On this week's Weekly Assembly, we have a new music video from old school rockers Kapow, a wonderful new single by W/SH and a biting social commentary by Indonesian band, .Feast!
Also featured this week are Blondei, Kimbra, Kemba, The Lawra, Faculty of Joy, Torche, Big K.R.I.T., FINNEAS, NF, Loh Ui Lui and Boy Pablo.
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SHOUTOUT:
Hobosapiens (demo) - BLONDEI
GENRE: TRAP / INSTRUMENTAL HIP HOP Although dubbed as trap, Hobosapiens actually has a more laidback chill rap atmosphere to it. The whistling and the funky guitars make for a smooth ride on its own in the first half, but quickly simmers down. BLONDEI is a side project by Josh Ganesan, member of the Malaysian alternative rock band Son of a Policeman (aka SOAP). He’s expressed that these projects are just his outlet to dabble into the art of beatmaking, hoping that rappers would be into flowing over his production.
REVIEWS:
Silent Treatment - LIPS & Kimbra
GENRE: SYNTH POP The big canned drums really puts Silent Treatment in a timeless dimension, a skill Kimbra has harnessed over the span of her career and now taken to a whole new level by indie pop group, LIPS. The song is a heartrending ballad driven by this pulsating synths that make Kimbra’s performance all the more dramatic. Since it’s a song for a film’s original soundtrack (namely the 2019 romance Daffodils) it really waters the type of vibrancy that both LIPS and Kimbra are more known for. But subtlety in the case of Silent Treatment is a good look, since the song still holds a lot of power as a love song. RATING: 4 / 5
Nada Suria - The Lawra
GENRE: INDIE ROCK / ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Spacey productions, jangly guitars, semi-monotonous drawl - it’s hard not to separate The Lawra from their influences in Nada Suria. Although the spirit of 2007 bands like Laila’s Lounge inhabit the core of this Johor indie rock band, that doesn’t take away from the cool composition of this song. Produced by Fai of post-rock/alt-rock band Dataran Kertas (formerly Paper Plains), the floaty, serene atmosphere is impeccable coupled with the lyrics; even if at times too familiar.
RATING:
3.5 / 5
Overdrive - Faculty of Joy
GENRE: BRIT POP / GARAGE ROCK Almost as much as the late 00s indie rock scene still resonates with many Malaysian bands, Britpop with its roots in the 90s also has an irrepressible legacy. Another new band carrying that banner is Faculty of Joy. Their new single Overdrive is packed with energy and sells its badass energy through a powerful guitar solo conclusion. Punching-the-air goodness. RATING: 4 / 5
Impianku - W/SH
GENRE: INDIE ROCK / DREAM POP
W/SH has this knack at making something feel so sentimental but playful all at the same time. There’s the warm synths and that tongue-in-cheek but nostalgic saxophones at the end that when added together makes all of the motivational lyrics sound fresh. It’s like a hug and a pat on the back. The way this track is mixed is astonishing too, considering that the DIY nature of it makes the dreamy sheen that hovers of Impianku beautiful as opposed to contrived. This track has the runner’s heart of joyful pop punk combined with more current dream pop aesthetics, and alongside other Malaysian bands like Joyberry, W/SH seems to be the best purveyor of this new sound in Malaysian indie. Nostalgically retro, yet incomparably personal. RATING: 5 / 5
Admission - Torche
GENRE: ROCK
It's interesting to hear Torche adopting a softer sound, especially with tracks like Admission that contains a simultaneous mix of the sad and optimistic. The eponymous album, which out 12 July 2019, carries this sound occasionally on some of the tracks, sometimes laced with synth-pop influences, but Admission stands out as being oddly shoegazey. The track occasionally sounds a bit flat and nondescript, but there is an underlying melody here that’s pretty decent.
RATING:
3 / 5
Racks - HER ft. YBN Cordae
GENRE: HIP HOP / R&B
YBN Cordae and HER come together beautifully in this track about the dangers of materialism. It's smooth R&B packed with a rap verse by Cordae that fits in seamlessly. HER’s hook on this can be a bit repetitive, but her voice stills adds a sensual groove to the song.
RATING:
3.5 / 5
Nobody I Can Trust - Kemba
GENRE: HIP HOP
Kemba's latest single is a socially conscious take on the black experience as he talks about a world where the authorities aren't on your side and how the isolation can feel deceivingly comfortable until you or someone you love gets hurt. The hook on this track sounds like one of those gangsta rap productions from the early 2000s, but Kemba adds way more value to the lyricism than most of the g-rap tracks that came out then. In fact, there’s a creeping darkness to the refrain as Kemba raps about “the circle getting smaller everyday”. Nobody I Can Trust will be a part of his upcoming album, Gilda, which will be out most probably at the end of the summer season according to Kemba’s statement for Billboard.
