Photo courtesy of Sunny Ripert / Wikimedia CommonsLCD Soundsystem – “Christmas Will Break Your Heart”
A Christmas miracle that could only really have been topped by the second coming of Jesus himself, LCD Soundsystem came back from the abyss on Christmas Eve with a new single that sparks further hope into the rumours they are set for a reunion.
The song itself is like meeting an old friend. Things have changed and moved on in the years gone by, but you instantly fall back into the same rhythms you were in before and it feels great.
As a Christmas song, it’s pretty much as depressing as you can imagine – but it manages to show another side to the time of year that will ring true with a great many people. It’s slow and measured, but picks up towards the end as the message of lost love is unravelled with the comfort of friends coming to the rescue making the song one huge metaphor.
After five years LCD Soundsystem are just as amazing a band as they always were, and if this is the first volley of another assault on our heartstrings then 2016 is going to be a fantastic year of music.
Katy B – “Calm Down” (feat. Four Tets & Floating Points)
Honey will be Katy B’s third album when it releases later this year, and this is the first sign that it’s moving towards the deep house sound that is slowly creeping its way into modern music consciousness. She’s always been one to keep up with trends in music in her songs, and this shows that she’s again moved with the times and put together a funky and interesting song.
Elle King – “Ex’s and Oh’s”
This tune is mainly here for the standout vocals of Elle King, who sounds like Duffy was thawed out and brought back to life in 2015. It’s a fun song with a catchy chorus and more than a hint of naughty country to it as well which gives it a memorable edge.
Fleur East – “Sax”
This X Factor contestant was really the star of the show in 2014, with her cover of the massive hit “Uptown Funk” lighting a fire underneath the flagging competition and propelling her to the top of the bookies’ favourites for the competition. While she didn’t win, this song follows in the footsteps of that performance and shows the sass that she has that can carve a place for her in the landscape of the charts. It’s fun and funky in a more poppy way than “Uptown Funk” was. It’s good enough that you can even forgive the chorus being trumpets rather than saxophones.