It’s been a minute…okay, it’s been over a month since my last Single Play post. And in that time, a slew of new music has come out: some good, some not-so-good, and some awful. Of course, I won’t dwell on the latter two categories, because why spend time telling you what to avoid? Like all art, music is subjective – except when it’s objectively good, bad, or so-so.
“The Mob,” As For The Future (Soundcloud)
Don’t Be Fooled by the Breezy Feel. A Dark Message Floats On The Surface
Upon first listen, you’ll find the Brazilian stylings of As For The Future rather pleasant. However, focusing on the lyrics reveals that the pleasant patina and Alexia Bomtempo’s vocal stylings belie some genuine punk rock sentiments. “The Mob” is wicked in its critique of an aggrieved group mentality, but it never specifies which side the mob comes from. That’s because mob mentality can affect anyone and any group. While “The Mob” may sound a bit like a novelty song, As For The Future is dead serious about their music, which fuses bossa nova, samba, jazz, folk, and even soul for a unique sound for North American audiences. The group is the brainchild of David Nagler, who started the group in the summer of 2020 (Gee, I wonder what was going on in the world then?). He got over 15 musicians to contribute to the album remotely (how very pandemic of them!), and the band now includes Nagler, Bomtempo, Mauro Refosco, and David Lizmi. The full album comes out on June 14th.
“When The Levee Breaks,” Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (YouTube)
A Blues Classic Gets a Haunting Makeover
It seems when Robert Plant revisits his Led Zeppelin past, it’s often with an eye toward a fusion of styles. Case in point is his recent collaboration with Alison Krauss on an updated cover of “When The Levee Breaks” – a live recording. It has all the moodiness of a song featured on HBO’s “True Detective” and would work well on that series because of the dark underbelly it evokes. Going for a Middle Eastern vibe gives the song a weightiness that stands in distinction to Led Zeppelin’s cover – which was all about a hard rockin’ swampy feel. What to make of this? Well, since the collaborations between Plant and Krauss have generally been quite strong, it didn’t seem like this version would disappoint – and it doesn’t. However, it is odd that for a live recording, a choice was made to fade the song out. Considering how Plant and Krauss’ version builds in intensity, it felt a bit like the air was being let out of a balloon right when things were getting epic. Still, with that minor quibble (or perhaps nitpick) aside, “When The Levee Breaks” makes one hope that this cover will lead to a flood of creativity for Plant and Krauss to record either another album of originals, or just book some dates at the Sphere in Vegas and bust out some covers of familiar songs with a killer band.
“Soft,” Lucky Daye (YouTube)
Lucky Daye’s Soulful Journey Continues
At 38 years old, Lucky Daye (David Brown) sounds like an old soul. That’s probably because he comes from a conservative religious background where listening to anything but church music was a no-no. So when he finally started listening to recordings by Prince, Rick James, Lauryn Hill, and Stevie Wonder – you know, secular musical giants – he got bitten by the music bug and moved to the big city to pursue music. He was even on American Idol in 2004 but got cut after getting to the Top 20. This experience allowed him to focus on developing his sound.
On “Soft,” Daye has done what his musical idols have done: stay wedded to the funk, but also throw in some musical surprises. Those surprises include a fusion with rock, an effective breakdown chorus, and some gospel flourishes. It all works well and has a “radio-friendly hit single” written all over it. “Soft” is one of 14 songs off his upcoming album Algorithm which comes out on June 28th.
To listen to a playlist of all the songs featured on Single Play (so far), well, here ’tis:
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