It’s been a busy transitionary week for me. Moving house, finishing teaching for my MA, and shifting focus to my dissertation (because I totally don’t have 4 essays due in the next 3 weeks).
The soundtrack to this busy week wasn’t nearly as busy as last week’s avalanche of new releases. In fact, none of the albums that dropped this week piqued my interest. We did get some decent singles though:
‘It’s bad bitch o’ clock, yeah it’s thick thirty’ might be the best bar of 2022. It’s the opening line of “About Damn Time”, a new bop from Lizzo. Featuring a classic disco guitar lick, thumping bass and a chanty chorus, it’s clearly been built for pre-night out playlists. Karl-Anthony Towns might let Minnesota down, but Lizzo never does.
Dev Lemons released “Autopilot”, a jangly piece of pop with some hyperpop flair on the chorus. Dev’s glossy production is often brought down by lackluster melodies, but that’s not the case here. It’s a catchy tune.
The newest single from Florence + The Machine “Free” finds a nice middle ground between the new dance sound of “My Love” and the band’s usual brand of chamber pop from “King”, the previous two singles from their upcoming record. Perky drums and a warm synth push a typical Florence melody along. The songwriting is where the song disappoints. Generic lyrics, cliché rhymes, and a nothing structure bring down what could’ve been a more interesting song. Definitely still worth a listen though.
Favorite New Track of the Week: “Acid Dent” by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
“Night Gnomes” came out in full today, but earlier this week we got one last teaser track from Psychedelic Porn Crumpets in the lead-up to their latest LP.
“Acid Dent” sounds a lot like the previous cuts we’ve heard – frenetic, fuzzy guitars layered on top of each other, heavy drums banging down on top of them.
This is the most straightforward single so far, keeping a brisk pace from start to finish and not overstaying it’s welcome. Front man Jake McEwan sounds engaged – which hasn’t really been true on past singles – delivering a solid vocal performance to keep up with his bandmates’ energy.
The bridge is the highlight of the track, with dual guitars sharing a harmonized solo. It leaves you ready for a more chaotic finish than what we get, but I’ll forgive the Porn Crumpets. “Night Gnomes” has been one of my more anticipated releases this year – hopefully the rest of the album keeps up the quality of the singles.
Favorite Old Track of the Week: “Patiently Waiting” by 50 Cent featuring Eminem
I’m a little bit too young to be able to fully appreciate how massive 50 Cent was at his peak.
And that’s probably for the best. 50’s music already wasn’t that great before he started naming albums after nature documentaries (IYKYK), and he’s proved himself to be, at best, morally dubious as a person.
“Patiently Waiting” is one 50 song that I will still stand by though – his best by far, in my opinion.
It was the ultimate pre-game song when I was playing sports in high school. It’s got half of the ten most quotable 50 Cent bars ever (the glass house, glass jaw line is my personal favorite. Not even a great bar, just a great moment). And it might feature Mom’s Spaghetti’s best verse ever.
It’s definitely Eminem’s best beat ever – he’s the sole producer credited. Right from the anthemic horns that open the track, the beat is heavy & intense, minimalist but dense, matching the ‘don’t fuck with me’ verses perfectly.
There are some iffy lines from both rappers about 9/11 – approaching the line without fully crossing it (maybe). It’s comically violent. And of course, it’s less than evolved when it comes to women.
But this song, and 50 himself, are snapshots of the bling rap era, a time marked by growing pains for hip-hop as the genre started to become truly mainstream. There’s some element of novelty that comes with songs like this listening to them in 2022. Because even though 50 hasn’t grown as an artist since, the culture has at least started to.
Jaxson Mannes Writes 
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