Remi Wolf - "Big Ideas" (2024)

Another one of the pop girls I was listening to last summer was Remi Wolf. Specifically this, her sophomore record, Big Ideas. And if one word sums up this album, it is summer. I remember discovering Remi through the lead single for the record, Cinderella, being on rotation on Radio 1 last spring while I was driving to and from site for my previous job that at that point I knew I was leaving. The loose and fun synth funk groove of the song was a perfect match for the sunny drives though the Suffolk countryside and the summer of freedom I was looking forward to. Remi's charismatic vocal delivery and the quirky horns and whistles make it the perfect summer party vibe.

Cinderella opens up the record and is followed by the other three singles, Soup, Motorcycle and Toro. Soup is a silky, reverb drenched nu-disco tune that once again shows of Remi's powerful vocal chops. Motorcycle is a stripped back, soulful slow jam where Remi's vocals effortlessly glide across the gentle guitar licks and twinkling keys. This leads into Toro, a raucous and explosive release of energy. Remi wails about an intense and chaotic sexual encounter, comparing the experience to a matador facing up against a bull, backed up by a chunky funk groove and the same goofy sound effects from Cinderella (this time a motorbike revving up). If Cinderella is the start of a summer house party, fizzling with anticipation and good vibes; Toro is the party in full swing where everybody is getting a little too drunk and the impulsive decisions start to commence.

As you can probably tell from the first four songs, Big Ideas is bursting with variety. There's jangly indie rock on Cherries & Cream and Frog Rock; escapist dance pop on Kangeroo; and a full on power ballad in Alone in Miami. I will say that the broad scope of the record means that there isn't as much attention to detail put into the rest of the songs when compared to the singles, but they mostly pass the bar at being fun quirky pop tracks. The only real moments on the record that I'm not really vibing with are the blown out alt pop / pop rock songs, Wave and When I Thought Of You. I'm not the biggest fan of that style anyway and I feel like these tracks are a lot more drab and colourless than the rest of the album.

Despite the whole thing not necessarily being the most mind blowing or revolutionary pop album, the ecstatic energy and sheer charisma on display on Big Ideas kept me coming back to it all summer last year, and I've continued to play it every so often in the months since when I want to gaslight myself and pretend UK winters don't suck and its not actually like 2 degrees outside. The singles are also genuinely really great pop songs too.

Top Tracks: Cinderella, Soup, Motorcycle, Toro, Cherries & Cream, Kangaroo

7/10

Foals - "Life Is Yours" (2022)

Foals' last project, 2019s Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost double album, turned out to be quite a tone-setter for the 2 years that immediately followed. Frontman Yannis Philippakis described the records as 'doom soup' and much of the lyrical content focused the general shit-ness of the world circa 2019 (Brexit, Trump and the climate crisis were obvious themes). So when the pandemic hit and took away nearly all the small moments that keep us going through the existential dread, the band took it as an opportunity to shift gears and write a record celebrating those things that we all desperately missed. Which is a pretty good thing in my opinion, as despite part 1 being my favourite Foals album, part 2 might just be their weakest - being run of the mill anthemic stadium rock that I was honestly too kind on at the time, as I have not felt compelled to come back to it once in the years since.

All is evident from the lead single, Wake Me Up. The track is a straight forward and anthemic dance punk stormer, with funky Talking Heads-y grooves and chanted chorus vocals. The track has such an ecstatic energy to it that I haven't heard from the band since Antidotes. The rest of the singles, while not quite as in your face, have grown on me also - providing a sense of pure fun and energy. 2am is more spacious and blocky, with a catchy and warm guitar melody that matches the lyrics detailing the back end of nights out where you're a bit worse for wear, chatting shit with mates in a kebab shop. Its pure nostalgia and just hits the right vibe. 2001 is sugary synth funk that fits the Glastonbury-montage-core descriptor I gave to one of The Wombats' songs earlier this year (I think it was even used in the BBC coverage), although it feels a whole lot more natural and less forced and calculated. Looking High is probably the weakest of the singles, being just a little too 80's pastiche for me. While decent to good songs, I would say that all of the singles bar Wake Me Up do feel a little safe and radio-ready. They don't really go anywhere unexpected. This is pretty evident in that 2001s extended outro is portioned into the separate interlude track (summer sky).

The rest of the album is a bit of a mixed bag. The opener, Life Is Yours, has elements I like: its summery Balearic-esque instrumentation and its general message of 'life is what you make it'; but it might just be the most compressed song the band has ever released. Every singling element is having a boxing match to get some space, and it genuinely sounds awful on headphones. Foals generally have the tendency to blow out their mixes, but this record is the most obviously mixed to be played out loud on a massive stereo system out of any of them. Flutter is built around a repeated guitar loop that initially feels quite quirky and rhythmic, but the track doesn't progress from this one idea and gets old by the end of its runtime. Under The Radar is the same passable but unremarkable stadium rock that filled ENSWBL part 2, and Crest Of The Wave is the washed out slow burn that every single Foals album tries at least once, and I'd say its on the more forgettable side of the spectrum.

Its on the back end of the record that the band finally jump fully into the alt-dance that the rest of the album teases at. The Sound is spiralling and groovy tune that I do find myself getting sucked into as the layers of synths and guitars build to a massive crescendo. The vocals are buried in the mix which I initially was offput by, but they just fit the vibe of the song so well. The closer, Wild Green, is just a full drop into ambient house and while not anything to write home about in the grand scheme of things, it's nice to see the band try something genuinely new that they've only really hinted at in the past.

Ultimately, Life Is Yours is decent, if a little lightweight. Gone is a lot of the weirdness and wonkiness that carried through from their earliest singles to ENSWBL. Philippakis said that they made the album to be played at parties and barbeques and road trips, a soundtrack to people living life again. And that's what it is in the end, a soundtrack, a vibe, background music. But it does succeed in that - its fun, its breezy, its summery (and Glastonbury-montage-core).

Top Tracks: Wake Me Up, 2am, 2001, The Sound

6/10