Music Roundup: Almost Sex, The Shivers, Loko Zarney, Makeda and JT, Iinfinnity

Almost Sex bring us Lie Heartfelt, bedroom indie electro pop track with some great textures and upbeat energy. Their band name sounds ironically appropriate for a duo who met on a dating app, but are self-declared “Beatle incompatible” (Nick’s favourite is Paul while Warren’s is John). Jokes aside, I really enjoy the sound design (the reverb sounds great on their washy synths) and there’s a good vibe and a catchy chorus.

Holy Wine by The Shivers has a great atmosphere with a sparse arrangement of electric guitar and vocals–and a lot of reverb filling in the spaces between notes creating a wonderful tension. The song has a bit of an unconventional song structure with a great sax solo in the middle, then slowly builds up with a stomp and clap section until the drums come in all the way at 2:39.

“Soon Enough” is here to accompany you in being whole right where you are while healthily desiring the more that God has for you.

Makeda and JT

Soon Enough is an R&B/soul song from Makeda and JT that feels saturated with positivity. The song is laid back and meditative in a great way. I love the way the artist described the track so much, I will simple quote them here: “Whether it be waiting for love, a new home, a new job opportunity, “Soon Enough” is here to accompany you in being whole right where you are while healthily desiring the more that God has for you”. It’s also worth noting the artist does the whole process start to finish: recording, editing, mixing and mastering each track themselves.

Dead Bodies is a trap/cloud/alternative rap track by Loko Zarney, Thokozani Morgan Masaya, from South Africa. The title lyric may have you thinking something quite violent must have happened in the narrative world that they have created, and the artist reveals that this is an allusion to money, as represented by the dead presidents one sees on bills such as Nelson Mandela on the South African rand. I wonder if the lyrics express a double meaning, as the imagery of the dead bodies on the bills is hard to detach from the strong iconography of a president well known as an anti-apartheid revolutionary.

Linfinnity from Hanover, Germany moves seamlessly between genres with this brasilian funk inspired dancepop and future rap song, Dreams. Coming in at 2:26, the song is straight to the point, opening right up with the hook with only a brief detour before bringing it back. Semi-autobiographical, it describes the dreams and aspirations of the artist.