‘Valentine’ – Snail Mail
It’s been over three years since Snail Mail (aka Lindsey Jordan) released super-hyped debut ‘Lush’ at just 18 years old. Her comeback single is well worth the wait — ‘Valentine’ is more complex than Snail Mail’s previous output — brooding, nervy choruses swelling to a cinematic finish, in a jagged ode to unrequited love. The video is also wonderful — Jordan plays a jilted chambermaid, who falls in love with a gentlewoman and enacts bloody revenge on her smarmy boyfriend. If it was 90 minutes long, it’d probably be in with a chance at the Oscars.
‘Moody’ – Self Esteem
Self Esteem (aka Rebecca Taylor) has been on a roll lately. ‘Moody’ is the latest in a series of pop bangers that are as emotionally devastating as they are terminally catchy. Its irresistibly groovy chorus punctuated by witty one-liners like “sexting you at the mental health talk seems counterproductive.” It sure does, Rebecca.
‘Rats’ – Pillow Queens
‘Rats’ has been a long-time live favourite of Dublin indie rockers Pillow Queens, and this re-record has given it the polish it deserves. ‘Rats’ finds Pillow Queens in peak yearning mode, its hooky chorus showcasing lead Sarah Corcoran’s voice in its full, lovesick glory: “I’m not a rat, if you’re not a rat/ I won’t say nothing if you touch me like that.”
‘Altar’ – Kehlani
Kehlani’s second record, ‘It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, was one of our favourite albums of 2020 — and new single ‘Altar’ suggests more good things on the horizon. ‘Altar’ is a dreamy, sugary-sweet R&B number, whose video finds Kehlani breezing around a countryside villa in a flouncy top and generally living her best cottagecore life.
‘Whiplash’ – FLOHIO
Fresh off the back of a wildly successful COLORS set, expectations were high for promising South London rapper FLOHIO’s latest single. Thankfully, ‘Whiplash’ doesn’t disappoint ― it’s a propulsive number, which finds FLOHIO alternating between philosophising and bragging (“even my raps got raps”) over sparkling production from God Colony.
