

Similar Tracks: ‘Heaven Only Knows’ by Bob Moses, ‘Acceptable in the 80’s’ by Calvin Harris.

LEISURE – ‘Slipping Away’

Effortlessly funky and relaxing.

Nobody does funky, chill music better than LEISURE, a fact further solidified by their new single ‘Slipping Away’. The Auckland-based band describe themselves as an RnB/soul/pop band and are working towards a third album. ‘Slipping Away’ is their first release of 2020 and it is a toe-tapping masterpiece. It is as if the song oozes like honey and it is a miracle that LEISURE continues to churn out quality music in a style where it has the potential to become repetitive.

Similar Tracks: ‘Show Me How’ by Men I Trust, ‘Swimmers’ by Zero 7, ‘I Don’t Know You’ by The Marías.

And that’s all for today! I hope my reviews have been beneficial to at least one person trying to find some new music. I thought about reviewing ‘Heat Waves’, the new single from Glass Animals but I decided it would be best to wait for the full album release in August. Also, a quick mention of a recent album release (today!) from J Lloyd, one half of a band I love called Jungle. I didn’t review it in this article because I intend to do a dedicated post about it, but I suggest you check it out! And if you haven’t heard of Jungle, they are a must-listen.

I plan to continue this series although it is surprisingly time consuming (as everything seems to be) and it turns out I don’t have an extra week of holidays like I thought. I’ll try my best though!

Until next time,