Oscar Key Sung/ No Disguise EP
If one were to pay close attention (as they should) to Australia's ever-thriving indie scene, the name Oscar Key Sung would naturally come up at one point or another. Hailing from Melbourne, Oscar (real name Oscar Vicente Slorach-Thorne) has been at the forefront of the country's indie circuit since 2010, when he burst onto the scene alongside fellow musician Martin King as an art pop duo Oscar + Martin. Although the project proved to be short-lived with only one full-length album released, Oscar soldiered on, carving his own path as a solo artist.
In the following few years, we were treated to a string of boundary-pushing EPs, several collaborations as well as solid one-off singles, ranging from his first two eclectic releases Tape Beats #1 and Tape Voice, both showcasing his flair for experimentation with tape loops and analogue keyboard, to avant-R&B gems like Holograms and Altruism. All of which, it seems, has led to No Disguise, his latest and arguably his best work yet.
Stylistically, the six-track EP swings closer to his recent, more electronic-inspired work such as Shallow, DYT, and Fools, a club-ready collaboration with Ah-Mer-Ah-Su and long-time friend HTML Flowers. Opener/lead single Simple Luv sets the tone with rousing strings and warm synths. "Simple love/Just around the other side/Of these winds and turns/Tunnels without a light," he begins with his trademark croon that pleasantly reminds us of How to Dress Well's Tom Krell. "Hold my breath, count to ten/Eyes up to the heaven/Cross my heart, hope to die/Simple love, hope to fly," he adds, promptly followed by a wordless breakdown. Instantly infectious, yet hopeful.
The pop-oriented 25 Mins harkens back to his Oscar + Martin days with innovative keyboard work coupled with unique vocal harmonies. Club Mate could easily be his tribute to '90s hip-hop and R&B, the two genres that have inspired him since the get-go. Set to glowing synths and throbbing beats, Cobras & Roses is the most dancefloor-friendly offering of the set. "You, me, us/Together," an unknown voice repeats into a full-blown techno outro.
Company and the title track offer a slice of sensual R&B interlaced with electronic undertones. "A yellow heart/And the flame/And now we're ghosts/Next to your name/Set all my disguise on fire," he sings over skeletal beats on the latter. Although Oscar's warm vocals have always been an integral part of his music, they take the spotlight here on this EP, especially on the slower, more quiet numbers such as these.
Out of all his releases thus far, No Disguise stands out as Oscar's most polished collection of songs. Listening to them, you could trace his musical journey as he progresses from bedroom pop and R&B to hip-hop and electronic. Sonically cohesive yet diverse enough to provide something for everybody, this EP deserves some big, big love.
THE PLAYLIST
Boom Boom Cash (feat Lumyai Hai Thongkam)/ Sathu
Thai EDM outfit Boom Boom Cash and luk thung provocateur Lumyai Hai Thongkam team up on Sathu, a mellow piano synth-driven single that goes against most of their club-ready material. On this track, vocalist Warisara "Miew" Apirakdecharchai sings about letting go of the lover who's wronged her, but not without some good old ill-wishing from Lumyai who straight up performs voodoo in her charming Isan dialect.
Pharrell Williams, Camila Cabello/ Sangria Wine
After last year's smash hit Havana, Pharrell Williams and Camila Cabello reunite on Sangria Wine, another Caribbean-inspired number to usher in and possibly dominate the summertime. Set to laidback reggae melodies, the song features bilingual lyrics centred around the titular beverage ("Let's float around like the fruit at the top/In Miami, where winters are hot" and the Jamaican dance move ("She do the sangria wine/Sangria wine/Moving side to side, front and behind"). Will this be the new Macarena?
Jonathan Something/ Outlandish Poetica
As Jonathan Something, Connecticut-based multi-instrumentalist Jon Searles makes giddy baroque pop that thrives on surrealism and witty lyricism. His debut single, Outlandish Poetica, instantly recalls the weirdness of The Flaming Lips, yet sparkles with its own wacky personality. "I am somewhere in between the silver surfer's dreams/Of Fantastic-4 erotica and doing something mean," he sings over infectious guitar riffs. "I'm upside down and bleeding, cut wide open cheek to cheek/They do the sacrificial dance and feed me to the boar/But I come back resurrected 10 times better than before."
Róisín Murphy/ All My Dreams
For a track that starts off with a chanting of "suicide!", Róisín Murphy's All My Dreams is unexpectedly fun to dance along to. The production here is deceptively simple, with drum fills and funky basslines enveloping Murphy's seductive contralto. "Friends may become foes/High people follow/New shit can seem so old/Real hot to cold," she sings, slowly and quietly build the tension until it reaches the mid-section breakdown where things get a bit weird. "This wait is driving me crazy/Can't you see what you do to me?/Oh, put me out of my misery/You're killing me," she implores in the outro.
Backstreet Boys/ Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Backstreet Boys are back once again with a new single, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, a follow-up to their 2013's In a World Like This. Led by vocalists Nick Carter and AJ McLean, the track unveils itself to be a close cousin to The Chainsmokers' brand of lite-EDM -- piano melodies, check; finger snaps, check; glowing synths, check and check. The lyrics are also pretty standard-issue, like an unnecessary remake of their early hit Quit Playing Games (With My Heart): "So if you're gonna love me, love me right, yeah/ But if you're gonna be someone that hurts somebody just for fun/Then do it to a heart that isn't mine."
