The quality of music in 2018 keeps increasing as the year moves along, and April was no exception. Listed below are just some of the highlights that the month of April had to offer.
Florence + The Machine — “Sky Full Of Song”
Compared to Florence + The Machines last album “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful” that was comprised of huge ballads and massive instrumental sections the latest track from the English singer songwriter feels grounded, tame and reachable. “Sky Full Of Song” finds Florence Welch tired, burnt out and down on her luck. Florence lets lyrics such as “I thought I was flying but maybe I’m dying tonight” effortlessly fall out of her psyche.
Deafheaven — “Honeycomb”
One of the most creative acts in music return with an absolute monster of a track. San Francisco black metal band, Deafheaven return with their first new song in three years. Just like their older songs, though, calling this music just black metal is grossly oversimplifying them. On “Honeycomb,” the band incorporates the melodic sounds of shoegaze and post-hardcore into their brutal repertoire. Complete with euphoric lulls and triumphant guitars, Deafheaven pull on every emotional heartstring known to man. Seriously, the writer of this article is currently wiping tears off his keyboard — it’s that amazing.
Drake — “Nice For What”
The king of pop-rap does it again! “Nice For What” is a bop that promptly samples Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” during its 20th anniversary in what is still feels like a spearmint fresh collaboration. Although there are some awkward intermissions by Big Freedia, at the heart of “Nice For What” is how well Drake and Ms. Lauryn Hill meld together.
Cardi B — “I Do” Feat. SZA
A match made in unlady like heaven! Cardi B and SZA are both famous for telling it how it and sparing no face. On “I Do” the closing track of Cardi’s new album “Invasion Of Privacy” finds both SZA and Cardi feeding off of each others attitude
.Calvin Harris -“One Kiss” feat. Dua Lipa
Calvin Harris is fresh off his last summer jam album “Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1” where he developed the sound of the 2017 summer. With “One Kiss” featuring Dua Lipa who’s still riding the massive wave that her song “New Rules” made. Calvin begins to explore a more worldly club beat similar to the same production style found on Drake’s playlist “More Life”. Will “One Kiss” be the lead single to “Funk Wav Bounce Vol.2?” Only time will tell.
Touche Amore — “Green”
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The boys from Burbank release their first track since the sensational “Stage Four,” and it sees the post-hardcore band throwback to an older sound. The song starts off with an old-school hardcore bassline and drum pairing that gets the juices flowing. And like always, “Green” shows off Touche’s uncanny ability to write an addictive hook: “Call for attention/This is critical/A welcome sign, turned off, so typical.” Nothing too complicated about this track, just another standout moment from a consistently stellar band.
Saba — “BUSY/SIRENS” feat. theMIND
With more mature lyrics and focused direction Saba has grown from his 2016 album, “Bucket List Project.” On his opening track “Busy/Sirens,” featuring theMIND from his latest album “Care For Me,” a more contemplative quieter Saba makes an appearance. Saba explores his past life and struggle with depression and feeling alone all why keeping the music just floating above unbearably sad.
Kali Uchis — “Feel Like a Fool”
With an upbeat swinging instrumental and Kali Uchis laid back, carefree voice “Feel Like a Fool” is a stand out gem off Kali’s debut album “Isolation.” On “Feel Like a Fool” Kali finds herself in the midst of discovering that her man has been cheating on her. “Feel Like a Fool” is jam packed with quotable lyrics most notably the gut wrenching lines “My heart went through a shredder/ The day I learned about your baby mothers.”
Gallant — “Gentlemen”
Gallant, the R&B genius behind the goosebump enthralling track “Weight In Gold” suckerpunches the world in the feels all over again on his latest track “Gentlemen.” A quite sleepy track “Gentlemen,” shows off Gallants steamy side that would have even Marvin Gaye swaying. “Gentleman” is Gallants lead single of his untitled sophomore album.
J. Cole — “1985- Intro to “The Fall Off”
Although J. Coles latest album KOD is wildly unimpressive his 12 track album ends on a high note with the track “1985- Intro to “The Fall Off”. On “1985,” Cole explores the inevitable slump of fame that all celebrities fear. Cole takes the role of a peer to younger artists and spend more than a handful of bars waring about fame and the world of hip-hop and the poisons lifestyle that many young rappers fall into.
Post Malone — “Better Now”
The highly anticipated sophomore album, Beerbongs and Bentleys from moopy R&B, Hip-Hop artist Post Malone delivered on it’s hype. Containing solidified hits “Rockstar” and “Psycho” it’s already skyrocketed Malone to the 3rd most listened to artist on Spotify. Soon to be a house-hold song “Better Now” is contained at the heart of Malone’s latest album. With a hook catchy enough to impress even Taylor Swift and a melody that puts Travis Scott to shame, “Better Now” is without a doubt one of Post Malone’s strongest songs to date.
Clairo — “4EVER”
19-year-old, Clairo impressed fans with her latest single “4EVER” by bringing in the Burns Twins, Deaton Chris Anthony and Ashwin Torke as collaborators. Even with high quality production, Clairo still finds a way to stick with her signature lo-fi sound that her fans are infatuated with. Clairo turns heartache into a poppy summer melody that you’ll find yourself humming even hours after your first listen.
Colton Newman is the photo editor and a music writer for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at photoeditor@dailylobo.com and music@daiylobo.com or on Twitter @Coltonperson.
Shayla Cunico is the culture editor and music writer for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ShaylaCunico.
Kyle Land is the editor-in-chief for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @kyleoftheland.
