Music is in its hot summer era

What is it about summer that everything just screams and bursts with colour and taste? The sounds coming out of my headphones lately certainly are keeping to the style of the season and everything sounds a lot richer and rounded.

Loud and deep, reaching into the pit of my stomach and swirling me around as if high on daylight, heat and music. This is not specific to one genre, one artist, one mood. It's how the medium feels right now. Is that just me?
I'm using this entry to clean my monthly list just so I don't have a stupendous mental breakdown at the end of the month and I have to delete 50 songs because they don't fit. Three silly songs that I will be keeping in.

So, what's been getting me all hot and bothered lately? Aside from life itself:

1. Trey Wxxds - HERE FOR A MOMENT (Album)

Mystery rapper Trey Wxxds released an album last week and against all odds, it's surprisingly closing ranks and becoming one of my favourites this 2024. Highly recommended is the Robinson Park (Freestyle) at the start of the album that even has a little snippet of Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan sampled. It has an admirable flow and bottled female soul backing vocals towards the end that give it a heart. It's got a classic beat that feels light 90s. I'll also give a solid mention to Been Here Before which is just weird and feels more like an interlude than a full song. It's nostalgic and druggy, two big favourites of mine, but particularly one of the artist's strong points. I'll also recommend These Days for beachy afrobeats on the instrumental. It's summer after all.

2. MRD - Let Her Go (2023)

If techno is the natural progression of the mainstream use of the synth, MRD's Let Her Go is a step in between. It's as if someone went full techno and then decided to scale it back one notch. As a result you get a dark and fast techno album Løvehjerte (2023) with postpunk electronic drum arrangements and full gorgeous melodies with simulated guitars and Dave-Gahan-sounding vocals. In one of my moments of rest at the gym, Midsommar, in collaboration with Narciss came on and I immediately felt hooked. After looking into the album a little bit, Let Her Go is a clear favourite. 

3. James Blake, Lil Yachty - Bad Cameo (2024)

If I was given a choice of artists that I would have loved to see collaborate, the combo James Blake and Lil Yachty would have been right at the top. After both released two albums in 2023 that absolutely blew me away, I can't imagine anything more harmful to my emotions. The album definitely feels as if Lil Yachty is swimming in an ocean of Blake. There is enough of his signature sound and signature lyrics to give him the spotlight many times but the sign-off is that unique James Blake production sound. Already hitting it off with Save The Savior I was shaking my head and practically begging for mercy. If looking into the gaping hole of destiny had a sound, it would be this. Strong contender for my favourite track of the album also was Run Away From The Rabbit which has an incomprehensible ending. As in I cannot wrap my head around the magnificence of it. Missing Man also made the list for like a minute but on the second listen I knew that I was kidding myself. Clearly, the best song is Bad Cameo. It feels like getting lost between two very different dreams. Lil Yachty's autotune echoes in the ribcage while Blake tickles your spine on the keys. Just when you think it's already pretty good and could leave it at that, Lil Yachty's autotune is almost gone making him human again "In due time, we'll be fine" and it's Blake's artificial falsetto that brings the robot back in "Don't you want to see the morning?". And right there is where I cried. I continued to cry but "Don't lead me down a dark path" just felt like still getting punched when you've lost consciousness. There really is no need. You're a clear champion mate.