This Week at Musikigai
Last weekend the lockdown and all this Covid bullshit finally got to me after 10 months of stoicism and introverted relief. Not in a depressed way or a frustrated way but more of a defeated way where everything felt a bit numb. From the ashes flies a phoenix though and this week in work has been awesome. I have a new productivity method hitting its stride (basically to-do lists but better ones) and more importantly, on Blue Monday the so-called most depressing day of the year come Sky Travel advert for holiday booking I had one of the best music listening days ever.
Some friends and I pulled together the ultimate playlist of feel-good tracks which meant work has flown by all week and had fun doing it listening to the good time vibes. Unfortunately these will not feature here and the playlist is not ready for publishing AT ALL, though I may post a curated, ordered version in the future. I do instead have our weekly dose of five tracks worth your attention.
Before we get there we are going to try a new mini feature. Seeing as I’m struggling to find the time to write full album reviews but there are great albums coming out each week I’d like to highlight some I think you should listen to in addition to the tracks presented here. So here is the first:
ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Isles – Bicep
and to back fill for 2021 (Edited into that blog post now), the album of last week was:
Viagra Boys – Welfare Jazz
OK, enough of that, let’s get to it!
Spotify links: This Week / Archive
Lose Your Head – London Grammar
Happy London Grammar is unnerving and feels like an oxymoron but this is another more upbeat track from the forthcoming album and I’m very excited for it. Their debut for me was a relaxing affair for those mellow days. Unfortunately by keeping the colour scheme the same on the second record it was a snooze fest I barely listened to. This third record though – I’m excited to hear it! Only 2-3 weeks to go!
As a bonus track this week (which I fully reserve the right to include next week if needed) here is the Camelphat remix released today.
Can’t Leave It Alone – Aaron Frazer
I was between two tracks from this album to post and the swagger on this one won it for me this week. There is a timelessness to the sound on the Aaron Frazer record solid songs that would be happy in any decade. Probably wouldn’t have got my attention during the fray when releases kick up but when you’ve only got this and the Viagra Boys to listen to what you going to do? The advantage of releasing in the off season. Enjoy the funky swagger here. It’s a vibe.
Badibaba – Goat Girl
Another advantage of the off-season is being able to boost lesser known artists. I was fortunate to see Goat Girl at the Florence + the Machine BST day in 2019 – you know, when festivals were a thing and weren’t cancelled, like Glasto 21 was yesterday. They were the first band of a stunning all-female day (save for the lads of The National). I don’t remember much now but remember enjoying them enough to stick around. This track is the last single release ahead of the forthcoming album out next week. Keep an ear out, yea?
Fear Up – Crazy Arm
Sometimes acts reappear from a forgotten period of your life. After I found Frank Turner while at university I investigated his label’s other offerings and band such as Dive Dive, Xcerts and Crazy Arm ended up in moderate rotation though I don’t remember any tracks now. The label definitely had a sound to the artists they signed. If you like solid, honest, non-aggressive punk rick Xtra Mile recordings are the label for you.
Man I can’t wait for gigs to start again so can see bands like this again… and Skinny Lister and Frank and Mongol Horde and and and and….
Waiting on a War – Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl has said he want’s the band’s 10th record to be a dance record. I’ve yet to see how that plays out in the tracks released so far – any different to their usual output anyway. This is a pleasant track that acts as a perfect pick me up if you’re feeling a little fragile. Unsure if it’ll become a classic but worth a listen all the same and it’s yet another album that isn’t far away (a few weeks) that I’m excited for.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the tracks either here or over on Instagram (@musikigai). In the meantime stay safe and keep on keeping on.
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