Colton Vibe – Songs of the Week – Feb. 11
2022 is off to a great start . . . musically, that is!
2022 is already off to a great start . . . as far as music is concerned. Within a month, we’ve already received great albums from the likes of The Weeknd, Big Thief, and Black Country, New Road, not to mention singles from these excellent artists. If this is any indicator, 2022 is shaping up to be a memorable year.
10 Bracelets – 2 Chainz (feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again)
2 Chainz comes with an NES sounding beat, preaching about how he got these 10 bracelets. Detailing how he came up, 2 Chainz’s famous wording gives us moments like this, when he raps, “More whips than Kunta Kinte/Made a million dollars bootlegging my own mixtape.” 2 Chainz’s great production is a receipt for his great new trap album “Dope Dont Sell Itself.”
Big Thief have laid down the gauntlet with the opening track on their remarkable new double album “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,” making it clear that the indie rock crown now goes through them. They spent the pandemic year traveling the United States, recording some 45 tracks, and culling it down to the 20 on “Dragon.” And on “Change,” the vulnerability in Adrienne Lenker’s voice is only rivaled by a deeply reflective lyric questioning how life can keep going on as the changes around us tear us apart. “Change, like the wind, like the water, like skin/Change, like the sky, like the leaves, like a butterfly/Would you live forever, never die/While everything around passes?/Would you smile forever, never cry/While everything you know passes?”
2012 – Saba (feat. Day Wave)
Saba’s “2012,” off his new album “Few Good Things,” details that banner year in both hip-hop, and for him. Talking about a past love which changed him. Wanting to promise the girl everything but having nothing she would rather be friends. Having everything he needed but the one thing he wanted was her. Speaking of dreams and aspirations they both shared with one another. Listening to “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City.” Saba’s storytelling is his greatest strength, and this track shows it off perfectly.
The Rock N’ Roll troll is starting to release new singles from his forthcoming album “Chloë and the Next 20th Century,” the follow-up to 2018’s breathtaking “God’s Favorite Customer.” On “Q4,” Father John’s scathing irony fixates on the ways in which the business of art destroys the soul and even takes lives. It’s the sort of song an artist pushing back against the “notes” of executives writes as a giant middle finger to their bottom line. The fact that Father John underscores it with a lush pop melody that hearkens back to his “I Love You, Honeybear” days only makes the burn more searing.
Doja – $NOT (feat. A$AP Rocky)
The release of “Doja” has generated both praise and hate. The track, which is the second single off his 2022 album “Ethereal,” is something new for $NOT. What started the talk was a line in the song in which the rapper talks about his desires for pop artist Doja Cat. Misinterpreting the lyric as an admission to having an affair with Doja, her Twitter stans siding were disgusted. Doja even responded, seeming to misread the lyric herself. $NOT clarified, calling Doja Cat a “fr queen,” and that he meant “no disrespect.” To no one’s surprise, this has been great press for his new album.
Chaos Space Marine – Black Country, New Road
The new album from post-punk/jazz ensemble Black Country, New Road, “Ants From Up There,” could very well be an experimental emo album. The epic production from this band, featuring the stop-start riffing that gives them a System of a Down (with violins!) vibe, really makes these songs pop, and none more so than lead single “Chaos Space Marine.” Sure, the title sounds like an absurd word soup, but that’s the fun of it. To the band’s credit, former lead singer Isaac Wood brings his Ian Curtis baritone to tell a story possibly inspired by the miniature role-playing game “Warhammer 40,000.”
Don’t Play That (feat. 21 Savage) – King Von
The long awaited single from the late King Von, “Don’t Play That,” has finally been released on streaming platforms. The song, which gained popularity on Tik Tok and through many leaks has been a favorite of Von fans. The no-care flow and memorable chorus is what makes this one of Von’s best. With 21’s verse complimenting Von perfectly, this duo would have made more great music if Von was still with us.
The Weeknd ain’t playing around. He wants to be crowned King of Pop, like Michael Jackson before him. On his new album, “Dawn FM,” Weeknd makes a convincing case as to why he deserves the crown. “Sacrifice” is a four-on-the-floor jam. Obviously, it has a killer beat and bassline, but underneath that are the synthy flourishes that give the song all its updated 80s character. And Weeknd’s vocals, aided as they are by a good amount of autotune, gives us a chorus we can all sing along to.
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Senior Myles Garza is a staff writer for the Pepper Bough newspaper. His interests are in music, film and sports. He is an avid reader, writer, and athlete...