Hot Chip – ‘Hungry Child’

Although British five-piece Hot Chip has been an essential part of my ‘indie twenties’ I must confess that I lost a bit track (and interest) in them in the last years. I barely listened to 2015’s Why Make Sense?, for example. Maybe it needed a longer break and a good tune to remind me (and some of you as well) of their qualities. Their forthcoming seventh album A Bath Full Of Ecstasy arrives after a four-year-long gap and Hungry Child marks the first single from it. On it Hot Chip deliver a catchy love child between pumping house music and smooth pop that is indeed really addictive. Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor still have one of the finest vocal pairings in the scene and here they harmonize in a perfect way. On top of it, the music video for Hungry Child – directed by Saman Kesh – is one of the most entertaining ones I’ve seen in a while. The idea itself might sound really simple but I can’t remember anyone trying it out before. Maybe that’s the lesson this new Hot Chip material gives: keep it simpel, don’t overthink it and let it explore its full potential by doing exactly that. (Norman Fleischer)

Interpol – ‘The Weekend’

Something that does occupy parts of my mind intermittently is how bands age, and what a dignified way for a band’s career to grow up is. This is especially a potent question when it comes to the early 00s ‘New Rock Revolution’, the bands within it maybe being the last rock stars (within guitar music) in a traditional sense. And in the decade and a half since, we’ve seen these bands collectively try and find a way beyond their iconic debuts, and a way to live within the musical cosmos without someone sighing about their decline every time they release a new song. Interpol especially have struggled with this, since their career swerved off the edge on Our Love To Admire, an album that has some moments but doesn’t have the smarts or grace to quite live up to its ambitions. Since then they’re wandered, occasionally sparking but always a little lost, trying to fill the space they did a decade ago but finding it a little too large for them now. Last year’s album Marauder, however uneven it was, hinted that they had found a way forward. Instead of trying to replicate the cinematic majesty of their earlier work (the way life shares its creative resources means that most bands only have one Untitled or The New in them, sad as it is), they instead went shorter, sharper, harder and faster, and found what might be new life and a new style beyond the ghosts of TOTBL and Antics, even if Marauder itself didn’t hit all the bull’s eyes it aimed for. With their new, May-landing EP A Fine Mess however, including The Weekend which landed just inside a month ago, they might just do it. Both of the tracks we’ve heard so far (The Weekend and blitzkrieg rock track A Fine Mess) keep it tight, lean and unfussy, while sticking to a standard of consistent songwriting quality that Marauder couldn’t maintain over 13 songs. If they pull it off, A Fine Mess obviously isn’t going to become anyone’s favourite Interpol release – Turn On The Bright Lights was always going to be on the first line of their obituaries from the second it was released. But it will show that they’re by no means the washouts some people take them for, and that there’s life beyond the Bright Lights. (Austin Maloney)

Robag Wruhme – ‘Veng Tolep’

The interview I had with Gabor Schablitzki back in 2014 is still one the favourite ones of my career so far. We sat in an old site carawan backstage at the Immergut Festival and got interrupted by Hundreds halfway through our interview which happened at 2am in the morning. Back the man also known as Robag Wruhme was still riding the wave of 2011’s critically praised Thora Vukk album and he made clear to me back then that a follow-up would take a bit. Well, five more years, to be honest. Veng Tolep is supposed to be a sibling to its predecessor and listening to it (yes, I already had the privilege) I totally get what he’s aiming for. The wonderful title-track is a perfect example of this unique sound Schablitzki perfected over the past almost twenty years in the electronic music scene. You instantly recognize these Robag Wruhme tracks due to their love for musicality, little gimmicks and a certain soulful and human notion that gives his idea of techno quite an emotional twist. It’s great music for lazy summer days but there’s also many fascinating details happening in Veng Tolep which you only recognize if you dare to look a bit closer. Just like last year’s knock knock by Schablitzki’s label boss DJ Koze this new Robag Wruhme record adds an warm, analogue humanity to the idea of techno and you can’t worship that enough. The entire album arrives on June 7 via Pampa Records. (Norman Fleischer)

Hatchie – ‘Stay With Me’

Alright, by now most of you might know that I’m pretty hyped about the forthcoming Hatchie debut album. Throughout 2018 the Australian newcomer has given us great tunes like Bad Guy and Adored so the stakes aren’t getting any lower. One June 21 Harriette Pilbeam will finally release Keepsake, the debut album of her alter ego. The first single, Without A Blush, however was a bit disappointing for me and sounded too forced. It’s not totally surprising since Hatchie has been walking the tightrope between high gloss pop and alternative dream pop right from the beginning. Sometimes it might be too much but most of the time I really enjoy her commercial approach towards that early 90s dream pop sound. Stay With Me is another perfect example for that. A delicate gem of floating nostalgia and one hell of a good pop song. It also feels like a lost tune from around  1992/1993 and that might explain why I like it so much. It reminds me of my own childhood in a really weird twist. Well, I’m easy to please sometimes but I’m probably not the only one with that association so that might explain the Hatchie hype at least a bit, right? (Norman Fleischer)

Madonna – ‘Medellín (feat. Maluma)’

For those who are still following Madonna‘s musical journey, the queen of pop’s freshly released single was an expected project. After moving full-time to Lissabon, Portugal, the singer already mentioned several times its enormous influence on her forthcoming album. Medellín serves as an ultimate anthem of genre-crossover: nostalgic pop in the verses (reminding of the Ray of Light era) and latin pop in its pre-chorus with a climax through out the end. Colombian singer/superstar Maluma joins our Madgesty as the ideal partner in this early summer track about recklessness and desire. According to Madonna herself, she wants to go back to her roots with her new music, when she did not give a damn about anybody’s opinion. Medellín sounds very promising as a first taste – purely because Madonna finally seems to distance herself from modern EDM or dancehall producers and starts getting creative again. (Kai Hermann)

Find the 50 most essential fresh tracks in the ‘Nothing But Now’ Playlist!

Our Daily Tunes from April 2019

Ain’t it wonderful to start your day with a fresh piece of music? Every day the writers of NBHAP pick a new song for you, present them on our page and add the to the playlist you’ll find below. These have been our highlights from the past weeks.