Nicki Minaj – ‘Anaconda’

Josh Hall: As ever, Nicki Minaj heads off the hand-wringing criticism with something so acutely arch and self-aware that she is obviously having the first and last laugh. (7)

Chal Ravens: In which Nicki samples the unsample-able and somehow makes it shine. The “oh my gosh” chorus build is complete wacko genius and if this is actually getting played on the radio she deserves a giant butt-shaped trophy, a la Future and Kanye. (7)

Joe Muggs: Initial disappointment that it’s not Nicki jamming over Untold quickly dispersed by the fact that this is beyond brilliant. I’ll leave this to other people to unpick the layers of role-play and cultural provocation that inevitably come with a new Nicki record: it speaks directly to my inner Beavis & Butthead, and the world can never have too many straight-up booty bass jams. (9)

7.7

Lee Gamble – ‘Mimas Skank’

Angus Finlayson: A techno track coming apart at the seams: not exactly a radical idea at this point, but Lee Gamble’s chosen seams aren’t quite the same seams that everybody else seems to be picking away at. Except maybe Kassem Mosse. The tortured squeal circa two minutes is particularly satisfying. (7)

Chal Ravens: Supremely itchy, insectoid skank that appeals to me very much, and it’s another winner from the hitmakers at PAN, who can’t stop coming up with the good stuff this year. (7)

Josh Hall: ‘Skank’ is definitely the right word here. Dread music for some horrible arachnid underworld. (8)

Joe Muggs: Hits that Sweet Exorcist-y, Cristian Vogel-y spot very neatly, with some excellent squackly balloon-rubbing acid noises. Would dance to this in dark room. (8)

7.5

Dntel – ‘If I Stay A Minute’

Angus Finlayson: I’ve never listened to the Postal Service so I feel no duty to indulge this. (5)

Chal Ravens: It’s a bit fucking twee for juke, isn’t it, like Teklife gone CBeebies. Something about its chirpiness rings hollow, but I’ll grant that it’s an original idea. (5)

Joe Muggs: Much as I love indietronica, bar a few exceptions Dntel were always a step too far into simpering sadboi territory for me. But this is pretty much excellent, bar the fact that once it starts overlapping with the vocal the naive bleep melody jars with the high production values a bit. (7)

Josh Hall: This is about as much of a mess as you might imagine ‘The Postal Service gone juke’ would be. The identikit footwork foundation can’t hide the fact that Dntel’s uninspired ‘woozy’ ‘melodicism’ is done infinitely better by already-not-enormously-inspiring people like Lusine. (4)

5.3

Shit & Shine – ‘Pearl Drop’

Josh Hall: It’s ceaselessly pleasing to me that Powell is putting out Shit & Shine records. The Theo Parrish homage on S&S’s last Diagonal release was weird, degenerate fun, and this is in a similar vein, if less tough, sounding much like a really livid fly trying to escape through double glazing. (7)

Joe Muggs: Yes, the Powell hook up makes 100% sense, and this is 100% brilliant racket. S&S have always seemed like grotty rhythmic ritual music, and whether the mother rhythm is glitterstomp, antmusic or booty electro is far less important than the end effect which is to switch off your mind, relax and float downstream into some teeming, fetid psychedelic swamp. (8)

Angus Finlayson: My sub-freq geiger counter is peaking wildly, which can only be a good thing, but as electro goes this isn’t so much a chesty cough as one of those dry throat tickles. I keep waiting for a really satisfying bit of phlegm to come up but it never does. I’ve been ill this week, can you tell? (6)

7

Objekt – ‘Ganzfeld’

Josh Hall: Straight in amongst the tracks of the year, without a doubt. Louche and thunking, funky and crystalline, subterranean and cloud-scraping. Fantastic. (9)

Chal Ravens: This week has been a strong week for club tracks about which it’s hard to say much other than “oof” and “yup”. Let’s just say I’ve adopted a (subtle) screwface and am intrigued by the collective abandonment of 4/4 that seems to be playing out here. It’s still not quite Demdike though. (7)

Joe Muggs: I think there’s a tendency to over-think Objekt’s records because he’s young and hip and well connected. This isn’t “continuum” in any sense, it’s just a really good underground electro of the sort you’d be thrilled to hear Weatherall and Tenniswood play in 2001. Leisure System is a good home for it as they’re great at sidestepping trends with rock solid drug-dance tracks, and a split with Dopplereffekt makes even more sense. Love the bassline, love the cosmic chords, would be happy to hear a few less fidget-edits, but will happily listen to this a lot. (8)

Angus Finlayson: About as extraordinary as several other Objekt tracks, but measurably weepier. Phwoar, in other words. (9)

8.3

Demdike Stare – ’40 Years Under The Cosh’

Joe Muggs: You’re really spoiling us this week. Definite banger, although the claustrophobia of the piled on sounds gets too much in the last second half – if it opened out into a bit of space after that borderline ‘Doom’s Night’ delay freakout it could an absolute smasher… but then doing the obvious is not DS’s way so fair play to them. (7)

Chal Ravens: Inevitably my red rosette goes to Demdike this week, because who else makes pitch-black dance floor destroyers that sound like they formed in the Cambrian Period? It’s good to inject a little terror into the party. (8)

Angus Finlayson: In a just world this would soundtrack the dystopian club-scene in the latest gormless sci-fi blockbuster. After all, Hollywood music departments know what dubstep is now, right? And once this gets going it’s just about the grimmest fucking thing this side of the steampunk apocalypse. (7)

Josh Hall: Satisfyingly terrifying, like gradual self-immolation in cigarette-burned swaddling. (8)

7.5

Final scores:

Objekt – ‘Ganzfeld’ (8.3)
Nicki Minaj – ‘Anaconda’ (7.7)
Demdike Stare – ’40 Years Under The Cosh’ (7.5)
Lee Gamble – ‘Mimas Skank’ (7.5)
Shine & Shine ‘Pearl Drop’ (7)
Dntel – ‘If I Stay A Minute’ (5.3)