This week has seen the 63rd Grammy Awards take place, albeit through live streams and social distancing. For all of the commercial-centric criticism that the ceremony receives, there are one or two diamonds to be found in the rough. Fiona Apple picked up Best Rock Performance, as well as Best Alternative Album. The Strokes won their first ever (!?) Grammy. And we saw Haim & Brittany Howard absolutely slay their live performances.
Billie Eilish picked up Record of the Year, with Ringo Starr presenting the award alongside an onslaught of “peace & love”s. What’s not to like?
Sorry // Cigarette Packet
The North London band are back, after snatching a silver medal in our Album of 2020 list. Packed with frantic vocal delivery, a crescendo-building synth and a few cowbells, this tune more than meets our high expectation of Sorry.
Squid // Paddling
Debut album Bright Green Fields arrives in May. ‘Paddling’ is a slow-build call-and-response tune which sees Squid bouncing from a mechanised slur, to frenzied wonky-pop.
Paris Texas // SITUATIONS
Paris Texas first appeared last month with ‘HEAVY METAL’, and new cut ‘SITUATIONS’ is just as killer. Check out the retro video game-influenced video.
Friedberg // Yeah
Friedberg have dropped their debut EP, YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH. This tune sounds like it was made for a mid-00s iPod advert; big weekend energy.
Tomemitsu (feat. V.V. Lightbody) // Same Mistakes
LA’s Tomemitsu has teamed up with V.V. Lightbody for this lo-fi gem. Go for a walk in the sun and listen his m_o_d_e_s album from 2017, you won’t regret it.
Julia-Sophie // and you know it
Impossible to confine to a genre, Oxford-based Julia-Sophie fuses elements of dream-pop, electro and shoegaze to make soundscapes that are without comparison right now.
Home Counties // White Shirt / Clean Shirt
Starting life as solely a guitar number, ‘White Shirt / Clean Shirt’ received a sonic kick up the arse over lockdown, as Bristol boys Home Counties experimented more with synthesisers.
