6th April 2021
By Elliot
Magpie – Lava La Rue
Up and coming Ladbroke Grove local Lava La Rue has released arguably her strongest single to date with ‘Magpie’. Lusciously layered soul samples dunk the listener into what can only be described as a dreamy psychedelic RnB experience. Lava’s vocals weave in and out of the contagiously likeable beat, with her rap verses flowing effortlessly. While, at face value, it would seem this song is devoted to past lovers, once examined, it is clear through lyrics such as – ‘hear the beat // London city set me free’ – Lava is celebrating the historical diversity of the city she has grown up in. Not a love song to a partner; instead a love song for her city. With heaps of self-confidence, Lava has once again shot herself into the limelight with this single especially in the UK scene and I look forward to hearing more from her.
Sisyphus – Quadeca
To say that Quadeca has come far from his days of dissing and collaborating with YouTubers would be an egregious understatement off the back of his recent single ‘Sisyphus’. The depth and grandiose nature of Quadeca’s production on this track is the first thing that took me by surprise. The combination of choral vocals, synth arpeggios and glitchy blemishes adds to the mountainous feeling throughout. Quadeca’s introspective and mature lyrics use the Greek myth of Sisyphus to explain how he only loves his significant other when he is working or ‘pushing the boulder’ so to speak. The song comes to end with a huge crescendo of jarring drums and distorted guitar something not too dissimilar to Deftones with its metal/hard rock influences. Quadeca has very clearly pulled out all the stops to produce something as gorgeous as ‘Sisyphus’ is and I cannot wait to hear more out of his camp. Whether you have not liked or listened to Quadeca in the past this track is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys good music.
Born in Luton – Shame
‘Born in Luton’ is a delightful new track by Shame a band hailing out of South London. Riding the wave of a fresh EU post-punk movement spearheaded by bands like Idles and Viagra Boys. With its screeching heavily distorted guitars from start to finish, the song almost diverges into noise rock at points. The song reaches its climax by the end where it seems to implode as Steen, Shame’s lead singer, with anguish, screams his vocals to outro the song. A really enjoyable listen and definitely worth a shot if you are enjoying the sort of post-punk revival that is happening currently.