MY 10 SONGS FROM MARCH.

It was a toughie, I discovered a lot of music that blew my mind this month, but here's 10 I feel soundtracked March the most for me. DON'T JUDGE ME.

EURO-STEP.


ASTRAL'N'B



ETHEREAL


HEARTBREAKING.


JUMP AROUND.


FUNKKKK.


SUMMER.


EUPHORIC.


FOLLY.


MOOMBAHTON. (fuck this is big)

Katy B - Go Away (Live Acoustic)

Taken from her performance at the Royal Festival Hall on the 9th March, mumblestep mid-album track "Go Away" is stripped down to voice and piano and suddenly the song goes from seductive to dramatic, and the real desperation and urgency can be heard in her voice. A truly stunning rendition.

Seasfire - Falling

Something a bit haunting for the middle of the night. Shimmering piano and a gorgeous male voice, that cracks with each half-whispered word. "Falling" builds to a glistening climax of trippy drums and gentle waves of clean guitar, and there's something very raw and textured about the emotion, as if there is a lot left unsaid, and that's just musically.

Check out the band's TUMBLR account for live performances and more information.

Brothertiger - Lovers

"Lovers" is one chilled tune. "There's nothing wrong with me, can't you see it's going to be all right?" Brothertiger mastermind John Jagos croons over smooth, summery, chillwave heaven. It's criminal that I didn't discover this back in December 2011 when it was released, but I am repenting now. Not content to wallow in huge pads and distant snares like a lot of chillwave, Brothertiger wants to be chilling on the dancefloor with a spliff in one hand and a Sex on the Beach in the other, throwing chillshapes to "Lovers" as it rides its punchy, hook-laden disco groove.

NEW Azealia Banks - Fuck Up The Fun (Prod. by Diplo & DJ Master-D)

The rawer the beat she has to work with, the more visceral Azealia Banks is. Spitting machine gun verses with pure venom on her tongue, riding a tribal, cannibalistic beat, this is all an Azealia Banks track needs. Azealia is making a marriage between underground dance and underground hip hop, but the attention she is getting is very much overground. It might be going to her head and fast (check the spoken outro: "Bitches on MySpace and YouTube tryna get their views up to a million), but the bigger her ego, the bigger her performance. So it's all good.

Flashlights (NEW CHILLWAVE BAND)

Look out your window. Summer's obviously here early, so it's about time we had some chillwave to set the mood. The gutsy-voiced singer is reminiscent of Empire of the Sun's Luke Steele, and these guys know their way around a collosal Balearic synth or two. Blissed-out synthpop with a backbone... perfect for another year of sunny escapism.

There new EP "So Close to midnight was released on March 1st, and is available to download from their bandcamp. Listen to the whole EP below. The title track is particularly euphoric.

Rusko - Pressure (from new album "Songs")

Dubstep DJ Rusko's "Songs" album is out today, an above average collection of squelchy dubstep, spacey dub and energetic 2 step, and album highlight (and undoubtedly future single) "Pressure" is from the latter camp, a wonderfully chirpy garage number straight from the UK scene circa-2000.

MADONNA - MDNA - FIRST LISTEN & THOUGHTS

Ok, downloaded this at 1.04am, here are my groggy first impressions. Only the regular edition by the way, not deluxe. Not made of money.

Girl Gone Wild
Sounds somewhat better on record, maybe it was a grower after all. Although the "forgive me father" spoken word intro is pretentious as hell. Moving on.

Gang Bang
"Impressive instant"? Very gay disco pulse. Could've been on "Music" if it wasn't for the somewhat superfluous dubstep breakdown. The shouting "drive bitch/die bitch" outro is self-indulgent, but actually fits the whole "drug/club" atmosphere.

I'm Addicted
Pretty addictive... a very "Confessions on a Dancefloor" electrodisco number, with a ravey euphoric breakdown. "MDNA" chant at the end is perhaps a bit of a cop out, but this is still better than both the singles combined.

Turn Up The Radio
Ah, we're back to genericity, just when I was beginning to get into the druggy feel. Some nice chord sequences, but this is "Girls Gone Wild"-esque sing-song chart Guetta-dance.

Give Me All Your Luvin' (feat. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.)
Sounds pretty dull in the context. This isn't classic Madonna.

Some Girls
"Fake tits and a nasty mood?" Ew, Madge. This is similar to "Gang Bang" in it's 70s gay disco feel. "Confessions"-esque again. Vocoder-tastic, but actually kind of quirky and enjoyable.

