Deep Cuts - April '21

Deep Cuts. An idea spurred by those countless playlist drifters, jumping from single to single, without investigating albums further. Here you'll find the five best 2021 songs discovered by Dozens Of Donuts in the previous month, not given exposure via the duty of lead single. The only condition I've imposed upon myself is that no artist can have more than one song.

This was an absolutely stacked month for 2021 discoveries, five Deep Cuts doesn't do it justice. Be sure to check out the short list below for songs that, in other months, normally would've been in contention.

Black Dresses - PEACESIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chad VanGaalen - Nightmare Scenario

Parannoul - Analog Sentimentalism

Andy Stott - Don't Know How

Xiu Xiu - Saint Dymphna

CHANCE デラソウル - Don't Stop

Material Girl - Material Girl Meets The Devil Pt. 3

Brockhampton - What's The Occasion?

Lana Del Rey - Dark But Just A Game 
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5
Bruno Pernadas - Family Vows
Private Reasons | Progressive Pop

Only those born within eyesight of a beach could make 'Family Vows.' Bruno Pernadas' new album Private Reasons embraces that humid, languorous approach towards life, roaming around sunburnt Dream Pop with stretched and harmonized vocals, tired drums, and sand-strewn acoustics. Robotic vocoder work midway through tips a hat towards Pernadas' past Space Age Pop adoration, before setting sail for carousing on nearby islands. 'Family Vows' welcomes those who aim to get lost.

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4
GY!BE - "GOVERNMENT CAME"
G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! | Post-Rock

At twenty minutes - a classic Godspeed You! Black Emperor length - '"GOVERNMENT CAME"' feels emblematic of the preeminent Post-Rock outfit. It's predictable, as most of their work is, with originating samples of discourse reduced to ash by leaden, kismet guitars and rumblings of rampageous percussion. This, before finding form in ways only GY!BE know how. Assailant riffs in a destructive landscape wreak havoc in the first half, before 'Cliffs Gaze' rebuilds through resounding optimism, much like their last LP Luciferian Towers. The band's greatness arises in the fold between atrocity and defiance.

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3
Lost Girs - Real Life
Menneskekollektivet | Art Pop

This was tough, as 'Love, Lovers' deserves a place on this list too. But that 15-minute behemoth has received plenty of attention, squandering Menneskekollektivet's quaint, yet impactful finale. Right from the get-go, Håvard Volden's harsh guitars steal the show, moving with their own frequency over Jenny Hval's lush vocals and curious retelling of an email poem. Like much of the LP, 'Real Life' strays from formality. It moves fluidity, yet with such conviction one can't help but be mesmerized. Call it Art Pop, Tech House, Progressive Electronic, nothing seems entirely apt when defining Lost Girls.

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2
Feu! Chatterton - Compagnons
Palais D'argile | Nouvelle Chanson Française

And thus, the discussion on emotion breaking barriers restarts once more. It was Maitre Gazonga, nay Stereolab, nay Ana Frango Elétrico, nay KOKOKO! who elevated my spirits in spite of incomprehensible language. Now we have Feu! Chatterton, speaking entirely in French, building with unabashed glee and fervor. Staunch guitars reminiscent of Velvet Underground ride the foundation, as Arthur Teboul unspools his love of... something. Part of the beauty lies in not knowing. The feeling of 'Compagnons' - a cover of a Jacques Prévert song, lending to its chic, antiquated sound - is all that matters.

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1
Armand Hammer - Stonefruit
Haram | Abstract Hip-Hop

After an album - strike that - a career of hoarse depictions of inner-city strife, the precipitant mellifluous of 'Stonefruit' could not have fomented a stronger impact. It ends Haram with celebratory, throwback fanfare as Elucid sings, cracked and croaky, over looping Soul samples courtesy of The Alchemist. The structure is unorthodox, especially for Armand Hammer, as is the growing sense of optimism. There's levity here, as 'Stonefruit' moves loosely through spacious gaps, incorporating background vocals, dusted drums, and a squeaky, siren call synthesizer. Sudden ambition after rounds and rounds of routines.

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