Top 10 New Tracks
New year, new music. Here are our picks of the best new tracks to come out of 2020… so far.
Green Day — Oh Yeah!
Ah Green Day: their spotify bio simply says “Gods favourite band”. Although that may not necessarily be the case, they have dominated pop-punk for nearly 20 years. You may call me an American Idiot, but I haven’t really ever been a massive fan of their stuff. Despite this, I found ‘Oh Yeah!’ to be a slight step away from what the band normally produces. Vocally it felt a little bit closer to Franz Ferdinand than blink-182 (which I would normally categorise Green Day to fit in with), and I quite like it! It is still authentically them, just a little bit different. — Chess Warren
Becky Hill ft. Shift K3y — Better Off Without You
I have been treated this week. Becky Hill holds a very special place in my heart. Looking through her discography, tracks like ‘Gecko’, which was released in 2014, is a regular on my playlists today. It isn’t a particularly interesting track, but it almost doesn’t matter. A catchy synth lick coupled with simple lyrics will guarantee it to be part of most club DJs library, and that is what this song has been written for. Dancing with your friends, shaking off an ex or meeting someone new, Becky Hill’s energy exudes through the track. Thoroughly enjoyable. — Chess Warren
The Fatbirds — Leaving Tonight
The Fatbirds provide a sophisticated, swaying groove (with ample tambourine!) on ‘Leaving Tonight’. There’s an enjoyable guitar solo and the lead vocals are meaty and assured. The “birds” in question (Sarah, Stef, Bob, Dries, and Brecht) originate from Belgium — which perhaps explains the slightly clunky lyrics; yet their European charm makes the overall package enticing. — Joe Waters
Kodie Shane ft. Trippie Redd— NO RAP KAP
Here at URY, it feels weirdly refreshing to hear a slice of pure, auto-crooned trap. So many tracks by artists, whose sound is fairly unrelated, gesture toward the tropes of the genre. Trippie Redd is a household name among most trap fans; on ‘NO RAP KAP’, he finds himself comfortable among more proliferate names like Young Thug and Future. Kodie Shane and Trippie aren’t putting this on as a front — their meaty vocals and hearty 808s pull liberally from the Travis and Kanye back catalogue, in a bizarrely effective way. — Joe Waters
Åskväder — Nothing to Lose
“Swedish Power Trio” Åskväder elicit some serious Kiss-Foo-Fighters-Zeppelin-III energy in the fast-paced banger ‘Nothing To Lose”. The group use tasty overdriven guitar licks against a crunchy, Big Muff-sounding bass to throttle through this energetic track; it’s an intense track to be thrown through. Granted, the lyrics aren’t exactly complex — something about “1000 hours ain’t enough” — but they aren’t what’s important; The rushing experience is. And it deserves more attention than the 9 times it’s been heard on YouTube. — Connor Flashman-Wells
LEX AUDREY — Lost To You
LEX AUDREY haven’t yet got a large following; the Vienna-based group is still gathering ground in their home-city, and at just 75 twitter followers, it’s pretty clear that they’re still in their infancy. Yet, ‘Lost To You’ is fantastically well mixed, suggesting that the band has production experience beyond their years. Percussive panning, Wurlitzer synths, looming bass riffs, and Niklas Apfel’s melancholy falsetto sets the stage for a gorgeous indie track. Influences from the likes of MGMT are apparent but don’t cloud the overall sound. The group vary the track excellently, too: the sudden appearance of a slightly-dirty single-pickup guitar in the bridge gives the track a sense of developmental direction that I did not expect from the minimalist group. My only complaint is that the track could do with being a touch longer — at 2:55, I feel like I’ve only got a taste of LEX AUDREY — and I am hungry to hear more. — Connor Flashman-Wells
Panaviscope — Kiss Yourself to Death (DEADLIFE Remix)
A bit of MGMT paired with Digitalism — that is the sound of ‘Kiss Yourself to Death’, remixed by Deadlife. In my opinion, remixes often either cling too much to, or lose the spirit of, the original. That is definitely not the case with this one: Deadlife has created an entirely new version of the song and has given it an interesting new facette that imbues the track with an exciting new aesthetic. Deadlife is definitely an artist to look out for and I am very enthusiastic about the future of his career. — Sophie Schulze
Tame Impala — Lost in Yesterday
I do not think that there is any Tame Impala fan left unaware about their soon-to-be-released album. Until then — (mark your calendars for Valentines Day, lads)— we need to make do with the last few month’s sparse releases. This one, ‘Lost in Yesterday’, is typical Tame Impala: Even though it is not his best single and does not offer anything new, it is definitely worth a listen; to be honest, even the worst Tame Impala song is still in a class of its own. — Sophie Schulze
U.S. Girls — Overtime
U.S. Girls’ latest track feels like a modern take on 60s and 70s soul music. The arrangement is very similar to what was common in that genre: drums, guitar, keys and, most notably, a choir of backup vocals. None of the instruments are particularly interesting on their own, or complex, but they all blend extremely well to provide the vamp for the vocals. However, in the chorus, I feel like the lead vocals get lost, and the chorus doesn’t have that much power compared to the verse, due to it being around the same range as in the verse. The sax solo adds a nice touch, and as always, is extremely welcome. Personally I think the end is very weak, with the arpeggiator on the left ear feeling moderately underdone. Not only is the panning strange, but it also has a strange function within the arrangement. — Alex Bispo
Derek Sanders — A Praise Chorus
‘A Praise Chorus’ feels like what a pop-punk kid would come up with after being deeply invested in Taylor Swift’s music for a couple of months. I mean that in the best way possible. The vocal harmonies are really nice and show off the melody well, but in my opinion, they suffer slightly from poor mixing; they could be a lot louder than they are. The instrumentation and arrangement of the song is stripped down — just a guitar, piano and two singers. However, everything in the song is well produced and recorded; the guitar is clear and the piano fits well in the background. This song is one of these examples of why less is sometimes more. None of the instruments are complicated, but it’s a very emotional song and the slipknot-esque chorus is particularly fun. — Alex Bispo
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