If you're looking for a song which manages to somehow make every element of itself really REALLY catchy, you're in the right place. This bassline!!!!!!!!! The synths! The guitar!!!! I think I can even hear some castanets... In love with all of this. Brighton art-rock quintet Youth Sector are following up their brill EP Mundanity, released earlier in the year, with the very catchy (did I mention that yet?) tune Teeth. Soooo good.
The band's frontman Nick Tompkins shares that "we're drawn to the balance between making something sound interesting and exciting while keeping it melodic and catchy [...] 'Teeth' sees us continue to push into more rhythmic territory and embrace the influence of funk bands Parliament and Tower Of Power, with its constant danceable groove punctuated by wonky guitars throughout. Lyrically the single explores the sinister magnetism of untrustworthy people and the way they can enter the lives of those vulnerable to their charms."
Friday, 11 December 2020
WATCH: Youth Sector - 'Teeth'
Thursday, 10 December 2020
LISTEN: Zarif - 'Click'
Debut single time.... sort of. London-based grunge/alt-pop newcomer Zarif has shared lead single Click from her upcoming Square One EP, due for release on 29th Jan. The EP title is symbolic for Zarif - who has previously released a pop-soul record on a major label, through which she garnered lots of press attention and even supported Beyoncé on tour. She describes how "when you're signed to a major label, everything is a compromise. An album that started out quite raw and rocky ended up being turned into a glossier, poppier end product that I didn't even recognise when it came out."
This time around things are very different, she recorded independently"in many a messy bedroom in South London" and, crucially, kept hold of that creative freedom. The result is an exciting first taste of the new EP - I can't wait to hear more.
About the track, she explains that it "is about having the rug pulled from under you, being in uncharted territory, finding yourself lost. It's about getting into survival mode and fight or flight kicking in, all the while trying to find yourself, clicking your heels hoping to find your way back to whatever you call home."