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.
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underscores - Spoiled little brat
Fishmonger | Hyperpop
Aggressive genre-clashing has been around for decades, but never as brash and heedless as today. This, due to culture being defined less by geographical location and more by cliques within online social media circles. underscores is a textbook example of this, borrowing from 100 gecs' schizophrenic Hyperpop, as seen on 'Spoiled Little Brat.' The lyrical content is trife and frivolous, the abrasive structuring borrows from Brockhampton's Alternative R&B side, but the general catchiness is something that can't be denied. The unique and extreme Trance build to end matters sure does leave an impressionable mark.
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St. Vincent - ...At The Holiday Party
Daddy's Home | Psychedelic Soul
There's something about songs like these where the gimmick is prevalent, easy to disdain, yet I can't get enough. Oddly enough, St. Vincent's 'At The Holiday Party' reminds me of Childish Gambino when he gets cheesy to an eye-rolling degree ('California,' '35.31'). Two despised songs that I enjoy from cheek to cheek. Here, St. Vincent's more serious and comfortable, but the growing, spoon-fed Gospel might be hard to digest for some. Not me, as that cathartic dynamism works wonders in elevating romantic nuance. The David Bowie Young Americans comparisons can't go without mentioning as well.
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Context matters during Afterparty's tongue-in-cheek two-parter 'I Used To Make Vaporwave' and 'I Still Do.' Apart from the self-aware title, the tonality shift between the two presents a crisp and curt evolution of Vaporwave. It's on the latter, with its bountiful loop of renovated City Pop, where Chance デラソウル shines. 'I Still Do' is simple yet entirely effective, capturing the vibrant, communal atmosphere of Tokyo under the lights.
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There's a plethora of memorable songs on Bright Green Field, the best of which ('Narrator' and 'Pamphlets') were released as singles. But 'Peel St.' works as a textbook deep cut, rife with energy and passion, a salivating journey through Squid's psychosis. Technicality is off the charts, led by a mental feedback loop reminiscent of Battles and their brand of Math Rock. Tonal shifts and a growing sense of anxious unease - Squid's defining trait - make 'Peel St.' the go-to, bite-sized showcase of their talents.
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Dry Cleaning - More Big Birds
New Long Leg | Art Punk
Pick any song off New Long Leg and you'll soon learn of Dry Cleaning's aesthetic, in quite short order. Rather generic Post-Punk, set as background fluff for Florence Shaw's monotone Spoken Word. It works, though it's not a novel idea for those familiar with Algebra Suicide. While Shaw rarely strays from her tempered poise on other tracks, the growing riff and melodic patterns on 'More Big Birds' finds her eager to quip and swoon like Suzanna Vega. The balance between freeing harmonies and rigid poetics works so well together.
And thus, U.K.'s new Art Punk scene continues its reign, having now taken four of the top five slots for Deep Cuts this year. May, a comfort month as Squid chimed in at two. 'More Big Birds' joins Gossamer Girls' 'Gossamer Girls, Black Country New Road's 'Opus' and shame's 'Station Wagon..
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