An eclectic mix as there’s likely ever been on this list, February’s has been a mash of tunes from different places but they’ve all fused together to create a great soundtrack to the month.
Hollywood Principle – “Firework” (Melad remix)
Rocket League’s become a minor addiction since starting playing in the middle of the month, and this tune has become its de facto theme song. It’s fun it’s happy and it sums up in a musical way the whimsical but modern delight that is playing football with cars on a Playstation. A solid dance track from a relatively unknown band (with the developers being a part of it), it’s deserving of the exposure the game will have given it.
Martin Solveig – “+1” (feat. Sam White)
PlayStation have an excellent Rocket League playlist featuring songs from the game’s soundtrack and a curated list of others that tie in nicely with it. This is a song I’ve heard before but could never place, so when it rolled around on the playlist I was delighted. Much in the same vein as “Intoxicated”, it’s a simple, club-friendly tune that’s easy to listen to.
Daft Punk – “Alive”
Rumours are abound that Daft Punk will re-embark on a new “Alive” tour this year, as they did in 1997 and 2007, and that drew me back to the song that lent its name to the fabled tours. It’s a very 90s-rooted dance track that builds and builds, keeping the same Daft Punk vibe to it but doing so in a way that strongly evokes the LCD Soundsystem style of track that the French duo so obviously have influenced. A good song that’s lost underneath the sea of hits, one that deserves to be heard by thousands more around the world this year.
Katy Perry – “Chained to the Rhythm”
With a new album on the way this year, this first single since last year’s rather dirgey “Rise” was a blast-from-the-past. It’s Perry pop at it’s finest, with catchy hooks and a dance, dance, dancey chorus all tinged with an underlying message about the world we now find ourselves in. A perfect way of starting a new era of music and a pop hit that’s sure to stick around for plenty of months on the airwaves.
Lethal Bizzle – “Rari Workout” (feat. JME & Tempa T)
I think it’s fair to call this one the outlier of the bunch. Grime’s being undergoing a revival and resurgence of late, and out of it there have been some really good songs that manage to cut across traditional genre lines. This is one of them, with a strong and fun energy to it that makes it perfect for building hype and kicking into a day or night or whatever.