Skip to main content

Top Tracks of September 2019 - Ghost, Charli XCX, Foals and more!

September may have seen Green Day and Blink-182 dropping some of their most embarrassingly bland material to date, but there was also enough greatness from across the music spectrum that I could have easily made this month's list even longer. Either way, I've stuck to my usual five picks of the very best tracks of the past month. If you haven't heard these yet, get them in your ears!
Foals - The Runner

This second single from the upcoming Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part II is a more than worthy follow-up to last month's excellent 'Black Bull'. While not quite as furious as that track, 'The Runner' sees Foals continue to deliver on their promise of heavier material for this new album with a formidable, fuzzy lead riff and production that packs a hefty punch. The chorus is a straightforward but hugely effective showcase for Yannis Philippakis' soaring vocals, while the frontman's conceptual lyrics are, as ever, owed your attention. October 18th can't come soon enough!
Charli XCX - Silver Cross

In last month's Top Tracks feature, I predicted that the new album from Charli XCX would be the best pop release of the year, and I think that's now been proven true. Charli is so chock-full of electro-pop bangers that just about every track could be fairly chosen as a highlight, but my pick right now is 'Silver Cross'. A perfect blend of synth instrumentation, strong vocals, moments of electronic experimentalism, and that trademark 'futuristic' production style, this track proves that Charli XCX is the most exciting artist in pop right now.
Post Malone ft. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott - Take What You Want

 The latest album from Post Malone features the year's most unexpected collaboration, with none other than heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne stepping into the studio with the rap superstar. This is Ozzy's first new recording since Black Sabbath's 2013 album, 13, and the vocals of the Prince of Darkness are a perfect fit for the track's dark, brooding atmosphere. 
Post Malone's love of metal is well-known, but on this track he really wears this passion on his sleeve, going as far as to cap things off with a ripping guitar solo. Travis Scott also helps to elevate the track with a strong verse of his own, but Ozzy is the real highlight here.

Zuzu - Money Back

 Following the excellent 'How it Feels' and 'Get Off' from earlier this year, rising Liverpool star Zuzu has returned with yet more feel-good indie-pop vibes. Built around an infectious vocal hook, 'Money Back' is another showcase for Zuzu's energy, personality and songwriting talent and is tailor-made for audience-wide sing-alongs. Catch her opening for Yonaka on tour this December!

Me with Zuzu recently!

Ghost - Mary on a Cross/Kiss the Go-Goat

Following 2018's Grammy-nominated Prequelle, Ghost have made a surprisingly quick return with a new double A-side single collectively entitled 'Seven Inches of Satanic Panic'. The band's distinctive mix of metal riffs, macabre theatricality, and intoxicatingly catchy choruses is thankfully still in tact, but has been subtly evolved to great effect. Bringing the pop and classic rock elements further to the fore, 'Mary on a Cross' is one of the biggest earworms Ghost have ever crafted, with a keyboard refrain that sounds like something Toto or Kansas would have written after watching a few too many horror movies. Meanwhile, 'Kiss the Go-Goat' shows Tobias Forge's lyrics and vocals to be as delightfully devilish as ever, contrasting brilliantly with the track's pop sensibilities. If you're a fan, definitely give these two tracks a listen.
-
And there you have it! I'll be back soon with another installment of my Liverpool Sounds series, but until then, check out my Top Tracks of August here.

 Thanks for reading!

- Danny
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kerrang! Awards 2019 Preview - My Picks

Music award shows can often seem like superficial affairs, with industry big wigs congregating to pat each other on the back for winning awards chosen by an elite group of voters. However, the Kerrang! Awards flies in the face of this tradition, with its nominees and winners being determined by fan votes. These awards may not be as globally revered or capture as much mainstream attention as the Grammys or even the Brit Awards, but their status remains high in the rock community, with the fan voting adding an extra air of legitimacy and excitement. The 2019 Kerrang! Awards ceremony is just over a week away, so in anticipation of the biggest awards show in rock , I thought I would share my picks of the nominees. Architects have the most nominations this year (Photo credit: Ryan Johnson) The most interesting category for me this year is Best British Breakthrough , which is genuinely hard to predict. IDLES seem a safe bet, given that they have amassed a very impressive foll
Post a Comment
Read more

Yonaka score UK chart debut! - Weekly Rock Chart Round-Up (07/06/19)

Welcome back to the SoundMouth weekly rock chart round-up, where I take a look at how rock's biggest names and brightest prospects are faring across the UK music charts. The big story this week is Yonaka 's debut album Don't Wait 'till Tomorrow, which has broken into the UK Albums Chart at number 38. Considering that this is their debut LP, this is not a bad result, although I did expect it to place slightly higher considering how much their fanbase has been growing recently. Still, the band have several gigs and festivals coming up this summer, including Truck and 2000 Trees , so the Yonaka gospel should continue to spread far and wide and see the album do even better. The real point of contention for me is the Official Charts Company's bizarre decision to not count Don't Wait 'till Tomorrow in the rock album chart. Presumably this is down to the band's embracing of pop and indie sounds in their music. If OCC were a little more open-minded w
Post a Comment
Read more

TRACK REVIEW: Neck Deep - She's a God

It's been almost two years since Welsh pop punks Neck Deep released their last album, The Peace and the Panic , which proved to be their most successful release to date and firmly positioned them in the upper tier of modern British rock. The band have just dropped a brand new single entitled 'She's a God', so I thought this would be a good opportunity to write my first track review for Sound Mouth. Neck Deep have never been the most revolutionary or experimental band in their genre, so it should be unsurprising that 'She's a God' sees the band stick with the sugary-sweet pop punk sound that put them on the map. However, this lack of innovation isn't necessary a bad thing. The track is very much in the vein of 'In Bloom', the breakout single from The Peace and the Panic , with its hooky, pop-friendly chorus and sentimental lyrics being the defining features. The band obviously know their strengths and play to them , while Ben Barlow's
Post a Comment
Read more