Author: The Predatory Wasp

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Music

Little Simz – Speed

Arriving sandwiched between the two of the most hyped rap releases of the year, Little Simz’s new LP Sometimes I Might Be Introvert completely and utterly blows both Kanye and Drake out of the water. Packed full of joy, creativity, energy and a genuine and unashamed passion for what she’s doing, it’s everything they failed to deliver, and shows that it’s completely possible to be reflective, but not morose, bombastic but not overblown, and to deliver an album which pushes above the hour mark without collapsing under the weight of its own self-importance. Speed isn’t one of the singles but it easily could be, like pretty much every other track on here. An absolute pleasure from start to finish and a towering achievement.

https://www.littlesimz.com

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Music

Ian Abel – All I Want Is You

The latest single from NYC alternative pop craftsman Ian Abel sees him indulging a “Wild Queer Stalker” fantasy, casually tossing off lines like “Well you’ve got a hunger / and I’m serving you dessert” over a dark synthy backdrop which squelches and squirms in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion before building to a noisy, overdriven climax. In short: exactly the kind of joyous pulp you needed to kick start your week.

https://ianabelmusic.com

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Music

Don Lifted – Brain Fluid

The latest from rising Memphis artist Don Lifted is a moody rap cut based around themes of sexual and gender multiplicity, desire and vulnerability, and according to the artist written from “a moment of extreme longing for something that didn’t exist and I feared never would and what it would be like if the moment was presented to me.” That’s a whole lot of double (triple?) negatives that I haven’t quite got my head around, but suffice to say it’s a very fine, evocative piece of work.

https://www.instagram.com/donlifted

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Music

Puma Blue – All I Need

Covers usually get a hard pass from me, especially if they’re of songs I really like, but Puma Blue’s All I Need gets a pass for a couple of reasons. First: it reminded me how much I love Radiohead’s original, and as In Rainbows is the album I probably go back to least frequently from their catalogue it’s been a very long time since I listened to it. Secondly, it’s fucking great, capturing and expanding on the yearning sadness of the original, and pulling back just a touch on the paranoid sketchiness. Not that I’m averse to a bit of mental wrangling, but it’s Friday and the sun’s out.

https://pumablue.co.uk

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Music

Golden Rules – Never Die feat. Freddie Gibbs & Yasiin Bey (Prefuse 73 Remix)

Brilliantly woozy retro-leaning hip-hop for you today from a heavyweight lineup of exceptionally talented dudes, but I’m having a bit of a hectic day and can’t go on about it too much so just listen to it, it’s a vibe.

https://www.instagram.com/lexrecords

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Music

Angel Olsen – Eyes Without A Face

Angel Olsen has taken a break from making radio-friendly indie-pop janglers to cover five AAA 80s anthems on new EP Aisles. Like a lot of covers, the less committed you are to the original the more you’re likely to enjoy these: I’m least familiar with Billy Idol’s Eyes Without A Face than anything else on here, and for me her reworking is the clear stand out, with just the right amount of breathy dirge. On the other hand, the mere fact that she’s had a crack at Alphaville’s heartbreaking masterpiece Forever Young is utterly despicable.

https://angelolsen.com

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Music

Shawn Rudiman – Numeric Tenderness

This came out all the way back in January, so not exactly hot off the presses by any means, but then you’re not following this blog for its comprehensiveness, are you? It’s pretty ridiculous I missed not only this, but an entire album since, given how much I liked Shawn Rudiman’s previous album Conduit, but anyway: this is brilliant, sinewy modular techno, pulsing with barely restrained aggression and I absolutely love it.

https://itma.bandcamp.com/album/flow-state

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Music

Claire Bigley – Awaken The Deep

It’s Friday right, so really I should be posting something party-appropriate to soundtrack your #bignightout but I now live in Devon so instead here’s a short ambient piano track complete with birdsong: perfect for watching the sun go down over some rolling fields or gently lapping beachside waves.

https://www.instagram.com/endlessquest4me

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Music

Princess Century – Stupid Things

Stupid Things is taken from s u r r e n d e r, the upcoming third full-length record from Princess Century AKA Canadian musician and producer Maya Postepski which was written following a break-up with her girlfriend and is – according to Postepski – “a feeling album, not a thinking album”. Stupid Things itself is engrossingly subdued electro-pop, sitting comfortably in the space between abject devastation and tentative optimism, the rallying cry of “got to dance it away” a final, desperate act to free yourself from the heartache of the past.

https://princesscentury.com

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Music

Willy Mason – Gilded Lie

Willy Mason is younger than me, but sounds like he’s had about a billion more years worth of life experience. His voice, worn and occasionally cracked but also soft and occasionally sumptuous, suggests he’s seen a lot, suffered a fair amount and is bang up for telling you all about it. Taken from his new album Already Dead, Gilded Lie is great for the first few minutes, before becoming overwhelmingly, staggeringly brilliant for the final 30 seconds or so when ghostly synths and a gently strummed guitar combine perfectly to make you (or me, at least) burst into tears.

https://www.willymasonmusic.com