Will Collins: New music from Real Lies is always a cause for celebration, and their new track ‘I Could Join the Birds’ (one of a handful of singles released recently ahead of a new album) is no exception. It’s a melancholically beautiful slice of dancefloor-adjacent pop. As the song begins, a tinkling piano line, mournful synths and a gently insistent four to the floor rhythm conjure up a rain-soaked city at night, and Kev Kharas’s spoken word delivery adds a powerful sense of yearning to the mix. The song then builds to a euphoric second half, its title underlining this yearning and becoming a statement of intent, outlining a desire for escape. On this evidence, I can’t wait for the rest of the album!
Rick Larson: We are lucky to have Sacred Paws reappear now and again. The Scottish duo have teased a March album release with a three song single this month. This band is and has been pure comfort food for me. Prolific band creator and guitarist Ray Aggs (of Shopping) and drummer Eilidh Rodgers create slinky, Afrobeat flavored songs with stellar musicianship. The songs are fun and they sound good. That’s a simple and effective formula.
Am I in the minority thinking that Black Country, New Road is going to be better now? Probably. As far as I’m concerned, anything that puts Georgia Ellery front and center is a positive. She should be a superstar. ‘Besties’ is the new single. I’m ready for more.
Tom Burrows: I’ve been trying harder than usual to keep up this year, by listening properly to one new album each week. There haven’t been any era-defining masterpieces so far this year by my reckoning, but I enjoyed the FKA twigs album (which I reviewed), and I’m also on board with the new Bad Bunny album (which Sam reviewed). The latter is really well produced and it sounds great. My enjoyment isn’t even quelled by the number of times I have to search what the words mean.
Other February listening has included The Weeknd’s supposed final album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, which has a really excellent middle section, but is unfortunately surrounded by bloat. It’s a bit annoying, because there’s a really strong LP in there that would come in at just under an hour (which would already be quite long!), but the real thing does not land its finale at all, dragging us through a dreary surplus 20 minutes. And what’s more, there’s an actual feature-length accompanying film to come as well, which looks terrible. Would still recommend this album for the good bits though.
And finally, I’ve been listening to the new Youth Lagoon album, Rarely Do I Dream, over the past week. Rooted in childhood memory, Trevor Powers’ delicate vocals and stripped back instrumentals make it an intimate listening experience which I’m enjoying so far.
Sam Atkins: My actual Best music of February was definitely the FKA Twigs album which completely floored me, but go listen to Episode 85 of Picky Bastards podcast to hear exactly why.
So I’ll shout out People Watching by Sam Fender instead which has me absolutely obsessed. I was a big fan of Seventeen Going Under, but even compared to that, this feels like a truly special album. Sam has managed to hone in on his own sound and on his own personality so clearly on yet another album with not a single other co writer. Songs like ‘Chin Up’, ‘Nostalgia’s Lie’, ‘Crumbling Empire’ and ‘TV Dinner’ continue to amaze me with every listen, while closer ‘Remember My Name’ brings the whole record together in such an emotive way. His best album yet and I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so.
James Spearing: I first heard Marie Davidson, as I’m sure many others did, when Soulwax’s remix of ‘Work It’ went big. So it makes total sense that she should not only release City of Clowns, her new, and most complete and consistent album yet, on Soulwax’s Deewee label, with the Belgian duo on production duty. Her unique Québécoise take on sprechgesang (see the ‘Sexy Clown’ video above) which has by now become very much her trademark, features heavily. Plus her scathing takedowns of big tech and its negative impacts on modern society from previous work not only run through but infiltrate every every corner of this record. She’s a proud ‘Contrarian’ and not shy about it either, fuckhead.
Picky Bastards 