“Here” by Alessia Cara
The treasured teen novel The Perks of Being A Wallflower was released in 1999. Finally made into a movie in 2012, an actual audio embodiment of what it feels like to witness debauchery or the popular life as a tourist wouldn’t arrive until Alessia Cara‘s forthright “Here.”
From inside the scene of a party, Cara laments that she is surrounded by drinking, gossip and burgeoning hook-ups. In an Isaac Hayes sample, she sings away her annoyance with candid lyrics like “But really I would rather be at home all by myself. Not in this room with people who don’t even care about my well-being.” And later: “So you can, go back, please enjoy your party. I’ll be here.”
It’s so good! And her voice? At eighteen-years-old, Cara’s voice is impressively bluesy and evocative of years of observation and perception of the mannerisms of her peers. Peer pressure just got a nice kick in the ass with this track.
“Titans x James Dean” by Dawn
Dawn Richard (you know here from Danity Kane) has dropped another video that displays her either intricate or furious dance movies that challenges her fellow R&B divas to step their twerking up. But Dawn (now stylized as “DΔWN”) has always been on her own playing field and her mixture of “Titans” and “James Dean” is a futuristic, sexuality doused in a grunge aesthetic clip that amps up the ’90s Gap commercial.
The latter half of “James Dean” is also a can’t-look-away one woman show of on-beat moves and a come and get it demeanor.
Y’all sleeping on Dawn, for real!
“Teach Me” by Billie Black
Another R&B wunderkind from the U.K., Billie Black has been compared to Jessie Ware.
Her first EP 000100 was released in 2014 and was a seamless stream of thoughtful whys and why nots, backed by wandering R&B. Black was either earnestly waiting for she wants to come around or contemplating taking a mutual attraction to the next level of spending time together. Can I just say how repeat-worthy “Do You Really” is?
This year, she followed up with Teach Me, a six track EP. You’re sure to find one track or more from Black that you’ll deeply adore.
2 responses to “This Week At The Record Store: Dawn Richard, Alessia Cara and Billie Black”
[…] and Patron.” Tinashe‘s “All Hands on Deck.” Dawn Richard‘s “James Dean.” Amazing songs. Great videos. Both overlooked by MTV. The award show doesn’t even have […]
[…] Like LDR, other fantastic and smart artists that just happen to be female like FKA Twigs, Kelela, Dawn, Kehlani, Grimes and Tinashe are also dropping stunningly visual bombs. The influences are clear […]