Single Takes (Pantha du Prince, Build to Spill, Sonic Boom, Bishop Nehru ft. MF Doom, Mark Lanegan)

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.

Josh 6/10

Generally more a of a fan of Pantha du Prince’s wall of ambient sound, so was a little taken aback by the vocals that sound more than a little like Anohni’s pleading croon. A cool song, but not sure it’s one I’ll be coming back to much. It must be mentioned that the video is a trip. 

Jon 6/10

A nice piece of slickly produced, moody electronic chamber pop. Vocals remind me a bit of Antony Hegarty. Cool video.   

Adam 5/10

Vocals reminded me of a tamer Scott Walker but track didn’t suck me in completely. Very cool video though.

Adam 8/10

There’s something about Built To Spill that makes them a perfect fit for the Daniel Johnston catalog. Love this.

Jon 7/10

Built To Spill have always been a band that I was aware of but kind of missed in their prime. I’ve seen them live, heard a few albums, but kind of feel like I have only ever scratched the surface but never felt a busing desire to do more. I like this track but it seems pretty solidly middle of the road indie rock though it’s got some interesting guitar work that’s easy to miss. I can’t really explain why this is a 7 and the last one is a 6 but it feels right. 

Josh 8/10

I love, love, love that Built to Spill are doing a whole album of Daniel Johnston covers. BtS have that mix of genius and fuzzy edges that make them a perfect vehicle for these songs. This song and video are charming in a way that I hope bleeds over into the whole album, which I am very excited to dive into. 

Josh 8/10

Sometimes I think about how fate is a weird animal. When Spaceman 3 broke up, the betting money was that Sonic Boom would be the giant star and J. Spaceman would be second fiddle. While Sonic Boom has carved out a solid career (especially as a producer), J. Spaceman’s Spiritualized has developed a level of fame that even their original band didn’t hit. It’s weird. But as always, Sonic Boom is doing cool stuff on this song and video, rolling through a fuzzy, trippy journey that equally  references pysch pop and krautrock. 

Jon 7/10

A nice spacey dream-pop meets Kraftwerk kind of vibe to this. I can dig it. 

Adam 7/10

Great pleasant, simple track from Sonic Boom to zone out to.

Jon 5/10

Feels like very vintage DOOM production and Nehru is clearly a talented rapper but it lacks something – it just kind of seems to land soft. 

Josh 7/10

Love this animated video that perfectly matches the vibe of the song. Is it a “paint by numbers” version of MF Doom where he produces, raps and brings along the next generation in what sounds like classic era Doom? Of course, but is that such a bad thing? 

Adam 7/10

Pretty classic DOOM sounding track all the way through. Would be interested in how the album goes.

Jon 4/10

Lanegan’s growl usually contains enough gravitas to carry even a lackluster song but in this case it doesn’t seem up to the task

Josh 3/10

I love Mark Lanegan. I love drum machines and synths. But sometimes things are just oil and water. This is one of those times. I will note his work with Soulsavers proved this combo can work, but in this case it just don’t land. 

Adam 4/10

Liked the synth lines but Lanegan’s voice didn’t really always match to the track well