From Liverpool
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Second in the league table of unfairly maligned British accents behind Brummie, nothing sounds like scouse, consonants rolling around at the back of the mouth while vowels wheedle their way to the front. Delivering the accent at its most potent is rapper EsDeeKid, part of a vibrant UK rap underground going any which way after the drill years.
Lines from his latest single Phantom – “blacked out like a phantom … got girls flocking all over cos I’m young, lit and I’m handsome” – come with catarrh-loosening k’s, as if he’s gobbing the words on to the pavement; “In a kush coma, EsDeeKid fried, I’m a fookin’ stoner”, from LV Sandals, is as satisfying an opening line as you’re likely to hear this year, Merseyside musicality emanating from every word.
LV Sandals is EsDeeKid’s biggest track yet: a posse cut featuring two other new UK MCs, Fakemink and Rico Ace, each of them locking into the distorted lo-fi beat with inexorable rhythmic force. EsDeeKid and Rico Ace also link on Phantom as well as a couple of 2024 tracks: Palaces is a kind of drill/G-funk hybrid with more distinctive pronunciation (cameras is “camelers”) and a taunting sing-song hook, while Bally is as hyperstimulated as walking through a seaside arcade.
EsDeeKid boasts that he’s handsome but you can’t tell from his permanently balaclava’d face, and critics will argue that he needs to reveal a bit more of himself in his lyrics, too – across his 11 tracks so far it’s all drugs, women, designer gear and more drugs. But the way he delivers those lyrics is supremely distinctive, and as his choices of sex music (Deftones) or cocktail (Baileys with a side of ketamine) indicate, EsDeeKid is a free thinker. Ben Beaumont-Thomas
This week’s best new tracks
Fiona Apple – Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)
Apple’s first new song in five years raises awareness of the grievous impact of pre-trial incarceration on US women: “She was not convicted of anything,” she chants with cool rage over skittish percussion. LS
Molly Nilsson – Un Po’ Più Vicino al Cielo
The Swedish alt-pop star chases a feeling of limitlessness on this Italian-language single, hitting the cemetery to feel closer to the sky as gleaming piano and super-tight drums supply the romance. LS
Verraco – Basic Maneuvers
After monster releases on Voam and Timedance full of vrooming noise and squirrelly detail, the Colombian producer steps up to XL with a delirious ’ardcore track that’ll throw your sense of balance. BBT
Pupil Slicer – Heather
“We love you / It can’t be true” runs the defiant chorus from the UK metalcore trio, rejecting generically positive vibes with this seething, spasming, groove-led anthem, topped with a far-off car alarm in the chorus. BBT
Sophia Kennedy – Imaginary Friend
After her forlorn turns on label boss DJ Koze’s latest, it’s a treat to hear the Hamburg musician spread her arms wide on a glittering, propulsive pop song about mourning a fantasy. LS
Gina Birch – Causing Trouble Again
“It’s not a game, it’s my life,” the Raincoats guitarist sings on this no-wave protest song, climaxing in a cacophonous girl group-style chorus and a recitation of pop’s greatest female troublemakers. LS
Elaine Howley – Hold Me in a New Way
The Irish musician’s lo-fi songs, based around drum machines and synth chords, seem to beckon you into a damp candlelit grotto – and her latest is typically inviting as she yearns for love to soothe her. BBT
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