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Bars: Max-out your volume with each of these fire new tracks, January 20

The xx, Dirty Projectors, Matt Martians, Kirk Keith, and Maggie Rogers are ready to blast your eardrums

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Waking up in the morning is an alluring ritual. You don’t know what the next 24 hours holds, nor the next 24 days. The excitement lies in uncertainty. I could step out of bed, immediately stub my toe, shriek with pain, then find a $50 note on the ground. Oh, serendipity. However, things don’t always work out like this. Instead, earlier this week I stepped out of bed and Dirty Projectors had just announced a new record. By the time I made it to the kitchen, the girl who made Pharrell tear up on video had already released a new song (yeah, I sobbed too). And by the time I had walked out of the door, Matt Martians was announcing solo work like it was nobody’s business. Oh, and Sosa dropped a mixtape while I was sitting in a Starbucks. Writing Bars every week is like a roll of the dice and the resulting selection of songs is the inevitable jackpot. While folks may whinge and moan about the lack of originality in music these days, they also ignore the vibrant and diverse range we have at our finger tips. Whittling these songs down to a selection of five proves hard every week. But those that do make the list show an exciting, unforeseen future of music ahead. Here’s this week’s best of the best.

01. Dirty Projectors - ‘Up in Hudson’

Kicking off this week’s Bars with a seven-minute art pop odyssey was ballsy on my part. Not to mention this is a breakup song, which would scare most readers in the blink of an eye. But let’s not jump to conclusions here, especially when Dirty Projectors are involved. What originally began as a solo project of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist David Longstreth, would quickly expand to become a six-piece and release two successive near-masterpieces in 2009’s Bitte Orca and 2012’s Swing Lo Magellan. Until September last year not a peep had been heard from the band since Swing Lo. The returning track ‘Keep Your Name’ was sparse and disconcertingly introspective. The same could be said for the accompanying video, which showed a lone, bearded Longstreth behind various layers of visual distortion. With the release of the band’s new track ‘Up in Hudson’ it’s clear what’s going on. For one, there doesn’t seem to be a band anymore, it’s just Longstreth going solo. For another, there’s no Amber Coffman. The vocalist – who was Longstreth’s wife and who was generally considered the most talented member of the band – isn’t on either of these tracks. Apparently, the couple are no more. What results is the emotional knee-jerk that comes with dead relationships. However, being the talented songwriter he is, Longstreth makes sure despair doesn’t drain the music of its vitality.

‘Up on the Hudson’ is still surprisingly upbeat. When Longstreth sings “We’re going our separate ways, but we’re still connected” there is no sting and no malice. It is what it is. If this singer/songwriter wants to cruise through upstate New York “listening to Kanye” then who are we to say he should be sadder?

 

02. Kirk Knight - 'Setup [feat. A$AP Ferg]'

‘Setup’ is like a shot of HGH to the ears. It’s bold, muscular and not afraid to be anything it’s not. The same can be said for Kirk Knight who brings a strong performance on his latest single. And not just as a producer [which is his usual role] but an MC as well. Even with a relatively simple start-to-finish it’s still catchy. Like, catchy as shit. Where you think the trap influence could overwhelm the overall progression, think again. The lyricism is ballsy and enunciated with gusto. Keith mightn’t be a household name, but the A$AP Ferg feature definitely helps catapult this number into potential ubiquity. But don’t get too disappointed when you hear the unavoidable cheesy line. “Can’t act hella cheesy/ Good cheddar been stacking for months/ I’m just maxing the effort/ Keep my blood boiled just like it’s a kettle.” I like lyrical braggadocio just as much as the next guy but there’s a limit to this stuff. But to nitpick tiny flaws on ‘Setup’ would prove useless. Especially when you wake up at 3 in the morning humming this entire song. True story.

 

03. Maggie Rogers - 'On + Off'

Let me provide you with a little back story. Last February, Pharrell Williams visited the NYU’s Clive Davis Institute to hold a masterclass and provide feedback to students. While most were still twiddling knobs and finding their creative groove, one young artist seemed to have already found hers. Her name was Maggie Rogers and she possessed a drive that few students ever have the grit to backup. Pharrell decided to sit down with the humble youngster to listen to her song ‘Alaska’, which she had only just completed weeks before. Upon hearing Rogers’ angelic vocals and catchy lyricism Pharrell was hooked; visually shaken and on the precipice of tears. “You’re doing your own thing. It’s singular,” he told Rogers. “I’ve never heard anyone like you before and I’ve never heard anything that sounds like that. That’s a drug for me.” He wasn’t wrong either. Listening to Maggie Rogers is like listening to the perfect amalgamation of various genres; music that takes from each genre equally and never sounds too cluttered. ‘On + Off’ continues this trend and doesn’t think twice. Her folk-influenced vocals should be on the back of bluegrass, yet it sits perfectly between hypnotic keys and humming bass samples. While pop, folk, dance, and R&B are often seen to be mutually exclusive – here we are. If this youngster – who refuses to sign a record deal and instead let her music develop naturally – is pushing genre boundaries, what else is around the corner?

 

04. Matt Martians - ‘Diamond in Da Ruff’

Matt Martians can write a tune. Like, a damn good tune. Wait, not just a tune. More like a funky, jazzy, romantic, seductive, groovy, tune. A tune that’s as catchy as it is irresistible to dance to. If you don’t know it yet, Matt Martians is the singer-songwriter extraordinaire behind prolific neo soul outfit, The Internet. Yes, that Internet. So, while Syd has been prepping to drop her hugely anticipated debut record, so too has Martians. In fact, Martians’ debut album was originally intended to be the follow-up to The Internet’s excellent 2015 record, Ego Death. Obviously, things took a different direction. “What started as the next Internet album soon took a turn into some really wild shit that turn into this album,” he wrote on Twitter. ‘Diamond in Da Ruff’ is the lead single and it’s a bona fide banger. It’s like the psychedelic jazz of Ego Death got put in a blender with multiple Jaeger shots and a rotating mirror ball. It’s also catchy as anything, sure to make you feel like Ego Death was released yesterday, and not, you know, a year-and-a-half ago. ‘Diamond in Da Ruff’ is the perfect introduction to The Drum Chord Theory, Martians’ debut solo record which is due out later this month.

 

05. The xx - ‘Replica’

Quick, somebody call up Richard Kingsmill right now. When he picks up, hold the phone to your most intense speaker and crank the xx’s ‘Replica’. Allow him to tap along to the first minute of this song. The by-the-book instrumentals and safe progression will surely have him thinking; Holy smokes! This would be perfect for Triple J! By now he should be completely allured by the cool, hushed vocals and 4/4 beat; textbook ‘hipster radio’! However, as soon as ‘Replica’ hits the 1:40 minute mark, blast that shit. Let the romantic synths, layered instrumentals, and Romy Madley Croft’s soaring harmonies glide through the receiver and knock the safe taste out of Kingsmill’s mouth. When the song finishes and your point is made, put a full-stop on it by proudly announcing down the speaker, “And that, sir, is what good music sounds like.” Drop the phone like you’re Obama or some shit and slowly strut away to the theme song from Chariots of Fire.