SOUND SCOUT - ‘CENE KENT MIXTAPE #45
Featuring reviews of Kid Hue, venbee, Baby Dave, Juno James, YOSHE ROSE and BLISSFOOL & efan
REVIEWS:
Kid Hue
BANSHEE / 3:25
@huethekid
Taken from coming album WCDIWWT! (‘We Can Dance If We Want To!’), BANSHEE is an absolute kick. A deliciously sharp one, to the lugholes. Less than a year on from debut album american television, Medway’s Kid Hue is already proving to be prolific in the ability to release tracks and also to move from genre and style without issue.
Elements of punk, rap and alt-indie rock are rolled into BANSHEE, with distortion-filled transitions, pacy beats and fizzing lyrics. It’s got an air of The Prodigy, with its relentless energy. Intense.
Venbee
Not my day / 2:32
Once again, Venbee has come up with a song that connects to its audience instantly. Storytelling is not that easy, particularly when it is centred on a failed trip to a supermarket. So when an artist is able to do that in a song, with a beat and hook behind it, you have to stand up and take notice. That skill is why Mike Skinner and The Streets are iconic - how do you make people feel like they’re there with you in the kebab shop? Medway’s Venbee smashes it out of the park, and she only went to Asda. Taxi!
Baby Dave
am i clean??? / 5:09
We love hearing new pieces from Baby Dave - you never know what’s coming. One half of Tunbridge Wells punks Soft Play, Isaac Holman’s other project has offered so many ideas - from a trip to grab his girlfriend a bottle of San Pellegrino through to new track am i clean???.
It refers to Holman’s severe OCD and “illogical compulsions that come with it”.
He says: “It makes me do things I don’t want to do and think about things I don’t want to think about. It’s torturous. It’s exhausting. At times it’s hilarious. It makes absolutely no sense.”
The video features a buzzed wizard making people do things against their will to the sound of a hypnotic electro pulse. It’s a trip.
BLISSFOOL & efan
KICKBACK / 3:08
With an early 00s dance beat that conjures memories of Reebok Classics and Blue WKDs, KICKBACK is an energetic banger from BLISSFOOL & efan.
Two parts of a Kent collective that also includes ‘cene-featured artist Jake St Ange, the duo have bottled fun and added some beautiful bass and a ridiculously catchy title lyric. Part of the new Original Tings EP by efan, KICKBACK asks you to do exactly that - turn it up and enjoy.
Juno James
Cowboy / 3:23
A B-side to new single What’s Wrong With You, Juno James’s Cowboy has rocketed to almost half a million plays in double-quick time. The Bromley artist puts her own alt-pop edge to a classic love song but with a country-esque lilt that goes with her Wild West aesthetic.
With a delightful acoustic guitar, strong soaring vocals and delayed drum intro, Cowboy would fit on any Yellowstone (or spin-off) soundtrack, and we’re not surprised it has surged already. Spurred on.
Yoshe Rose
Cloud Nine / 3:09
Rainham’s YOSHE ROSE continues to release tracks that are at the forefront of UK R&B. The latest offering, Cloud Nine, is packed with authenticity, smooth vocals and dreamy hooks that you want to curl up with. A song of desire and longing, Cloud Nine marks YOSHE’s statement of intent for the year ahead.
“I have so much to say and nothing to say all at once,” she says. “I just want to let the releases do the talking and I want the sounds to connect with the people they are meant for. But ultimately, I REALLY love this song. And that’s the most important thing.” Mindset.