RATING:
4.5 / 5
Addiction - Big K.R.I.T. (ft. Lil Wayne & Saweetie)
GENRE: HIP HOP / R&B In anticipation of his upcoming album, K. R. I. T. Iz Here this Sunday (7 July 2019), K.R.I.T. released a feature with Lil Wayne & Saweetie. In this track Lil Wayne is still unbeatable and incendiary, while Saweetie really rocks the trippy hook with her vocals. K.R.I.T.’s album K.R.I.T. Is Here is out now! RATING: 4 / 5
I Lost A Friend - FINNEAS
GENRE: POP / BALLAD It's midnight over here at ATR central, and we're all just sobbing over this new track by FINNEAS about having a friend disappear from your life.The minimal, simple song structure gives way to very candid, heartfelt similes that emanates loneliness and dread. Whatever build up that happens at the end is at best well-earned, at worst inoffensive. The highlight of I Lost A Friend is it’s honest depiction of depression and loneliness, that it’s often unpredictable and most importantly indifferent about your current status in life. (“Cause he made a little too much money to be 20 and sad"). He mostly writes with his sister Billie Eilish, but if this track is any indication, FINNEAS has potential as a solo pop artist too. RATING: 4 / 5
When I Grow Up - NF
GENRE: HIP HOP
In anticipation of his upcoming album The Search, coming out 26 July 2019, NF releases this anthem for his resilience in the pursuit of becoming a rapper. The song is self-effacing at times, but mostly braggadocious - like NF is out to prove to the world that he won’t be stopped so easily. This messaging, along with the flow and the personality in his rapping, gives off a mixed result in my opinion. The song straddles this very thin line of being obnoxious and contrived, but also coming from a sincere place. The production is nothing wild, and the lyricism is not waxing poetry, but overall, it’s a decent track.
RATING:
3 / 5
Believe Us (ft. Melissa Sasa) - Loh Ui Li
GENRE: POP / BALLAD
Loh Ui Li is a composer and musician whose repertoire includes being a music director for the triumphant, schmaltzy musical Fame back in 2017. The reason why that’s relevant is because you can hear that type of balladeering musical background in Believe Us, accentuated by the grand vocals of Melissa Sasa and soaring, resplendent string sections, accompanied by beautiful piano passages.The transition into the chorus with a more contained Amen Break is sweet and the “love-conquers-all” message is commendable. But Believe Us feels too much like a poster pop song that it just doesn’t sell it for me. It’s wonderfully arranged and produced, but is overwhelmingly middle-of-the-road in terms of message. Not only that, Sleezy Moss’s part in this track sounds unnecessarily squeezed and forced, and I feel like I sense that with his bars that slowly unravel form being artfully spoken word to just offbeat shambles. There’s clearly still some heart and love into this work that anyone can take away from it, even if it’s nothing too special about it.
RATING:
2.5 / 5
Never Cared - Boy Pablo & Jimi Somewhere
GENRE: EMO RAP, BEDROOM POP, DREAM POP Boy Pablo’s breakout hit “Everytime” sealed not just fame for the band, but also their position iasone of the biggest dreamy indie, reverb-heavy bands of recent history with jangly guitar and sleepy atmospheres. It’s fun to see them change that a little with this new song Never Cared. Armed with a toy Casio guitar and their classic radiant guitars. Jimi Somewhere’s performance almost gives this song an emo rap vibe, like in the type of songs you’d expect from peple like Lil Peep. It’s all in the vocals really, everything else feels like classic breezy summer Boy Pablo. The song is fresh and fun, and a cool new direction for the band, if they choose to go further down that line. RATING:
4 / 5
K - Kapow
GENRE: ROCK K is a song from Kapow’s debut album which now has a hilarious music video directed by Azizulhakim Salleh. The band wears the old school rocker band on their sleeves proudly, with classic rock riffs, soaring vocals and uncontainable jiwang-ness all the way. K is no different. The sense of humour, the solos and the vocal performances is dramatic and sentimental. The overall track is wonderfully produced by AG Coco. For the past few singles or so it’s hard to go wrong with Kapow, especially if you’re a fan of that old Aerosmith or Deep Purple sound, spectrums of classic rock that the band constantly explores. RATING: 5 / 5
Dalam Hitungan - .Feast
GENRE: ALTERNATIVE ROCK / DANCE PUNK
"Sangkakala seindah bunyi notifikasi" (The Trumpet of the Apocalypse is as sweet as the sound of notifications") , sings the vocalist, heralding a world where the new religion is social media, voyeurism and 'views'. Indonesian band Feast (stylised as .Feast ) shows in "Dalam Hitungan" that they are more than just your run-of-the-mill indie rock band. The little clips of prayers, spoken lines all gathered from people on social media, and sound bites makes the track a surreal experience. Like a subliminal vortex spinning around the driving chords progressions as dizzily as all of the apocalyptic montages of the music video. The lyrics sound like satire but it feels more like a self-aware, self-reflecting exercise more than a holier-than-thou commentary on society. There is profound storytelling and lyricism delivered wonderfully in "Dalam Hitungan". According to an article on from medcom.id, this song is a continuation of a narrative based in Earth-05, which continues their story from their 2017 album, MULTIVERSES (Earth-03) and 2018 release Beberapa Orang Memaafkan. The band worked on this track at Studio Soundpole, under the production of Wisnu Ikhsantama W Singel possibly teasing an upcoming 3rd album.
RATING:
5 / 5
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