Here’s another edition of Weekly Assembly, our editor’s collection of favourite new songs for the past week. This week HEALTH & JPEGMAFIA with a crazy experimental collaboration, Phum Viphurit with a fun groovy song and disco Tame Impala.
HATE YOU - HEALTH, JPEGMAFIA
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL / DARK ELECTRO / ART RAP RATING: 4 / 5 Within approximately 2 minutes, HEALTH and JPEGMAFIA’s collaboration cuts through the bullshit with buzzsaw synths and Peggy’s humorously aggressive bars. The coolest thing about Hate You is how effectively HEALTH tweaked their sound to facilitate a trap beat, while at the same time layering it up with production details that fills the space of your anxious mind, slowly but surely. Hello Anxiety - Phum Viphurit
GENRE: INDIE ROCK / POP FUNK RATING: 4.5 / 5
Ever since Long Gone started appearing in so many people’s Youtube algorithms, Thai singer-songwriter Phum Viphurit has been a shining posterboy for an indie age filled with Mac DeMarco proteges who wade in the pool of yacht rock, bedroom pop & dream-pop-influenced ditties. In Hello Anxiety, Phum keeps it fresh with a disco groove that comes complete with a danceable bassline and subtle harmonies. This ode to anxiety wants you to moonwalk your way through life as we all try and make sense of our shakey nerves.
The Planet of Straw Men - Tropical Fuck Storm
GENRE: ART PUNK / POST PUNK / PSYCHEDELIC RATING: 4.5 / 5
Their first single under Flightless Records (which includes King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Murlocs) Australian band Tropical Fuck Storm’s wacky, raw take on the psychedelic side of the aural spectrum is a guaranteed roller-coaster. Driven by drums waiting to explode and a bassline that just keeps on going, while dual guitars battle out each other as though debating whether this song should be one thing or the other (apparently they’ve decided on being both). The manic backing vocals and sarcastic Byrne like persona of the lead is the icing on the cake, as the song pummels through this mad pessimism of our world today. A population of numb nuts who rely on misrepresentations and lies. Let Tropical Fuck Storm help you say fuck you to all of that. Jailbreak the Tesla - Injury Reserve ft. Amine
GENRE: HIP HOP / RAP RATING: 3.5 / 5
The track doesn’t go as hard as their previous single Jawbreaker, but with Jailbreak the Tesla, Injury Reserve shows their love for The Neptunes (duo featuring Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo) through those hardass gamelan beats they probably sampled from that Tokyo Drift song from Teriyaki Boyz. Amine’s feature in the song improves it especially with that line about how “Your engine go vroom, and my engine goes_”. Hilarious. The beat at the end goes on this full barrage of noise but really doesn’t go anywhere that exciting. Jailbreak the Tesla at the end of the day is still a banger, a humorous one where online hacktivism involves just busting up your $80,000 dollar electric vehicle.
Rubber Bullets - Clinic
GENRE: ART ROCK / POST PUNK
RATING: 4 / 5
English rock band, Clinic’s new single "Rubber Bullets" is a more overtly art punk track, with a slow synth progression that ambles on like a psychedelic audio zombie. It’s positively Transylvanian and delirious.
Saint Honesty - Sara Bareilles
GENRE: SOUL RATING: 4 .5 / 5 The second single from her upcoming album Amidst the Chaos, Sara Bareilles does a lot with so little in this elegiac track about embracing the truths of the world; including the harsh ones. “Oh these hearts are weather-makers”, she sings, to pianos and guitars that are essentially pure soulful blues, produced by T Bone Burnett, whose discography include the likes of Roy Orbison & Elvis Costello. Sunflower - Vampire Weekend
GENRE: INDIE ROCK RATING: 5 / 5 Vampire Weekend once again taps into the past for their songs off of their upcoming album “Father of the Bride”. This time, it features the guitar prowess of The Internet’s Steve Lacy, with impeccable groove and an inward silliness accentuated by Ezra Koenig’s “ba ba da ba da”. It feels like an ode cheery 70s pop, minus the cheese, and with a heavier dollop of wooziness. Patience - Tame Impala
GENRE: INDIE ROCK / PSYCHEDELIC RATING: 5 / 5 Drown yourself in phasers and memories of roller disco in Tame Impala’s latest single. If not Tame Impala’s finest song, Patience is already one of the most refreshing tracks in their discography for its 70s disco tones. There is still, of course, a decent dose of psychedelia what with the slightly dizzying pianos and bangos coming in and out in the last segment, but the illusion feels more wholesome now than intangible. Lo/Hi - The Black Keys
GENRE: ALTERNATIVE ROCK / BLUES ROCK
RATING: 4 / 5
It’s amazing how much The Black Keys can still pack a punch without ever changing their sound. In Lo/Hi, the spirit of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit In The Skies” lie hidden beneath the squeaky solos and badass riffs.