Superstar
Oh god, another "Give Me All Your Luvin'" style 'Hey Mickey' sugar-sweet pop number. Oh wait no, it's worse. A sing-song yawnfest that sounds a bit all over the place too, unfinished like. Oh and what the hell is this?! A dubstep-lite breakdown?! WHY?! Definately the worst track so far.

I Don't Give A... (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Trust Madonna to have a lyric like "Walk outside, shake my ass, I know how to multitask". Mid-tempo swagger-pop, but something strangely likeable about it... a pretty good hip hop beat. Nicki Minaj sounds much better here, less hysterical, more "gangsta". Has a wiff of "Let Me Blow Your Mind" by Eve. Dramatic choir outro that N-Dubz would've loved.

I'm A Sinner
Typical latter day Madonna thanks to William Orbit. Could almost fit onto "Ray of Light" or "Music" with its crunchy dance beats and dusty guitar loops. Very "Beautiful Stranger" actually. The lyrics cheapen it a bit, but it's nice to hear Orbit use some "RoL" tricks.

Love Spent
Banjo... sharp electro beats and nintendo synths. This is very "American Life" in its melancholy robot ways. Goes a bit Hi-NRG at 1.40. Not bad, but loses it's way a bit towards the end. There have been a lot of 'pleasant' tracks in a row by now, need some wowing here.

Masterpiece
Heard this one too. It's a very soothing ballad with a lovely chorus. Not as good as "Devil Wouldn't Recognise Me" from "Hard Candy", but still heads and shoulders over almost everything else here.

Falling Free
Another ballad, sweeping, subtle yet symphonic. This is actually very elegant sounding and quite beautiful, like most of Madonna's latter day ballads. A great closer, it's hard to believe that "Masterpiece" and "Falling Free" are from the same album as "Girl Gone Wild" and "Give Me All Your Luvin'"

So first impressions are mixed. "MDNA" is a bit inconsistent, unsure of what it really wants to be. You've got the chart-hungry stuff, which is fairly dire, the underground disco stuff, which could've dominated this album successfully, the closing ballads which are rather gorgeous, and then a couple of tracks that don't really know where they stand.

Would've been nice for her just to work with one producer rather than two as different as Martin Solveig and William Orbit. But on the whole, I don't think she's totally shot herself in the foot here, there's the occasional inspired stroke here and there. But truth be told, not enough to really warrant coming back to more than about 4 tracks, 5 tops.

The Temper Trap - Need Your Love (NEW SINGLE)

The Temper Trap are always going to be under the shadow of their colossal "Sweet Disposition"... that is, unless a bigger, more astonishing song comes along. I am not here to tell you that "Need Your Love" is that song. But there's a surprising likeability about it, big synth-led Killers-esque chords and a U2 sized hook, so I can tell you that it's not for the want of trying.

Tulisa - Young (DEBUT SINGLE)

This video was released today. Now I'm not sure if I'm endorsing this song or not, but it's surely the cleverest chart-hungry song of the year to date. The verse/chorus melody rehashing, the euphoric dance template, shameless breakdown/build-ups and "jump! jump!" instrumental climax... this is "We Found Love 2012" no doubt. Released within days of Tulisa's high profile sex tape scandal and response video, the timing is calculated and impeccable, if painfully transparent.

But sure enough this will be just as big a hit as Rihanna's was. But what ensures this, and what also secured the success of "We Found Love", is a, however slight, a touch of cheekiness and personality that will endear it to those who turn their noses up at the track's anonymity. There's something about the track that makes it hard not to feel uplifted by it. Though i'm sure it will depress millions.

There's no doubt this song will be huge; hated and loved, respected and laughed at, but huge.

Madonna - Still a "Girl Gone Wild"?

Madonna just insists on being the party queen doesn't she? If only she'd stop TRYING and she might actually manage it for years to come. Hell, Cher managed it didn't she? Here Madonna is in her latest video, "Girls Gone Wild"



This video is no doubt entertaining, and is obviously intended to reference her controversial early 90s period, a popular era of her career amongst fans. But its black and white color scheme, provocative homoerotic imagery and the unashamed vogue-ing in the choreography are less a homage to her earlier work, merely derivative of it. This would probably be forgivable (derivative or not, Madonna, her dancers and the video itself still manage to be captivating regardless) if the song was groundbreaking in any way. Which it isn't.

"Girls Gone Wild" has surely got to go down as one of Madonna's dullest singles. Even "Love Profusion" attempted to be mature, experimental and, y'know, profound. And even "4 Minutes" had a certain bite to it. But "Girls Gone Wild"? It boasts a generic electronic dance backing track that Ke$ha would turn her nose up at, melodically it meanders and never soars, and lyrically, THERE IS NO STATEMENT. What happened to Madonna wanting her music to push boundaries?

