While their 2nd LP Tilt embraced 90s pop with everything from house to riot girl, a move to London sees Confidence Man tightening their focus for their latest record. With a rave, KLF, and overtly 90s British dance club centre to this album, the band loses a little distinct flavour, and gains an amazingly cohesive sound that lets the record flow from start to finish with finesse. More ecstatic than sarcastic on “Who Knows What You’ll Find” there’s a lush depth to the production that the band has only tapped into before, and Janet Planet leans into a little schtick to make a track that feels ripped right from dance history. Though it fits the least, “Sicko” sees the band at their most ambitious, mixing abrasive darkness and a dangerous seductiveness for a track that blooms into one of their most dense and powerful mixes of harmonies. Perhaps playing to the best of Confidence Man’s evergreen talents, “Real Move Touch” is one infectious line or hook after another, with Janet and Sugar Bones trading verses to launch you right into a quirky and enveloping chorus that will nest in your ear for weeks. The sonic palette on display on “3AM (LA LA LA)” is delicious ear candy, taking an easy club banger and elevating it to headphone euphoria.
Within a stripped-down recording, Emily Brooke’s intense vocals create a tense core for her new single “If You Didn’t Notice.” Even without a broader production, Brooke manages to keep the dynamic punch landing with how much she ramps up her voice in every chorus, giving each refrain that extra oomph. The percussive guitar playing does great heavy lifting too, as even the bridge maintains momentum, and keeps Brooke’s devastating vocals steering the ship. Given the waves of colour that Brooke provides in this solitary performance, there’s such a richness to the feeling of the song that you could honestly lose something trying to expand it out.
Tyler, The Creator is a rare breed of artist who can constantly go wild and unhinged on his productions, while managing to have enough small hallmarks that you can always tell when a song is his. Way more in the world of Igor than Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler is more brash than ever, but also surprisingly tender more often than you’d expect. The lo-fi lustre and theatrical highs Tyler manages so well come out swinging on “St. Chroma,” going from something out of a church choral arrangement to fiery collision of feedback and exploding drums. The grime and range of colours Tyler brings out of his synths on “Rah Tah Tah” gives him so much room to play and cut loose, while “Noid” twists a more classic sample track into Tyler’s harmonies and keyboard antics for something wholly one-of-a-kind and impossible to predict on first listen. Most unexpected however, is the self-reflective crooning of “Tomorrow,” with Tyler showing all his worries and insecurities, while equally trying to wave them away as worries that will only hold him back. And that’s before you even get to the fascinating tumbling guitar line that Tyler also works a theremin line into. “Thought I Was Dead” rounds out the blown-out pop with a percussion line that delivers the dopamine, and a throwaway line around Coco Gauff that might just be the record’s finest.
Kicking right out the gate, The Discarded mix punk and surf fury on “Going Down to the Beach.” With a lo-fi growl and throwback sensibilities to its vintage rock vibe, the band brings a lot of excited and kinetic playing to keep the styles fresh. Where the band underplays their vocals a touch, there’s so much going on in the guitars and drums that it’s often hard to imagine where you could add more. If you need something with grinding guitars, and a feeling of shedding your problems away, The Discarded bring a little summer fun long after the cold has set in.
Over the years, Sofi Tukker did such a great job of knocking out stellar singles that they never quite locked in a cohesive record that could keep up the juice from front to back. On Bread, the duo unifies so many of their Portuguese influences with their strong pop core, to make a record that shifts perfectly between feel-good bops and more detailed, off-beat choices to spice things up. While “Bread,” and “Throw Some Ass” bring a lot of Portuguese-infused heat, “Woof,” really ups the ante on how it remixes all its elements together. On top of the classic bass-heavy lines from Tucker Halpern, Sophie Hawley-Weld goes all in on the twisted guitar and slinking vocals from that jump from language to language, resulting in a quirky banger that is as funky as it sensual. Despite its simple and stripped-down energy, there’s a wholesome beauty to “Hey Homie” that will cut to your core, celebrating the beauty of deeper friendships over the risks of romance. With Channel Tres entranced on “Cafuné,” the seductive qualities of the band’s sound are maxed out, resulting in an utterly sultry listen. Perhaps playing the most to the Brazilian pop roots the band riff on, “Jacaré” might be a less distinct Sofi Tukker, but one that’s throwing in so many powerful hooks that you’ll be too lost in their intoxicating melodies to care.
