More Music From The Inbox, 31 January 2015: Aggrocragg, The Assist, We Were Strangers, Mourn, Trinidad James
Artist / Song: “Units” by Aggrocragg
Album: Fifi Afterglow (demo)
I know little about the Carolina music scene, but the Southern state produced Toro Y Moi and now the Northern one’s given us another super-interesting bedroom musician in Aggrocragg, real name Lamont Brown. “Units,” from his recently released series of demos called Fifi Afterglow, is breezy and catchy, music he says is written “late night after work.” Settle in.
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Artist / Song: “In Your Ear” by The Assist
Album: n/a
Any mods still out there? They’ll be thrilled with The Assist, four “lads” from Birmingham, thick in accent and chirpy guitars, and their new single “In Your Ear” is smothered in Britishness. One breathless UK radio station has already labelled them “Birmingham’s next big thing,” and who am I to argue?
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Artist / Song: “I Believe” by We Were Strangers
Album: n/a
We Were Strangers is the new project from Manchester singer/songwriter Stefan Melbourne, and from the strength of lead track “I Believe,” it’s a winner. It’s perhaps a tad over-produced, and easy to imagine it used in a trailer for some movie weeper (with its young stars holding each other as the rain falls down), but the song’s bones are strong and a sign of more good things to come.
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Artist / Song: “Your Brain Is Made of Candy” by Mourn
Album: Mourn, out 2/17/15
Speaking of scenes, something’s happening with the young women of Spain. First there was Deers (now Hinds), four women from Madrid that got a lot of press last year based on a few raw SoundCloud tracks. Now it’s Mourn, three female teens (plus one dude) from Barcelona. “Your Brain Is Made of Candy,” is their third released track and it’s the tastiest, their rougher edges given a ready-for-the-mainstream sheen.
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Artist / Song: “Black Man Pt. 1 ft. Big Krit” by Trinidad James
Album:: No One Is $afe
Atlanta rapper/singer Trinidad James’ latest single, “Black Man,” is a timely plea for U.N.I.T.Y. and tribute to a local rapper who was recently shot and killed. Plus it’s just a good song, with old-school beats and a positive message (“Be a queen, queen!”) that harken back to the alt-hip hop of the 1990s.
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