Each week the Music Feeds team picks a favourite song from the week that was, wraps it in a bunch of words, and presents it you. It’s Music Feeds Faves.
London O’Connor – Guts
Since everyone got good at Ableton, we’ve kind of lost that initial charm that bedroom productions had. They were unpolished and quaint. Newcomer London O’Connor is bringing that vibe back and his latest track Guts is proof of that with its distinctively rough aesthetic. The melodies are perfect but apart from that it sounds DIY. His voice cracks in parts and the drum-beat plods along with a rustic charm. What’s even better is that his lyrics are totally uninhibited as he lets loose on a guy named Steve. “I hate your guts,” he sings to Steve before entering into a tight rap-verse.
O’Connor will release his debut record O∆ next week and judging by what we’ve heard so far it’s going to be a cracker. Guts is his strongest track to date though and proves that sometimes hate can be used for good – like a banging tune. / Sam Murphy, Staff Writer
https://soundcloud.com/londonoconnor/guts-1/s-xl0QK
Portugal. The Man Feat. Kirin J Callinan – Tuesday (ILoveMakonnen Cover)
As much as I goddamn LOVED this week’s new Foals track, I just couldn’t go past this previously secret cover of ILoveMakonnen’s Tuesday by Portugal. The Man and Aussie experimentalist Kirin J Callinan. The cover was recorded last year but only made its way online this week, but why?
Portugal. The Man say the recent (and very real) news headline ‘A$AP Rocky Had Three Consecutive Orgies At SXSW After Makonnen Gave Him Acid’ reminded them of their collaboration with our beloved Kirin, and that reminder put the wheels in motion.
Given, the track does sound pretty similar to Perth band HAMJAM’s Tuesday cover, and Portugal. The Man have picked up some flack for that online, but this new version is clearly just a bit of fun. / Tom Williams, Staff Writer
Tora – High Enough
Hailing from the never-ending fount of musical talent that is Byron Bay (seriously though, what are they doing up in Byron to constantly be making such…oh. Oh, that’s right), Tora are a young quintet who have somehow scaled the ladder of global recognition whilst surprisingly going fairly unnoticed in Australia, set to play at mother fucking Glastonbury festival next weekend as well as being signed to Canadian and German record labels.
With the kind of sparkling electronica combined with vocal mixes that would make James Blake say “Well, gosh”, it’s not hard to see why the Northern Hemisphere froth-o-meter for the band is at an all time high, and I for one think it’s about time Australia paid a bit more attention.
High Enough is the latest single, which intercuts a haunting vocal landscape with delicately pruned percussion and eclectic synth splashing in like raindrops, making for a continually surprising and soothing electronic jam. Pay attention to Tora, ok? Let’s not let those north of the equator soak up all the goodies. / Mitch Feltscheer, Creative Content Director
Frank Turner – The Next Storm
Hit your shitty working week with a slobber-knocker and go for the pinfall with the triumphant sounds of Frank Turner’s latest, The Next Storm. The rollicking folk rock number puts your troubles in a choke-hold and launches them off the top turnbuckle with its rousing lyrical affirmations, uplifting piano-laced jaunts and Turner’s super-palatable vocals, which build and crack with glory on the motivational exclamations, “Rejoice! Rebuild!” Plus, in the music video, you get to watch him wrestle the shit out of former WWE superstar, CM Punk. / Emmy Mack, Staff Writer
Matrick Jones – Floating on a Lightbulb
I like Connan Mockasin. I like Mac Demarco. I like Ariel Pink. And now, I like Matrick Jones.
Jone’s released his electronic, psychedelic EP, Repetitive Music, last week. The title track, Floating on a Lightbulb is great. His watery voice flutters above glitchy samples, tight bass lines, and neat percussive sets. It sounds like a dirty clutter of guitars and drums floating in a tepid suburban pool. That is not a bad thing (I know that it sounds like an unspeakably horrible thing). The song just feels both messy and organised, loose and rigid. It is, in fact, a careful multi-instrumental rendition of something like psychedelic, jangle pop.
I also have to thank Jones for changing my relationship with light bulbs. For me, they have always been flimsy givers of light, breaking at a single flick of the switch. Do not ask me how many times I have had to change the light bulbs in my room. But now, I feel oddly superior and powerful. Light Bulbs, I am now floating above you. / Luke Bodley, Presenter
Raury – Devil’s Whisper
A stand-out cut from Raury’s Indigo Child EP was the powerful and uplifting God’s Whisper. All hand claps and harmonising choirs, it was, and still is, a righteous and inspiring call to action, written and sung by a teenager from Atlanta who seems to be imbued with wisdom beyond his years.
On its darker counterpart, Devil’s Whisper, Raury has taken that sentiment and turned it inside-out, filing it with darker harmonies and waning downtempo beats, singing first from the perspective of the devil himself, before building towards this almighty crescendo, where he unleashes an acerbic rap in reply.
Listened to side-by-side, the two tracks offer an insight into the singer’s opposing psyches, the battle between his light and dark nature. While also reflecting, no doubt, that same battle within ourselves. / Nastassia Baroni, Editor.
SPECIAL SUPER MEGA BONUS SONG ‘CAUSE I DO WHAT I WANT
Jody – Codeine
Dripping with the kind of beer-stained guitar licks that Sydney’s inner west seems to mine so dextrously, comes this debut single from foursome Jody, Codeine, off their upcoming EP Jerk’s Backyard, succinctly described by band member Dom as “a bunch of songs written in bedrooms about wanting to be in someone else’s bedroom”.
The toey youngsters have had a couple of killer shows already, supporting the likes of Palms and Bad//Dreems, and as proven with the insuppressible yet laconic vibes of Codiene, are set to join the highest possible echelons of ‘Inner West Mope Rock’ as they continue to horn-dog it around the local scene. Pop back some of your favourite PK’s with a swig of VB and click play, alright? / Mitch Feltscheer, Creative Content Director
