New music Friday brings us a cracking track from up and coming YUNGBLUD, established pop vocalist Halsey and legendary rock drummer Travis Barker.
Travis is most famed for his crazy drum solos as one third of the iconic Blink-182. His inclusion on the track is an interesting one, but it is very clear that his signature has been stamped heavily across the instrumental and fits the trajectory of YUNGBLUD’s young career. Dominic Harrison is from Doncaster and, whilst similarities are easily made to Jamie T and Ratboy, his hip-hop influences are also clear to see. The use of the word “yung” is an obvious example, as that has been adopted by the new breed of rap stars. His rock music also has inflections of hip-hop as well and it is this theme that ties the three artists together.
The song is a punk song at heart, with an ominous guitar chord progression and desperate lyrics that make for a great driving song, or a gritty montage track for an on-the-clock situation.
The artwork again evokes images of 90s punk and grunge, with the graphic to the right reminding me of a Banksy piece. This isn’t the first time Halsey has moved across into the emo space, as she collaborated with Juice WRLD on a remix of her smash hit Without Me, as well as covering the artists breakout single Lucid Dreams in her BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge a few months ago.
This song is a great example of how fluid music genres are becoming. Hip-hop is not just rap anymore, and rock isn’t confined to four-piece bands. The culture around genres are driving the development of the sound and this allows for some truly complex masterpieces being released almost weekly. This genre-bending, generation-spanning track is my favourite release of the week and is a testament to where music creation has reached.
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
A Song A Day 