Single Takes: Ana Tijoux, Flying Lotus, Danny Brown, Hilary Woods, Thundercat, Sudan Archives

Single Take is a Reviler feature where multiple people give a passing glance at some new music and causally rank it somewhere between 1 (Justin Beiber) and 10 (really amazing). Fun, right? Check out the latest installment below and feel free to tell us who stupid and out of touch we are based on our opinions. Arguing on the internet: the greatest of American traditions.

Ana Tijoux – ANTIFA DANCE

Jon 8/10

I was a big Ana Tijoux fan for a number of years but kind of lost track of her after La Bala, her third record. This brings me back to all the things I originally loved – fierce political rap in rapid fire Spanish over big banging beats. Sounds like the revolution that should be happening as soon as we can leave our houses again. 

Josh 9/10

The kind of spirited bombast we need but mostly don’t feel capable of conjuring right now. As we’ve come to expect from Tijoux, this song is absolute fire, and the video is as bonkers as the song. 

Adam 7/10

My familiarity with Ana Tijoux is low but this song and crazy video go hard, even if I can’t totally tell what any of it’s about.

Flying Lotus – Black Balloons Reprise

Josh 8/10

I love FlyLo beats, and wouldn’t have minded just hearing this beat cook on it’s own, but you also can’t argue with Denzel Curry on the mic. A song that doesn’t let it’s foot off the gas from start to finish. 

Jon 9/10

Denzel Curry is one of the most talented young rappers out there. And this FlyLo beat is killer. I don’t know what else to say. RIP Mac Miller. 

Adam 9/10

Denzel Curry is on a roll these days knocking out two great albums in the last two years. Paired with a great Flying Louts beat is straight fire.

Danny Brown + Run the Jewels – 3 Tearz 

Jon 8/10

A match made in rap heaven. The beat sounds simple-as-nails, gritty, and very rough in the way that RZA production used to sound back in the day. And I dig the freestyle approach to the video. The fact that El-P smashes the camera of one of the people he ostensibly hired to shoot his music video seems somehow…right on.   

Josh 6/10

When I saw this pairing I thought for sure that I was clicking play on a song of the year candidate, but it ended up just being “OK.” The beat is claustrophobic and the rappers seem to be almost wrestling with containing their energy as the beat sizzles. Cool rap battle video, though. 

Adam 6/10

The lineup is all star but this song is a little too laid back for what I hoped for between the three.

Hilary Woods – Orange Tree

Josh 5/10

I’m a big fan of minimal electronic pop music, and especially stuff with ethereal vocals, but this song just didn’t land for me. It feels both too busy and not fleshed out enough, if that is possible. 

Jon 6/10

Gotta be honest, I kept expecting James Hetfield’s vocals to drop in with a “AAAND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS…”. A pretty moody tune that I enjoy though I feel like it never really gets its hooks into me completely. And this kind of ethereal doom-dreampop is usually catnip to me. I’ll give it time. 

Adam 6/10

Dreamy and pleasant, but never really pulls me in completely.

Thundercat – ‘Dragonball Durag

Josh 7/10

I dig the cheesy P-Funk vibe that Thundercat brings, but sometimes I wish he’d make a stone cold album of funk jams that don’t feel like they are being obviously ironic. Obviously a super talented artist who makes songs that sound **so close** to something I would love. 

Jon 5/10

Man, I don’t know about this one. It sort of sounds like someone parodying a Blood Orange track. I like Thundercat most of the time but I’m not really feeling this one.

Adam 5/10

Smooth, funky but a bit too goofy and repetitive for me.

Sudan Archives – Limitless

Jon 8/10

One of my favorite artists going right now. Sudan Archives is next-level talented. I tend to like her songs that feature her violin a bit more prominently, but at the same time I am not complaining. 

Josh 7/10

Sudan Archives is an artist that blew me away when I first heard her a few years ago, and her sound has really been refined in the last few years. I’m torn whether I think that is a good thing or not. This song shows that even when she goes into the more polished, pop landscape she is still doing it better than almost anyone else, but on her new album I do miss some of the minimalist looped violin and vocals sound that originally drew me in. 

Adam 7/10

Great low key pop from Sudan Archives. A little more polished from the earlier material I remember but good with this progression.