Photo courtesy of London in StereoIt’s been a rather good month for discovering and rediscovering music for me, thankfully, so I’ve got a few good tunes to share with you! Cutting down the list to six or so songs was a challenge, but hopefully I’ve picked the best ones. Hope you enjoy!
CHVRCHES – “Do I Wanna Know?”
CHVRCHES have an amazing ability with their covers to make a song, as good as it was before, even better with their own 80s inspired style. This is an excellent retooling of the Arctic Monkeys song that takes a tone which reminds me very much of “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode, with the same intensity as AM’s original and a synthy chorus that I actually prefer. Hope to see this performed at T in the Park as a subtle nod to the headliners! (Also check out their cover of Lorde’s “Team” from Radio 1’s Live Lounge, it’s awesome too).
Avicii – “Addicted to You”
The songs that have come from Avicii’s True album have been really hit or miss for me. I’m in the minority in rather disliking “Wake Me Up” and “Hey Brother”, but I think with this one he’s really made a song with a good dancey feel to it and soulful lyrics performed impeccably that works well together, without having to shill out with a superfluous drop.
Passion Pit – “Live to Tell the Tale”
It’s a song I’ve listened to before and it’s lurked on my iPod for a long time but I rediscovered “Live to Tell the Tale” this month and it is amazing. All of Passion Pit’s first EP is love-inspired and has a certain playfulness and cheeriness and that is all here in spades. What makes this song different is the heartfelt emotion of the chorus’ lyrics: “Whatever happens to you/Whatever happens to me/I hope that I fall asleep/Knowing that you’ll always be/The story with no ending” It’s powerful and a delight to listen to.
Porter Robinson – “Sea of Voices”
After a Twitter outpouring about how his new album Worlds won’t be like his last EP, I was a bit worried my anticipation for it would be misplaced. However, a few days later came the first track from the album: “Sea of Voices” which is an achingly beautiful song that builds up to an epic and refreshingly un-club-friendly climax. It invokes the same sort of emotions as “Language” did for me last year, which is definitely a good thing.
Chromeo – “Fancy Footwork”
A song that I’ve often skipped on my iPod because of its weirdly ominous start but after pushing past it I remembered why I have it – it’s a simple and fun dance song with a funky set of verses and a chorus that has lots going on but has a sort of feeling of space around it at the same time. A fantastic, if a little obscure, dance song that would be ideal for sticking on at the start of a party.
David Guetta & Showtek feat. Vassy – “Bad”
This could be the best club song of the year and it’s only March. Although I’d question the strength of David Guetta’s influence on the song other than the vocals, which sound very much like the sort of work he’s done with Rihanna in the past, the song is clearly a slice of house mastery from Showtek. The beat behind the drop doesn’t extend itself too far but still instils a sense of epicness. Although it’s probably not quite commercial enough to be a massive success, being top of Beatport’s Top 100 predicts that this song will be plenty familiar to anyone out on holiday in the Med this summer.