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Live Review: Arlo Parks, Close Counters, Rina Sawayama, Sophiegrophy: Best Songs of The Week

27 November 2020 | 12:13 pm | Emma Jones

Ten new tunes to get your weekend started right from Arlo Parks, Close Counters, Sophiegrophy, Young Franco and many more!

Each week, we receive countless submissions of exciting new music, so we’ll be taking you through a weekly wrap up of all our favourite new tunes every Friday called #TrustedForTaste. Follow our Spotify playlist to never miss our updates!

Arlo Parks - Caroline

Doing an exceptional job of making sure the hype ahead of her debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, is at an all-time high in the lead up to its release next year, Arlo Parks has released another glorious new single this week. Titled 'Caroline', it's an alternative love song featuring her stunning voice floating above a gentle guitar as she sings her devastatingly introspective lyrics. Parks said of her new single, “Caroline is an exercise in people watching and seeing situations unfold without context. It’s an exploration of how something once full of healthy passion can dissolve in an instant.”

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Close Counters - Up & Out

With Melbourne rocking some seriously exciting numbers regarding the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, they're more than entitled to some (socially distanced) boogying fun times, and thankfully producer duo Close Counters are delivering the goods for their city with their new jam. Titled 'Up & Out', it's another soulful cut of disco-laced dance music, showcasing the uplifting, euphoric vibes we've come to love from the pair. Having worked on the track throughout the 112 day period of lockdown, it's a triumph of their craft and their community, and makes the good times even sweeter. 

 

Jiordy - Weight In Water

We first became aware of melbourne electronic-pop artist Jiordy earlier in the year when she gifted us a stellar debut single ‘UR Dumb’. The latest offering ‘Weight In Water’ is above and beyond what we could have expected to hear in such a short amount of time - blending a UK Garage-style beat and pulsing tempo with a folky-pop dreamy vocal and an unrelenting energy and charisma from the get-go. This is a sparkling and exciting release from an artist that feels on the verge of something impressive and unexpected.

 

Sophiegrophy - Drehpehs

Sophiegrophy makes her welcome return this week with 'Drehpehs', a hard hitting new track which once again positions her as a force to be reckoned with. Following her BOLD EP, 'Drehpehs' features a slightly more menacing tone, and sees the Nigerian born, New Zealand raised artist link up with producers Eric Boavida & Jia Lih. Proving there is still plenty more left in the tank, we can't wait to hear what else Sophiegrophy's been cooking up.

 

Young Franco - Fallin Apart (Ft. Denzel Curry & Pell)

Hot on the heels of two new singles this year featuring Pell, Young Franco is back with another floor-filler this week in 'Fallin Apart'. Pell once again joins the funk-driven producer, but this time he's recruited none other than Denzel Curry for a guest verse moment. It's another shimmering slice of feel-good dance music from Young Franco, and with Curry on the mic he can't lose. Bring on summer!

 

JONCE - Demons (Ft. Ms Thandi)

There’s something unhurried about the steady release of music from Sydney producer JONCE (Jono Graham) that makes the music come to you just when you need it. Dropping an isolation EP project ‘ Sanctuary’ mid this year, which explored the concept of accessing a sense of peace and creativity mentlly, while physical limitations were in place, he now returns with a silky stylish collaboration with rising star and vocal powerhouse Ms Thandi with latest single ‘Demons’. With a funk-filled beat that will make you irresistibly bop, and dripping with liquid gold smooth vocals weaved in between sassy bars stacked with snarling attitude, this track delivers something I didn’t know I needed and now can’t live without.

 

RAAVE TAPES - Habitual

Made up of collaborators Lindsey O’Connell and Joab Eastley, ‘Habitual’ is the second single we have received from duo RAAVE TAPES so far this year, and ooooh boy have they come through with an experimental pop meets industrial sound that pushes further and more frenetic than ever before. Eastley has said of the track; “throughout the recording process, we found moments where we asked ourselves “Can we get away with this? Are we allowed to do it?” and the answer is yes, yes you can. ‘Habitual’ is a complete explosion of sound and energy displayed with a unique focus and finesse that makes this song so beautifully chaotic and harsh, yet bursting with emotionally charged pop unlike anything we’ve heard before.

 

Gibrillah - Divisions (Ft. Dante Knows)

Fresh out of Sydney’s Western Suburbs, Gibrillah switches styles between hip-hop, house, and neo-soul with a seamless and impactful ease. The genre-defying artist has already turned a few heads with his debut single ‘Sobriety’ (playlists, streams, nods from Zane Lowe and Beats 1), and this latest offering ‘Divisions’ is bound to take it one step further. Tapping another relative newcomer Dante Knows for a guest feature, Gibrillah flexes what he does best: fresh, confident beats and smooth melodies with lyrical honesty. 

 

Arivian - A Mood

There’s a raw talent to South Australia’s Arivian that is reminiscent of a stack of differing indie pop newcomers the likes of KIAN to Ruel to Rex Orange County which makes Arivian an artist to absolutely watch. Latest single ‘A Mood’ has a bedroom pop innocence to it, but also shimmers with a smooth soulful vocal delivery laced with warmth and familiarity far beyond his years. 

 

Rina Sawayama - LUCID

The past 12 months have gifted us a lot of great music, but if you’re anything like us odds are that Rina Sawayama’s glorious album ‘SAWAYAMA’ is sitting high on the top of your best albums of 2020 list. Thankfully, Rina has announced a brand new deluxe edition of her debut album due on December 4th, including a fresh new single ‘LUCID’. All the iconic Rina dancefloor pop stylings are here, and with ‘Chromatica’ Executive Producer BloodPop jumping on board, ‘LUCID’ is a catchy, vibrant, energizing queer-pop house anthem laced in soaring vocals and club beats ready to have you dancing through til the end of the year.

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Image: Arlo Parks by Alex Waespi, Close Counters - Supplied, Sophiegrophy - Supplied