Music curation. That’s the thing these days. Most of it is done by computer guided algorithm – a suggestion based on who played what after what. Direction by the crowd, with the odd tweak here and there.
That’s fine – it has its place – but we’re up for trying something a big more nuanced. RIYL (that’s Recommended If You Like, in case you were wondering) is a new series we’re running. We’ll take a brand new track that we think is really rather spiffing, then suggest to you, Dear Reader, some other gems you may also appreciate if you’re equally enamoured. A mix of new sounds and influential classics, it’s intended to be focused down on the individual song. You never know, you might learn something – or at least remember something you’d forgotten.
There’s no surprise in what’s first up. Last night Wolf Alice dropped their comeback banger ‘Yuk Foo’. As aggressive and incendiary as it sounds, you can read our review here, then check out what we’re serving it with below.
Dream Wife – FUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY65uOD8xJE
If ‘Yuk Foo’ makes us feel like we might be in for a bruising, ‘FUU’ has us calling for private security. Scrappy, intense and trapped in an enclosed space, thematically they’re two tracks sharing a taste for blood.
Shampoo – Trouble
Attitude is everything. ‘Yuk Foo’ is packed with it. Though it might be more razor blades than bubblegum, that spit fire acerbic wit is something ‘Shampoo’ had in spades.
Estrons – Strobe Lights
Womp. Womp. Womp. There’s a growl to ‘Strobe Lights’ that rattles the light fittings. If there’s a scrap going off, this banger will be keeping score.
Daisy Chainsaw – Love Your Money
As one smart Tweeter put it: “That new Wolf Alice = what Daisy Chainsaw would have been like if they’d had access to rehearsal space.” They’re right. They’re so, so right.
INHEAVEN – Vultures
As part of the new wave Wolf Alice blasted a hole for, INHEAVEN are following through with a toothy grin and a flaming inferno in their wake.
Nine Inch Nails – The Hand That Feeds
That pulsing undertone to ‘Yuk Foo’ has a touch of the Reznor to it. There’s a degree of separation, sure, but Wolf Alice’s comeback has that industrial heart that sets itself ‘My Love Is Cool”s organic soul.
Be Your Own Pet – Food Fight
Be Your Own Pet were the complete package. Burning even shorter than ‘Yuk Foo’, ‘Food Fight’ is a flurry of hair, feathers, blood and teeth. And food. Obviously.
Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains
Shirley Manson doesn’t need to join the fight to win. Arch cool and ice cold, ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ may be detached from the blood and thunder, but you know that – if they wanted – Garbage could bring it. They just don’t have to get their hands dirty to get their way.