I’m not sure if Lauren Auder is this nineteen-year old’s real name or if the artist’s parents work for the police or as judges and just got a bit carried away. But irrespective of the moniker Lauren is not making the sort of music you’d necessarily expect of someone of this age. As soon as you see the words ‘inspired by the work of twentieth-century composer Maurice Durufle’ it’s pretty easy to guess that this debut song, The Baptist, released through the True Panther Sounds label isn’t going to be your typical autotuned piece of Spotify friendly pop, nor is it going to be celebrating drinking champagne in da club. That guess would be right. Actually, Lauren’s parents don’t work for the police. In fact, according to an interview he did last year with Noisey they both come from a music journalism background. His mum used to work for the NME and his dad for Karrang, although he refused to name who they were. So maybe it isn’t entirely surprising that Lauren’s music isn’t from the mainstream if he grew up in an environment that was probably exposed to an awful lot of sounds at a young age. So, what does The Baptist sound like? It’s a slow-core piece of beauty. Gentle reflective piano sounds and cello provide the soundtrack for a mournful voice, which has some similarity to King Krule, as Auder sings. “If Christ died for me one time for my crimes, I doubt he would again.” It’s music for the thoughtful, the contemplative and those on the outside. It sounds refreshingly unique. Lauren Auder - The Baptist
Zoe Nash doesn’t mince her words on her debut single Rather Die: “I would rather die than be like you. ‘Cause you’re hateful, sitting high king of the hill, you’re just shameful, you won’t stop ‘till you’ve got your fill,” she croons, and with a voice like hers it’s no surprise she’s using it. There’s a similarity to Macy Gracy for sure, all huskily rasping and smoke-laden. It stands out a mile from the dreary auto-tuned soulless pap that pop music serves up so often these days and as a response to those who use their platforms to spread hate and ignorance it certainly lays out Zoe’s stall. Having already featured on the G-Eazy track The Beautiful & Damneda month or so ago, Rather Die is Zoe’s first solo offering, and whilst the vocal here is undeniably scorching. the 27 year old from Los Angeles also has the tune to go with it – there’s a hooky backing chorus and a suitably laid back summery groove – suggesting perhaps that Zoe Nash might just be a name to put on your Ones to Watch for 2018 list if you haven’t done one yet. After all back in 2013 she tweeted that she was born to be a pop star. 4 years later that tweet looks incredibly true. Zoe Nash - Rather Die
Silence by Tom Adams is a truly special album. Quiet, reflective and full of space, it’s a record that in many ways seems out of place in this fast-paced world. It is therefore all the better for it. This song, Fade, isn’t on Silence, but is from the earlier Voyages By Starlight EP. However, it is still very representative of Adams’ sensitive songs that you will find on the debut long player. This new rework by Ben Lukas Boysen starts from the most hushed of places and then builds to create something that is akin to Sigur Ros jamming with Nils Frahm, although I’m not sure if jamming is the right word – softly sculpting is probably a better choice. Hang on to every moment of this beautiful piece of work, you won’t regret it. On his Facebook Tom has posted a small story about the photo above: “Ben and I decided to hit up a vintage photo booth in Berlin to try and get a cuddly team photo for this release. Unfortunately, some passers-by decided to get involved aggressively and this photo captures the moment someone reached into the booth to punch Ben. Proving the adage of 'don’t get a nice guy angry', Ben sorted it out like a champ and we got this shot to commemorate the occasion.” It's hard to imagine two men who create music like this getting into any sort of trouble. For me this is the sound of love. Tom Adams - Fade (Ben Lukas Boysen Rework)
“She is the sort of celebrity who could not have existed even half a decade ago: born of and beloved by the internet, and essentially unknown outside of it,” the Guardian wrote of Poppy the other day. They pretty much nailed it. Poppy is not in a cult. She does not believe in cults. Or so she tells us in this very cult like video (here). Yet once you’ve entered her slightly creepy, alien, wooden world of pastel colours, a mannequin called Charlotte, a basil pot plant and a man called Titanic Sinclair it’s hard not to get sucked in. There’s something weirdly compulsive about her You Tube channel. It probably explains why she’s had over 230 million views on it and it's rising by the day. People love her. Just like she tells them to (in this disturbing video here) I’ve often suggested both here and on Twitter that there’s a big disconnect between streaming statistics and punters who will actually turn up to a live show, but with so many streams it was perhaps inevitable that someone would want to see what Poppy does live and this week I went, mainly out of curiosity, with a whole bunch of Poppy obsessives, to see her first ever UK gig at The Garage in London. OK it's still only a 600 capacity venue, but at least punters did turn up. Rather like Poppy’s musical output online, live she probably isn’t quite as odd as you might want her to be. Ultimately the gig was still a straightforward pop show with singing, dancing and flashing lights. But on the other hand there aren’t that many pop shows that start with an hour of Toto’s 80’s hit Africa being played on a loop, a DJ set by a mannequin, an artist asking numerous times ‘Do you love me?' And measuring the audiences love with a love meter, and a man telling the audience to shout Monster Energy drink in response to one of the artists videos (this one). To coincide with the gig Poppy has released a new music video. I’ve never featured the music of Poppy on the blog before, partly because a lot of it is just too cheesy, too saccharine, too Barby Girl-ish to be considered of any lasting merit, and whilst Bleach Blonde Baby still very much sits on that side of the fence there’s something (rather like her alternative universe conversation videos) that is ridiculously possessing about it. Maybe it’s the synth riff that sounds like a beginner learning to play Like A Virgin by Madonna, the lyrics that describe that if you cut her she’ll bleed pink and that one day her face will be on a million dollar bill, the way that the video sneaks in Charlotte the mannequin sitting in the congregation at the church of Poppy without you really noticing, or the stupidly happy looking people waving giant fluffy letters spelling the words ‘Everybody Dies'. Or maybe it’s just the fact that the whole thing, rather like the whole Poppy project, is just a very modern, very youthful, satirical take on celebrity culture. Poppy - Bleach Blonde Baby (Video)
