You want a pop anthem for the now-pushed-back return to the clubs? Look no further than Mabel’s “Let Them Know”. Flirting with the feel-good 90s house rhythms of RuPaul’s seminal classic “Supermodel (You Better Work)”, this UK pop icon is getting us too hyped for the double voddy and cokes we’re gonna guzzle on July 19th. With lyrical gems such as ‘Say So – like Doja’ and ‘Blonde hair, yeah I bleached it’, you already know this cheeky number deserves to be a hit.
Wonderland.
WONDERLIST
London Grammar, Mabel and Hope Tala show up for the UK in this week’s music playlist.
Mabel – “Let Them Know”
London Grammar – “Lord It’s A Feeling”
London Grammar’s comeback album has been the soundtrack to our lives for weeks now, so when we found out one of its standout offerings was getting the single treatment, we were ecstatic! One commenter describes the tune as “the perfect anthem for any toxic relationship with a book-case narcissist!” – which we reckon sums the tune’s sombre story quite nicely. Tasking London based dancer, artist, model and trans activist Sakeema Peng Crook to bring the spectacle to life, Grammar ditch ‘the lipsync video’ in favour of something far more powerful, pretty much moving us to tears.
Freddie Long – “In Your Arms”
Freddie Long wanted to bring out all our emotions in his latest track. Quite literally putting himself into the mix, on “In Your Arms”, the singing-songwriting newcomer’s husky vocals croak with emotional flair, seamlessly blending dark and alternative pop with raw and unfiltered instrumentation. Keeping each verse true to his character, the song drips with moody flourishes and darker sounds, experimenting with strange-sounding synths and reversed vocal recordings as he settles comfortably into a niche that’s well and truly his own.
Hope Tala – “Mad”
Hope Tala is back, and bloody hell have we missed her. This is a talent even Barack Obama is on to, bumping her serene tunes with carefree abandon. On “Mad” – produced by the multi-Grammy award winning Paul Epworth – Tala’s pillow-soft vocals and exciting melodies soak up all the stresses life has been throwing at us for just shy of four minutes. Opting for a fusion of samba tinged R&B, before long the tune will have your hips swaying and your head nodding in some kind of musical trance. I believe they call it dancing? We could be wrong though…
Tabitha Nauser – “When Will I Be Loved”
The title of this track says it all. It’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves at one point in time, perhaps on a truly down day when not even a The Simple Life binge-watching sesh will cheer you up. But Tabitha Nauser doesn’t want to dwell on it all (okay, maybe a little). Instead, she banishes all those vibes in an instant with her upbeat, tropical pop, sharing her internal monologue as she wears her heart on her sleeve and turns those feelings of hopelessness into those of self-assurance, confidence and enlightenment. Looks like we’ll be taking a few notes out of her book from now on.
Olamide – UY SCUTI
Olamide is a hip-hop talent that only gets better with age. Having been in the game since 2010, he even became the first Nigerian rapper to release six studio albums and one collaborative album in under six years. Now on to his 10th offering, today he treats us to UY Scuti, which lends its name from a big red supergiant somewhere in the constellations. Be it the ethereal, vocoder-laced “Need for Speed”, to the mellifluous thrills of “Somebody feat. Phyno”, no matter the occasion, Olamide always keeps the cool grooves and body-rolling energy in abundance.