5 Seconds Of Summer – “Valentine”
With Youngblood topping every album chart all over the world, the Australian band, who got their very first start thanks to One Direction, has finally achieved what they had set themselves to be.
5 Seconds Of Summer, with their luscious locks and billowing shirts, are ready to be taken seriously. Fresh off their just released album, and with the titular single “Youngblood” overly played on every radio station, the road to heaven is already paved for these guys.
“Valentine“, a smart and bouncy pop song, with cheeky lines and a tell-it-all title that should make even the most cynical of us swoon, is the latest offering from the band.
They also just released an official audio-video for it, where four spooky skeletons nod their head to the rhythm of the song. How they grow up so fast! It seemed like only yesterday that they were singing about American Apparel underwear, boosting the sales of the aforementioned clothing brand.
But after a two years hiatus, 5 Seconds Of Summer have come back with a more mature sound. Still maintaining their rock undertone, the band has hopped on the synth-pop wagon and updated their repertoire.
The move has revealed itself to be a blingy one for the band, as their fast selling album has outsold even The Carters‘ Everything Is Love. With their catchy new sound and laid back image, 5 Seconds Of Summer are finally ready to make history.
Listen to the “Valentine” here:
Ghetts + Kojey Radical – “Black Rose”
Ghetts is renowned by many as one of the best rappers and wordsmiths to come out of the UK and with every project, he further stakes the claim. Seven years after one of his most acclaimed projects Ghetto Gospel, Ghetts announced recently that we shall be seeing a follow up soon.
With that comes a brand new powerful single and video to match as he teams up with another thematic rapper in Kojey Radical for “Black Rose“.
As Ghetto Gospel served as a departure from his more fiery demeanour for a more mellow approach, the first single from Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament also follows suit. Ghetts’ flow is purely poetic, gracing the guitars and muffled backing vocals as with Kojey Radicals captivating sounds which fill the chorus. Ghetts uses this song to address a number of uses, from colourism to black female empowerment and representation within the black community.
The visual accompaniment is artistic and graceful. Fittingly a black and white affair, it features members of Ghetts family, including what appears to be his little girl. It’s a family orientated visual, spliced with clips of black family units and Kojey’s interpretive dance. Heartwarming to say the least.
Nao + SiR – “Make It Out Alive”
Fans have been patiently waiting and anticipating the return of R&B songstress Nao. The British singer, whose last project For All We Know came out two years ago, has been teasing us with new tracks here and there. “Another Lifetime” came out not too long ago, much to the delight of fans.
An album has been confirmed for later this year and along with it comes new track “Make It Out Alive” with TDE‘s very own SiR.
With R&B meeting electro-funk, This track will definitely grow on you, no doubt. The LA-based crooner, who recently collaborated with Masego for “Old Age” blesses this smooth modern day ballad with dream-like vocals. It’s a beautiful marriage with Nao’s ethereal vocal presence. But it also serves as a basis for introspection, asking the sometimes tough question on getting out of a bad situation.
Sharing her sentiments on the new song, Nao shared: “I’d hit my late twenties and everything was in flux; relationships, work life, home situation, everything. I was lost and I genuinely had to ask ‘how do you make it out of here?’. The idea of making it a duet was to reflect how many people, all over the world, are going through the same experience.”
One Republic – “Connection”
US band One Republic have once again surprised fans with a stunning and attention-grabbing video, this time for their latest hit “Connection“.
The title of the song is already telling more or less about the theme they wanted to deal with; the struggle between real life and technologies, virtual dimension, social media, that are actually distracting people and affecting human relations.
Directed by Joe Pront and choreographed by Matthew Peacock, the video is mostly black and white, and changes suddenly towards the end, as to present a new and more normal situation.
It has been shot in the amazing and modern Oculus Building at the Westfield World Trade Center Mall in New York – the creation of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to replace the PATH station that was destroyed during 9/11 in 2001.
In this 800,000 square foot building, the key verse of the song finds its revelation: “If there’s so many people here, then why am I so lonely?”. One Republic’s lead vocalist Ryan Tedder drinks his coffee and looks at people but everyone goes on his own way and pretends to be on a smartphone.
“Basically the whole idea was, and a lot of what this album is about, is human connection,” OneRepublic’s frontman has commented. This clip follows another powerful one, released two months ago for the single “Start Again” together with Logic, with visuals that show an apocalyptic world.
Enjoy the new video and the song, which is a really good cut from the pop-rock band.
Wauve + Kida Kudz – “Wayside Story”
New kid on the block Wauve has released his brand new single “Wayside Story” featuring UK Afrobeats very own Kida Kudz, his very first since since signing to newly formed Lost Ones/Virgin EMI imprint.
This debut single from Wauve, who hails from Eritrea, is a signpost of his influences (We have the likes of artists varying from Lex Luger and Bryson Tiller to Chris Brown to thank for that). It’s an R&B-Afrobeat fusion with Trap undertones which is perfect for the current musical climate and is a strong start from the 21-year-old artist.
Going from scouring YouTube for new music and teaching himself how to produce in his formative teenage years to finding success on collaborations with YouTubers Parris and Koomz, Wauve attracted attention as an artist in his own right and began to develop his skills while studying music production part time. Now, his fresh single is living proof of his hard work.
LSD – “Thunderclouds”
Ahead of the release of their first collaborative album, trio LSD has surprised once again with another very good single, now accompanied by the official video. After “Genius” and the psychedelic “Audio“, now they have just dropped the fresh “Thunderclouds“.
A snippet was been shared by Sia on her socials on August 6 and a few days after they shared the entire version. The video has just arrived and is the usual creative crazy clip that makes you want to watch it until the end.
Of course, as always, Sia is present only through her unmistakable voice, and better personified by the same style dancer with the iconic bob and funny moves. Here, the girl has a half pink and half yellow hairstyle and a big ribbon on her head.
This time, we see Diplo riding a van in a colourful sky, with the girl dancing on the top of it and Labrinth singing in the clouds. The vehicle breaks down and they stop to fix it, while the girl falls in love with a cloud.
The clip seems like a cross between The Wizard Of Oz and a fairy tale, but the interpretation is very free. LSD is a collaborative project comprising of English musician Labrinth, Australian singer Sia and American music producer Diplo. They have seen laudable success while always offering melodic tracks and enjoyable videos.
Watch the new one below!
Words by Jay Tijani, Camilla Marotta and Paola Pedrotti
