Chart Review: 20th September 2024
Making sense of a nation’s musical tastes.
A veritable bevy of new gear this week, and we’re starting with the dictionary definition of a banger. The moment I pressed play on Ndotz’s “Embrace It” (36), my head was bopping, and it didn’t stop for the entirety of the song, which luckily for my neck is one of these sub-two minute rap tracks you get a lot of these days. Ndotz’s performance on the mic is fine - I like that he keeps spitting across the entirety of the tense, bouncing track, even if he doesn’t really have anything particularly interesting in his lyrics.
The star of the show is the beat, by RJ Pasin. It sounds like it’s done on the cheap in the best way - i.e. everything is pushed to breaking point, the bass especially straining and distorting it’s playing so loud. Pasin’s original instrumental was released a few months back as “Listeria”; for all that his work is the main event here, you’d have to say the vocal track elevates proceedings. They’ve also isolated the most hype bit of the instrumental, when everything’s playing at once, to gee up the song as much as possible. Great beat, fine performance, better than the sum of its parts.
More new hip hop at (32) in the form of “All Red” by Playboi Carti. This is very much the other side of the coin for me. It’s more mumble rap which just does not sound good to my ears. I don’t know if it’s fair to say it denotes a lack of confidence in one’s bars, because Carti’s obviously got plenty of material here, but the treated, low key vocals completely sap the song of energy. The beat’s fine but there’s not much of a hook to it. The usual trap drums, a nice sounding but uninteresting keyboard line. You can watch RJ Pasin put the beat for “Embrace It” together on TikTok; it’s doubtless so much simpler than “All Red”, but with so much more creativity behind it.
Teddy Swims’ new one “Bad Dreams” is at (28). I feel warmly towards Teddy because he seemed like such a nice chap in an interview I heard, and I like this one better than the other two songs I’ve heard simply because it’s far less histrionic. His voice is easily good enough to soar without bellowing and cramming in superfluous notes, and he’s allowed here to use both power and restraint. That said, this is exactly the same kind of sanitised soul that put me off his other work. I wouldn’t want to be called upon to prove this, but this music sounds incredibly easy to make and market. Because it’s a retro sound, you’ll appeal to a market of folks who enjoy old school R&B and the like, but you’re not obliged to write tunes that will stand the test of time like they did back then. I’d love to hear this voice on something significantly more interesting.
A lot of bland pop sounds all the blander when compared with Chappel Roan, whose incredible 2024 rolls on with “Pink Pony Club” now hitting (21). This is an interesting cut from her 2023 album, being her breakthrough song of sorts and recorded a couple of years before the rest (it sticks out like a sore thumb on the LP). I rate her a lot and it’s another great tune - she’s currently touring the UK and it seems a big theme of her concerts is prioritising inclusivity and safe spaces for all, which is essentially what this track’s about. I like her theatrics as a vocalist and she’s got the lung power to perform to the back of the room - the pre-choruses on here especially are some of her best work on the mic.
We’re back to the bland stuff with Tate McCrae and “It’s OK I’m OK”, debuting at (14). I must say I’ve heard nothing from McCrae yet that I’ve liked at all. This isn’t as annoying as “Greedy”, which I really didn’t like, but I’m not finding much to get into here. One comment on the (rather saucy) video says “may all the Gods bless her for bringing 00's pop back” - isn’t that what Charli et al have been doing all year? This is certainly aiming for that era of pop, with “I’m A Slave For U” era Britney a particularly obvious touchpoint for me. I’m getting nowt from this one but evidently plenty of people are.
Talking of getting nowt: The Weeknd is at (12) with “Dancing In The Flames”. I can recall becoming aware of The Weeknd when he dropped his first mixtapes, which I’m not going to look up but believe were called House Of Balloons or something weird like that. I remember reading a review that described how dark and dangerous and cokey all this stuff was and thinking it sounded fascinating, then giving it a spin and finding it was just sad, warbly R&B by a guy who couldn’t really sing (though the cokey bit was basically on the money).
I find this guy simply impossible to connect with. This is by no means the worst song I’ve heard from him - I like the wobbly bass and I’m always a sucker for drums that come in like that - sort of Phil Collins style. But this dude seems to be playing it safer than safe, which I suppose you would when your musical formula keeps paying out and your attempt to switch gears and make an HBO drama goes down so unbelievably badly. I fundamentally don’t understand The Weeknd. He makes these anodyne love tunes but he has such a creepy edge to him, and I’m really not sure whether or not that’s the point. Is he supposed to be smooth? Is he supposed to be offputting? It’s a genuine mystery, and despite all that, I find the music boring as sin.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” is at the top once again. Apparently she’s spent 16 of 2024’s 38 weeks at Number One. I honestly thought it had been more.
Pick of the week: Ndotz - “Embrace It”
