Fluxblog Weekly #149: US Girls, Caroline Rose, Born Ruffians, Everything Is Record, Khalid
February 26th, 2018
You Don’t Have To Think
U.S. Girls “Incidental Boogie”
“Incidental Boogie” has the sexy mechanical strut of Goldfrapp in their Black Cherry/Supernature schaffel phase, and without paying much attention it comes off as a sleek funk song about BDSM. If you pay attention… well, it gets a lot more complicated. Remy’s character in the song is a woman who is trying to rationalize being the victim of domestic abuse, and is making her new man out to be a real sweetheart since he leaves no marks so she can go to work without any fuss. This is grim stuff, especially when it’s clear that this woman doesn’t really have a frame of reference aside from this sort of abusive romance, and is conditioned to be bored without it. The verses are at some points genuinely uncomfortable – “Life made no sense without a beating, you see?” – but the chorus offers a glimmer of hope in her dawning realization that this sort of thing isn’t really doing much for her.
Buy it from Amazon.
February 26th, 2018
Now You’re In Real Life
Caroline Rose “Jeannie Becomes A Mom”
Caroline Rose’s vocals throughout her new record Loner have a distinct and captivating cadence – usually conversational in tone, often a bit wry and funny, always very empathetic and human. That empathy is particularly strong in “Jeannie Becomes A Mom,” a mid-tempo synth pop track with a slick cosmopolitan groove about learning to deal with the limits that get placed on all of our lives. And of course, the harshest limit is time. Rose’s character is young but feels time slipping away rapidly – “the world don’t stop.” I love the way the music relates to the lyrical theme, with the beat seeming to jog in place as the attack on the keyboard hook feels like time clicking away. It’s a pleasant feeling of inertia. Even better is the way Rose sings the “now you’re in real life” refrain with a lot of sympathy but also a touch of frustration and a dash of ambivalence.
Buy it from Amazon.
February 28th, 2018
Your Indifference Is Boundless
Born Ruffians “Side Tracked”
The main guitar part in “Side Tracked” is a lot more ’70s R&B than most people would expect from Born Ruffians, but it suits them well, particularly as the song is produced by Richard Swift and this vintage vibe is very much his comfort zone. But it’s not a straight pastiche. Rather than do some sort of awkward Dap Tone thing, they take a very British Invasion approach to the vocal melody and harmonies. The chorus is the most plainly beautiful thing this band has produced, and I love the way Luke Lalonde’s voice rises up on “siiiiiide” to drop off abruptly on “tracked” is like this thwarted catharsis in a song about trying to deal with estrangement.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 1st, 2018
Build It To Burn It Down
Everything Is Recorded featuring Ibeyi, Sampha, Wiki, and Kamasi Washington “Mountains of Gold”
Richard Russell’s album as Everything Is Recorded is essentially a “producer + guests” record, but the way he cycles a set of collaborators through the songs makes it feel much more like the work of a specific, deliberate ensemble than a compilation with a general aesthetic. “Mountains of Gold” is a crucial hub track on the record, with three crucial recurring collaborators – Sampha, Ibeyi, and Kamasi Washington – converging to do their things over the piano vamp from Grace Jones’ version of “Nightclubbing,” and Wiki from Ratking turning up to contribute a rap that ties together the narrative threads of Sampha and Ibeyi’s lyrics. Russell structures the song like a posse track, stringing together these seemingly disparate artists’ parts together so elegantly that they all complement each other perfectly and the composition is balanced and smooth.
Buy it from Amazon.
March 1st, 2018
Radion Beams Casting Vibrant Views
Khalid featuring Swae Lee “The Ways”
Khalid and Swae perform “The Ways” from a position of genuine awe and humility. They’re both swooning for a “power girl” whose strength, beauty, and intelligence inspires them to rise up to her level. It’s a love song where respect and eroticism are tied together, and the power of a woman is not a threat to masculinity. Khalid’s vocal is warm and gentle, and he slips comfortable into the quasi lover’s rock mood of Sounwave and BADBADNOTGOOD’s track. Swae Lee is a revelation here – significantly more mellow and vulnerable than I’ve heard him on Rae Sremmurd songs. He’s very convincing in this lover boy sweetheart mode, both here and on his new solo track “Hurt to Look,” and should definitely continue working in this lane.
Buy it from Amazon.