Listen: Better As Friends — Eighty Ninety

Better As Friends is one of those rare records that represents perfectly crafted pop music: it is undoubtably polished enough to be commercially successful, and yet it has enough of an edge to it that I’m pulled in by its authenticity.

Eighty Ninety are an American duo comprised of brothers Abner and Harper James. Together they are focused on creating music that pulls together “storytelling, sticky melodies, and minimalist pop productions built on acoustic instruments and electronic sounds”. Adorably, they call this sound “808s and telecasters”, and with that, they have won my heart, because OF COURSE. I only wish I had thought of that first so it could be the strap-line for BlackPlastic.co.uk.

Having already achieved a #2 hit on the Spotify Global Viral Chart with their debut single, Three Thirty, Eighty Ninety can count Taylor Swift as a fan after the superstar added their single Your Favorite Song to her Spotify playlist, Songs Taylor Loves.

New single Better As Friends is about wanting to stay connected to someone you once loved but knowing that it might be less painful in the long run to just let them go. The song revolves around a killer chorus:

“How the fuck do we get so mixed up and here we are running in circles again. But once you tell someone that you know they’re the one and you love them, can you really be better as friends?”

The hushed falsetto vocal and production come together on Better As Friends to make something that takes my breath away… the way it opens with gentle keys underpinned with warm, bass and flecks of that Telecaster. There are little touches that really lift the production work here. The warm feel of the live bass sound, the way the filters apply to the make the bridge feel like it is lifting off, a tiny squeak hidden beneath the chorus that sounds like fingers sliding up the fretboard. Better As Friends introduces these various elements slowly, a little piece at a time, and the result builds just the way nagging emotions do… Before you know it, you’re lost in your feelings and you know they are the one.

Written/produced by Abner James, Harper James, Gian Stone Mixed by Rafael Fadul Stream Eighty Ninety on Spotify / Apple Music / DSPs: https://ffm.bio/eightyninety http://instagram.com/eightyninety8090 http://twitter.com/eighty_ninety_ http://facebook.com/eightyninety8090

Watch: Shift & Go - Little Luna

Riding the kind of emotive electronic production that I always feel a little predisposed to fall for, Shift & Go combines a sophisticated sound with an unfussy and economic touch. With deep-but-melodic bass and big live-sounding drums, the song leaves plenty of space for a female vocal that comes drenched in reverb.

Little Luna has created a piece of music that feels like a cinematic thrill ride. Shift & Go would sit well in Stranger Things, or soundtracking late night car rides after an eventful night out. It pulses with a charged excitement and a thrilling sense of the unexpected - depicting those moments where it feels like everything just changed, even if the rest of the world didn’t notice.

Shift & Go is the debut release from Little Luna, a project dedicated to a sonic journey of self (re-)discovery. The songs themselves come together in response to lyrics triggered by the artist’s poetry and musical rhythms that reflect the sense of movement and motion. Check out Shift & Go below, and look out from more from Little Luna in the future.

Watch: Bad Lot - SOUNDQ

SOUNDQ’s Bad Lot has the simplistic feel of techno but marries it to a soulful vocal, creating a hard sound that still comes with a dose of humanity.

With heavy 808s and clipped, distorted synth stabs there is an intensity running through Bad Lot, particularly in its opening. It starts with stark percussion, including a big four-four beat that on its own it would be too much - energised and infectious but too cold and mechanical. Yet a starry-eyed, vacant vocal provides just the contrast the song needs. It remains otherworldly, perfectly suited for moments lost on dance floors, but it transcends that - conveying hopefulness and sadness at the same time.

Bad Lot is a menacing drama and whilst the production is intense, it still leaves space for its message: that despite our best efforts, whatever decisions we make, we end up repeating the same actions.

SOUNDQ is the musical alias of Poland-based house and ‘dirty pop’ producer Kuba Kubica. The name SOUNDQ is short for Soundquake, which, if Bad Lot is anything to go by, feels very appropriate. Kubica’s focus is on creating rhythms that enable him to tell distinctly Eastern European stories - Ones that “speak of accepting failure, struggling to adapt, living in two worlds and finding treasure in another man’s garbage”.

Check out Bad Lot below:

Premiere: Around Here - Asch-Rose

Around Here is the new single from Auckland, New Zealand musician Asch-Rose. Having toured consistently, she has built up a significant fan base and has performed more than 250 dates in New Zealand. The sound Asch-Rose creates recalls Warpaint - there is a density to the sound that really hits me.

Around Here opens with a guilty walk and a steely-eyed stare that inspires a sense of foreboding. Asch-Rose’s vocal performance exudes siren-like qualities, drawing me in despite the apparent danger.

With bluesy guitar and hushed drums, things start slowly, but over time the quiet gives way to organ and layered instrumentation. It feels deeply atmospheric, a sound that winds around the listener to create a disorientating wall of sound.

Describing the song as being a record of heartbreak, Asch-Rose says:

“A broken heart... obviously something gets stuck in you and breeds like wild fire. I felt compelled to sit and self-loath, while at the same time productively record it. That’s where Around Here was written. I craved that and I stayed in that for a while, there, I wrote this music. These string of songs have been influenced by that state of self-study and self-pity. That state of heartbreak and desperate search to void-fill creates beautiful things.”

Check out Around Here below, or through your platform of choice here.

Listen: Alive - Casual

Arriving on a psychedelic cosmic rainbow hooked onto what sounds like a life support machine, Alive enters like a rebirth and a resuscitation. It crunches and crackles - fresh brass jostling against rolling bass to create something that feels like an overly excitable crowd losing themselves in the moment… and oh, how I miss crowds. Alive feels like being free again.

Casual’s sound reminds me of Jungle, who they cite as influences… there is an obvious commercial appeal here, yet it is mixed with an authenticity. They blend hip-hop stylings with the indie-dance vibes of MGMT, falsetto vocal harmonies playfully bouncing along with the melody. The feeling I’m left with is one of fresh sneakers squeaking enthusiastically on polished floorboards, of feeling good in your new favourite outfit, of sweating with people whose sweat you like.

Casual are Amsterdam-based duo ReauBeau and Rico Dean and they feel destined for success, particularly with fans that include Edith Bowman (sample quote: “There's nothing casual about that. It is HUGE and it's currently on repeat in my house.”)

So yep… Feel Alive, and check it out below:

Casual's first single Alive is OUT NOW Do you remember how Kevin is having the time of his life in his hotel room in Home Alone 2? That's Casual. It is exactly what the name suggests: to have fun with no strings attached. It’s the circus where you go to be entertained, it’s the comedy show you go to get a laugh, it’s the world you escape to and forget about everything. Taking inspiration from artists like Jungle, Justice, Pharrell and Outkast, Casual blends modern takes on ‘70’s disco and soul vibes with a late ‘90’s hip hop bounce that result in uplifting songs - bringing you to a new world of wonders..