A$AP Rocky (feat. Moby) – A$AP Forever

It might seem bold (or silly) to sample Moby’s ubiquitous “Porcelain” and try to make it your own, much less twist it into a hip hop track. For A$AP Rocky, though, doing so is a callback to his early mixtapes — “Porcelain” is beautiful in its woozy strings, much like Rocky’s clouded, beat-less “Palace” from way back in 2011. The man is simply at home here, and as the track builds into a thick, pounding beat, the cinematic effect really starts to sink in. The video matches the feeling and improves on the track, with gorgeous, spinning cinematography from Dexter Navy. It all adds up to the pinnacle of A$AP Rocky’s creation. He’s always been a left-of-centre rapper, equally concerned with the fashion side of the genre and building luxury into his music. While technically not the best, using “Porcelain” is exactly the kind of innovation — and show of wealth — that Rocky covets. The outro here is absolutely brilliant, as the beat dissipates into the original track and the line “I never meant to lie”.

Bicep – Rain

The Northern Ireland duo of Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar, aka Bicep, are off and running with another single from their self-titled, well-reviewed 2017 dance album. “Rain” is maybe the most enticing track on that album, and shows how Bicep has taken the typically long dance track and siphoned it into something more digestable. This song grabs you with its vocal samples, but the pulsating beat is what forces the repeat button. The Luke Wyatt video released with the single this week adds its fair share of drugged-out vibes, for those who prefer some visuals with their mellow.

Young Galaxy – Show You the Valley

It’s amazing to think that  Young Galaxy have been together for 13 years now. The Vancouver-based dream pop band have created reliably beautiful music, built on the vocals of Catherine McCandless and the subdued synths created by Stephen Ramsey. With their new album, Down Time, they’re finally stepping out and self-releasing an album. With renewed creative license, Young Galaxy return to their roots and stretch them out — we get a lot of tracks like “Show You the Valley”, which turn almost hypnotic in length and shine in their vocal focus. There’s a bit of politics in their lyrics here, too, a veteran band recognizing their place in the world and putting a message out on their own terms.