Even on the shameless dancefloor-oriented "Confessions on a Dancefloor", Madonna had Stuart Price placing her in a mature disco environment, her words regal and commanding, the melodies elegant and euphoric, even if there wasn't a powerful lyrical message. I fear that the probably-misleadingly-named "MDNA" will be as flaccid and uninteresting as its two lead singles. With a title like "MDNA" and with the reintroduction of "Ray of Light"'s William Orbit, this record could be a mind-fuckingly good tribute to Madonna's underground dance-routes. Alas, this single, and the samples heard thus far, could be tracks Britney Spears turned down for "Femme Fatale".

"Hard Candy" showed Madonna trying to look cool and 'hip' (probably her words), and looked very much like the mid-life crisis, the last embarrassment before Madonna came back strong and prepared to lead the way in pop music again. It seems this is not to be. Ridiculed for her insistence on maintaining a promiscuous image, and her non-musical pursuits, in her personal and professional life, not gaining much critical or commercial approval, a wonderful album could've been her lifeline. If this is her last chance to re-instate herself as the 'Queen of Pop', she may have just blown it.

"MDNA" is out on the 26th. I really hope I'm proved wrong.

Proxies - If I Had A Penny To My Name (feat. Sean Smith)

Emostep anyone? There's something very guilty about the Proxies' latest single, featuring Sean Smith of The Blackout... the typical post-hardcore sound is given a synthy dubstep sheen, and as money-grabbing the whole concept is, it still manages to do justice to both types of music it's trying to incorporate.

Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Soulwax Remix)

Answering the prayers of anyone who thought that AF's "Sprawl" wasn't quite ready for the dancefloor, Soulwax add a lurching bassline and thunderous disco beat and voila! AF are making you move your feet.

Vonzie - Wassabi (MOOMBAHTON)

For those wanting something new and different sounding, look no further. I've made no secret about my enthusiasm for the Moombahton* scene, crazy synths and heavy bass beats at 108bpm, but what's going on here is a totally different ballgame. A soulful sample-happy intro gives way to one of the most unexpected and violently brilliant drops I've ever heard in the genre... MUST BE HEARD. Get into it. Now.

*named as such when DJ Dave Nada slowed down Afrojack's "Moombah" to reggaeTON tempo to please a predominantly black crowd... the rest is history.

Trailer Trash Tracys - Candy Girl

A couple of months old now, but since the XX posted it on their blog, it reminded me just how delicious this band's music is. 80s lazy shoegazer indiepop, nothing particularly original, but by god it's done to sun-blinded, sex-dripping perfection.


FOR FANS OF: The XX, The Cure, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Lemonade - Neptune

This Brooklyn dream'n'B 3 piece mesmerise with the lead single from their debut album. Slightly balearic, slightly Weeknd, slightly shoegaze... all gorgeous.

Album "Diver" is due out May 29th.

Owl Vision - Antichrist

Not a new tune, this dates back to 2010, but after it's incredibly popular feature in an episode of Skins recently (flop or not, the show kills it with its soundtrack), I feel it's only fair that I re-introduce this. Featuring a bang-on-the-front-door kick, a distorted looped scream and abrasive surge of electro bass, tracks as alarming as this don't come along too often.

Lana Del Rey ft Kanye West - Born to Die (2Vegas Remix)

I never take up Mash Ups seriously.... but producer 2Vegas manages to remix Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die" using Kanye West's verse from Drake's "Forever", the beat from Ciara's "Goodies" and the Coldplay's "Clocks". The result is something effortlessly addictive and ethereally beautiful, and somehow deeper than the original.

Donkeyboy - Get Up

I love everything Donkeyboy do, guilty pleasure or not. But "Get Up" is simply a supernova of poppy dubstep-flecked joy. Eurocheese-at-heart it may be... but it's one of my favourite songs of the year so far. Give it a chance, go on...

FOR FANS OF: Robyn, Lights, Owl City

Beach House - Myth

After Beach House's 2010 masterpiece "Teen Dream" touched the heart of myself and so many other melancholic music fans, I was worried the bar was set too high for the follow up. Hearing the glorious "Myth" shows me I couldn't have been more wrong. Anthemic in a "Walk in the Park" kind of way, but with a newfound air of mystery and foreboding, that hints at the darker direction the band's forthcoming record "Bloom" is alleged to follow. The track simply soars, and I'm pretty sure the album will be one of the best of the year.