Donald Trump was inaugurated as Leader of The Free World but Tinie Tempah, Arcade Fire and Maggie Rogers released new singles, and Loyle Carner dropped a stunning debut LP. Swings and roundabouts.

Loyle Carner, Yesterday’s Gone

3 years after posting his first track, Eleven, on Soundcloud, South London rapper Loyle Carner released his deeply confessional debut LP, Yesterday’s Gone. Tackling issues of adolescence in the twenty first century, Loyle portrays openly and honestly the inner workings of his life; overcoming his ADHD, his admiration of his single mother, and the gritty ‘unhiphop’ reality of drug dealing. The 15 track album features appearances from close friends and collaborators, Tom Misch and Rebel Kleff, as well as UK rap legend Jehst, and, as his singles and EPs have, maintains a melancholic and stirring temperament harmoniously created using interludes and poetry dissimilar to anything I’ve heard of recent. Loyle Carner is a realist, and that’s what makes his music so enjoyable to listen to. He tells it how it is, there are no elaborate beats or deep hidden meanings to his writing, he’s a sit-back-and-listen artist and he’s released a beautiful sit-back-and-listen album like nothing else you’ll find.

Tinie Tempah feat. Tinashe, Text From Your Ex

Tinie Tempah’s, ‘Text From Your Ex’, featuring US R&B Singer Tinashe, makes use of a resurgence in a synthy 90s vibe. Lyrically, it isn’t massively stong, ‘I was chilling on my own, thinking you’re alone/you were having sex with your ex girl,’ but it’s a decent chart track that’ll fit nicely on a Now That’s what I Call Music album.

Arcade Fire feat. Mavis Staples, I Give You Power

I’ve never really understood Arcade Fire. People obsess over them, they headline the world’s biggest festivals, but I just don’t get it. I do like their music (well, some of it), but I can’t seem to find anything about them as a band that merits the hype they cause. Their new single, I Give You Power, is a protest single, all profits from which will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union, and its pretty cool. With Mavis Staples’ feature vocals intertwining with a lurching synth bassline, the single conveys a powerful post-inauguration message, ‘I give you power (and I can take it away – Watch me!)’ It’s a formidable return. Perhaps I’m starting to get the Arcade fire thing after all.

Maggie Rogers, On + Off

Finally, Remember that video of Pharrell listening to (and crying over) a music student’s song in a university workshop? Well that student is Maggie Rogers, and she’s just released her third single. After the video went viral, she released her debut single, Alaska, and has since followed it up with Dog Years, and now On + Off. All following a similar euphoric and natural folk-dance vibe, the newest instalment from Rogers features a rolling bassline, intricate synth melodies and a characteristically soulful vocal. Big things soon come for Maggie Rogers.

#music #new #friday #review #newmusicfriday #loylecarner #tinietempah #arcadefire #maggierogers