All the Music You Might Have Missed Over the Xmas Break

I don’t know about you, but I am not in my right mind. The past couple of weeks have been spent wearing the same pyjamas and hoodie (in and out the house), sprinkling advent calendar chocolates on my cereal and drinking things like sloe gin before 11am. This has to stop now, or otherwise I’ll end up like my uncle Gary. We all will. It is time to return to some semblance of normality.

So let us go back to what it was you were into before you turned weird and Christmassy (you might not celebrate Christmas, but this does not make you immune to the dysfunctionality that comes with this time of year). Music. You liked music, didn’t you? You probably haven’t been keeping up with it, what with all the napping and episodes of Poirot. So, in an effort to return you to that pre-holiday state, here’s all the music you might have missed out on over the xmas break.

ALICE GLASS – “I TRUSTED YOU”

Alice Glass hasn’t released loooads of material since breaking free from Crystal Castles in 2014, but what she has released has been sick. “I Trusted You” is no exception, and sees the artist deliver some syrupy soft vocals over slow, warped production alongside a freaky festive visual. Enjoy! Daisy Jones

SL – Summertime Santa

SL hasn’t released a lot of music, but he has shot it all in a luscious variety of locations. And it’s a whole range too: like a winter tundra (“Tropical”), or a basketball court that looks to be off a side street in the areas between New Cross and Camberwell in south London (“Nothing To Say”). In his new one, “Summertime Santa”, the young 18-ish old rapper is in the kind of place you should probably go on your honeymoon if you’re looking to get married or go on a gap year (read: existential break from adult life) involving #selfcare and mushrooms. Location aside, no one in the UK is rapping like SL right now. Whether he’s flooding the streets with weed packs or words, what SL is dispensing is guaranteed to keep you couch-locked but high, still. Ryan Bassil

BLADEE – ICE DANCER

Maybe you’re properly into emotional Soundcloud rap, in which case here’s a new album from Bladee, the Swedish artist and frequent collaborator of Yung Lean. There are collabs with Thaiboy Digital and Yung Lean on there too so tuck in. Daisy Jones

21 Savage – “Monster” (Feat Donald Glover)

• Things you need to know: 1) 21 Savage iced off a very impressive 2018 with a new body of work, following up his multitude of features (especially this heater with Metro Boomin’); 2) the new album, which released on November 21 and is called I Am > I Was features Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino’s first guest verse in a year. And, now, that’s not to take shine from what Savage is doing on his new album (it’s fire!), just that Glover comes through with some truth on his verse, like this bar, for example:

If you rappin’ for money, you silly

This shit ain’t a milli’, this shit is a hundred

The industry savage and most of you average

Anyway! Listen above. Then re-wind it again some more, and some more. Ryan Bassil

MIKE – “Red Sox / Babylon” (Feat Jadasea and Taphari)

Coming from the same similarly glitch vein as Earl Sweatshirt’s recent release Some Rap Songs, MIKE’s new one (released December 21) is – at least aurally, if not lyrically – a wavey, woozy interstellar ride through weed-scented living rooms and the frankly bodacious selection of soft drinks in bright lit corner shops. The similarities with Earl make sense; the two are pals, and MIKE featured on Some Rap Songs. Here on “Rex Sox / Babylon” though you get a UK link up from Jadasea, who we haven’t heard from in a minute but has affiliations with a south London crew involving King Krule, Jesse James Solomon, Rago Foot, Pinty – all the innovative heads, basically. Ryan Bassil

AZEALIA BANKS – “ICY COLORS CHANGE”

Azealia Banks released a whole EP over xmas called Icy Colors Change, but if you were looking for some brash bars and ballroom beats then carry on looking. Instead, the 3-track release sees Banks embrace her soulful vocals over jazz piano. That said, the title track (above) contains some of her signature house and rap style. All of it slaps. Daisy Jones

HELADO NEGRO – “PAIS NUBLADO”

If you haven’t gotten into Helado Negro yet, this track from over the holidays is a good place to start. “Pais Nublado” is a dreamy and reflective piece of pop, a perfect accompaniment to the passing of winter solstice / the fact days are getting longer again. Once you’ve listened, you ought to check out the Brooklyn-based artist’s discography if you’ve not already – he’s released six albums, with another on the way! Daisy Jones

PSYCHOEGYPTIAN – “DECOMPOSED”

PsychoEgyptian isn’t that well known (yet), but you might know him from being signed to Mykki Blanco’s label Dogfood MG a couple years back, which seeks to promote musicians that exist “outside of the black American norm.” He released a bunch of tracks over xmas, including my personal fave “Decomposed” (above), which sounds like a weird grunge-rap lullaby. Daisy Jones

POST MALONE – “WOW”

You didn’t think you could get through the holidays without a new one from Post Malone did you? Well, here it is, with a cartoon that includes Santa Claus with grills and some tatted-up elves. Daisy Jones

THE VOIDZ – “WISH IT WAS CHRISTMAS TODAY”

Julian Casablancas loves this song. He first released a cover of the Saturday Night Live creation back in 2009, then did a new version with the Voidz in 2015, then released it properly last week in time for Christmas. It’s not very Christmassy though – it’s sparse and heavy, with pitched down vocals – but whatever. No one likes actual Christmas songs, do they? Daisy Jones

DEJ LOAF – GO DEJ GO VOL. 1

Dej Loaf released a new EP – the Detroit rapper’s first since her debut two years ago – on December 30th, just in time for you to start the new year off with the opening lines “I’m a big shit talker, I’m a big shit talker.” It’s really, really good. Bookmark for later. Daisy Jones

TWIN SHADOW – “BROKEN HORSES”

And finally, some new Twin Shadow! The prolific producer / songwriter released two versions of a song called “Broken Horses” last week: the “Santo Domingo Edit” and the “Port Antonio Edit” (above). Both are bright, summery electronic tracks, which is fine because it’s not cold this time of year all over the world. In some places it’s hot. These tracks are for those places. Daisy Jones

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