Weekly Column: The Froth!

Track of the week: ‘You Are My Destiny’ by The Juan MacLean

Mind you, this isn’t the full track, but it’s so good to see The Juan MacLean back in the arena again that I still have to throw this in here. If you have ever seen them live, they really have set the benchmark high with that 23 minute monster version of ‘Happy House’. However, if this would appear in the same set, it wouldn’t stop the dancefloor in its tracks at all. After 1 1/2 minute the scene is set, the synthesizer makes a nice companion to the beat, and we already can hear Nancy Whang yelping out one or two things before she really takes to the vocals. Those come in at about 2:30, and when they do, the circle is complete and the track just has all those classic elements we have come to expect from a tune by this man/band. Catchy, dancey, ace instrumentals, and Whang’s voice just brilliantly fit that aesthetic this man puts down. Just listen to that sound after Whang takes a breather about three minutes in, that really is great what he does right there. If he continues like this, the next batch of gigs will be just one hot, amazing, hit-and-dance machine. Can’t wait to hear the high quality full version of this.

‘On Your Own’ by Fryars

Fryars is gearing up for his second album it seems, and he really has laid the aesthetic down with his first few singles. They have this detached, kind of cold sound that still packs the emotional punches. And to be honest, I love that kind of sound. This track, called ‘On Your Own’, has really been doing the rounds with appearances on Pitchfork and Gorilla vs Bear and other American media outlets. It seems he goes a bit more emotive in the vocals than the previous singles, even though you still hear that twang of how they worked that sound to get that typical vibe. The instrumentals, especially later on in the song, follow that trend, being a bit more bombastic than what we’ve heard so far on, for instance, ‘Love So Cold’. The opening line here is absolute genius (The one on ‘Love So Cold’ as well, to be honest), and I really like the artwork, which is by Davy Evans. It fits the kind of sound, like the artwork by Circlesquare fit that kind of sound, and I believe they are not entirely dissimilar.  Look at the works of art by Circlesquare, that more scientific kind of art he does, listen to his songs, and then look at the artwork and sounds of Fryars. There’s a reason they are connecting those dots, I think. It fit the aesthetic of Circlesquare (whose albums are amazing in case you’ve never heard them), and it fits the current mode Fryars seems to be in. So no wonder I’m excited by this song, and for the album.

‘All Just In My Mind’ by Clancy

Yikes, did I have my volume too loud starting this one. Really club-ready beat it’s got, forget about starting up with a morning cup of coffee on this one. Just gets it going, and actually the auxiliary sounds are what softens up the song. The total change-up comes after a minute, when the beat is stripped away in favour of piano and vocals. The beat that is added after this stripped down bit is kind of this deep house thing which is way less harsh than the starting beat, though I wouldn’t have guessed they would go this deep for this one. Quite the contrast to the piano I’d say, which gets teamed up with the vocals multiple times during this track. That is the structure: deep house beat with vocals, piano with vocals, then back to the beat, and so on. The vocals are really house to me, nice and deep those. In that sense they definitely fit the deep house beat (though piano house probably as well, if Clancy had decided to go that route). So there are definitely some nice things to be found here, though the standard contrast they put in doesn’t really make it go the full monty for me, and that start and end beat I’m really not that keen on to be honest, bit too sharp for me that.

‘This Love (Higher)’ by Patrick Baker

Bit Funk, who know a bit about tunes themselves, mastered this Patrick Baker track, which kind of has this contemporary ballad vibe. It has that contemporary beat that you hear more often these days (not a real dance beat, mind you), and then you’ve got the kind of whispery-yet-strong vocals which indicate that Love will take the sky (if I heard it correctly). I imagine that in the Seventies this really would’ve been more ballad-like, would’ve been done with more bass, probably would have had some horns then as well. I wouldn’t have minded, personally, if the chorus vocals would be clearer, that there would be a bigger juxtaposition between the verses and then the chorus. You do hear he brings them with more gusto, but still they kind of are layered below the instrumental beat. Kind of a male Jessie Ware goes disco track it feels. If that description sounds like I’m trying to take the piss out of this song, that isn’t quite true. I really like the vocals, and I like the mixture of this kind of old school idea with the contemporary execution.  I’m kind of in the middle about this, thinking it is good, but still kind of having my reservations about it if it will last in terms of playability for me personally. Time will tell if I’ve been too “reserved” during this column. You can always make up your own mind, since it is a free download! And certainly the song is definitely worth hitting that button.

‘Make Me Feel’ by The Groovers

The Groovers found a groove for this Brenda Holloway track to make this a six minute disco dancefloor event. It starts nice and easy, but then they introduce more and more elements to make it more and more dancey, so don’t expect to be sitting still on this one. They show the patience as they could’ve gone for the vocals and such just after a minute in, but they add one extra round of instrumentals before they let Brenda come in as she sings that you make her so very, very happy. So it definitely has got that lovey-dovey disco theme going on (for Loving you is where it’s at!). In the mean time The Groovers keep that beat rolling on, and in terms of aesthetics it just fits the feel of the Holloway track perfectly. I just think it’s great they never go over the top or do all these fancy-schmancy thingies, but they just delicately create this groove that fits the voice and they just keep on riding it until there’s no tomorrow. Love the vocals, love the vibe, and love the dancing you can do to this: a very classy disco edit indeed.

‘I Owe You This’ by Chad Valley feat. Twin Shadow (Jacques Renault remix)

Plenty of buzz names here, with Chad Valley and Twin Shadow, though if you are concerned about the dancefloor probably it is the Jacques Renault name you are looking at. Love this guy’s sounds (and check out some of his sets/mixes or, naturally, hear him play live if you like his style), though this one starts with kind of this somewhat generic sounding beat which has a bit of a harsher feel than the warmer sounds I’m used to from him. Those glimmering synth sounds that come in after about half a minute are nice and euphoric sounding, and the song just grows and grows from there, thankfully kind of obscuring the beat. When the vocals come in (and we know these lads can sing) Renault really plays them perfectly. He has them powering the lines, but he puts them slightly back so that you do get the emotional punch, but you don’t get two guys just screaming and shouting over his music. About halfway in he tones it back a bit, and you’ve got these softer, mellower sounds in combination with the lads’ voices. Then a bit of synth to build it all up again, after which naturally the beat comes in again for the people to do a little shuffling to. Though, admittedly, this to me kind of misses that house/disco warmth which Renault does so well, the way he plays the vocals give this track still that little something extra that makes it a nice listen.