GLR’s creative services members share their thoughts on new music releases from January 2025!
“Break the BOOM! Meter” by AJ & Big Justice, AMH, and the Rizzler
Written by Brendan DiTullio
Is it a boom, or doom? AJ Befumo and his son Eric “Big Justice” Befumo are having a hell of a year. These Boca Raton boys crushed it this summer with TikTok mega-hit “We Bring the BOOM!” and rode the track's success with a plethora of family remixes and sequel song “STILL BRINGIN’ IT.” After semi-adopting a cutie patootie known as The Rizzler, it looked like nothing could bring these guys down. Their first misstep was in November with the ill-fated release of “Jingle BOOM!,” but Big AJ quickly saved face with his first-ever AEW primetime event, in which he boomed to victory with a little help from Big Justice and the Rizzler. But the Costco guys aren’t always winners. Their first track of the year, “Breaking the BOOM Meter,” is a certified doom. Featured on the track is novelty punk band AMH, who achieved TikTok fame due to their lead singer’s eerie similarities to Jack Black in both voice and appearance. This song is just hard to listen to. It’s loud, grating, and devoid of any and all of the charm of their previous tracks. However, there’s one saving grace. The Rizzler’s verse is adorable––he clears Big Justice no matter the situation. Rizzler raps “Startin’ off the year, yeah, we’re better than ever / Booms are gettin’ bigger, rhymes are ever more clever,” and for a second everything was alright. It seems like it's always two steps forward, and one step back for these Costco guys. On the BOOM! Meter, this track only gets one big boom. BOOM!
“Childlike Things” -FKA Twigs
Written by Caden Garza
In what is the most controversial song on Eusexua, FKA Twigs still reminds the listener to have fun. As the lyrics state, “Lost in a world of childlike things and fantasies”, is exactly the vibes of this song give off. The J-pop-inspired track is upbeat and catchy, a perfect break from the more adult and darker techno-inspired songs on the album. While North West singing about God in Japanese is a very interesting and questionable choice, it’s camp. The rest of the song is so well made that the worst part is uplifted, making it a funny catchy gimmick that listeners can repeat and make fun of– executing the song's point flawlessly. I’m reminded of Lil Cherry’s verse in Yves’s “Loop” or even “Karma” featuring Ice Spice, where the feature is not on par with the main artist, but you will catch me and my friends singing along to it and having a good time.
“Easter Pink” by fakemink
Written by Matt D’Andrea
The prolific fakemink (aka London’s Saviour) dropped his new single “Easter Pink” on January 17th. He departs from his typical sample-heavy cloud rap and jerk beats in favor of a poppy witch house track produced by indie sleaze producer Suzy Sheer, much to the delight of underground obsessives such as myself. In fact, the attention from this somewhat unexpected collab has brought this single to be one of fakemink’s most streamed songs at the moment - this is a notable feat amongst his many singles and has helped shed more light on the lesser-known rapper. The cover art is a photo of what appears to be someone standing in front of Virgil Abloh’s “12-inch voices” exhibit, displayed at 180 Studios in London for several months last year, indicative of fakemink’s appreciation of the designer’s work and for art exhibitions in his city. In the chorus of the song, he tells how his “Sprite like Easter pink” - a colorful description of how his soft drink of choice has been dyed by a substance such as codeine or promethazine. Despite his further insulting mentions of stealing your girl without even meaning to, the distorted square bass and twinkling lead will keep you coming back for more.
“JRJRJR” - Jane Remover
Written by Praagna Kashyap
Jane Remover is anxious to reinvent herself once again. “I might ball out on a new face, change my name, then my city,” she sings on “JRJRJR,” the first single from her upcoming album Revengeseekerz. Remover sheds the shoegaze and post-rock sounds of her previous album, Census Designated, and turns to maximalist hip-hop that mirrors her start in the digicore scene, but with more of an Opium-esque edge. Her disdain for her name and “the way it rolls off the tongue” signifies a broader struggle with fame and fandom. Over booming 808s and beat crashes, she gets honest about the difficulties of being in the public eye and how it feels to regret your old art— ““Rehearsing songs I hate in Silver Lake, trying not to cry / Then I step up off the stage and they don't know I lost my mind.” While it may seem somewhat unnatural to shift so quickly from “serious” rock music to more playful, rage-y hip-hop, Remover has made it clear that she doesn’t plan to stick to any particular genre from album to album. “JRJRJR’ provides a little insight into why Remover feels the need to undergo personal and sonic transformations, all while indicating what’s to be expected for Revengeseekerz.
“material hor$e” by horsegiirL
Written by Henry Shifrin
From German electronic artist horsegiirL’s new EP aptly titled v.i.p. – very important pony is the track “material hor$e”. This short 90-second cut features some of horsegiirL’s strongest work yet with witty lyrics behind a strong catchy beat. The track would feel just at home on a long mellow drive as it would inside the walls of a Berlin techno club. The track alludes to the identity of the project, a song about a horse, by a horse, in the mythical land of Sunshine Farms. As stated by the artist, this project's ability to unite human and horse runs deep with lyrics, like “Country life is pretty, but the city gets me lit” and “Tell me why this hay tastes so much better since I’m rich.” The beat behind this song is not as hardcore as some of horsegiirL’s other work and is much more palatable for a general audience. It contains that sort of intangible sense of virality upon first play; addictive, but somehow new as well.
“Otherside of Pain - Rock mix” by Adelitas Way
Written by Gigi Peterson
“Otherside of Pain” by Adelitas Way is a powerful song that talks about pushing through hardships and getting through struggles within our lives. With its gradual build-ups, transitioning from soft and melodic to fast and intense, the song creates a striking contrast that keeps the listener on the edge of their seat. It's definitely the type of song to listen to when trying to get through that final stretch of your workout. Or when you’re trying to get down those very last words of your essay due at 11:59 pm. The metaphors revolving around darkness used within the song support its introspective tone, highlighting the fact that we all need to go through hardships in order to see the good in the end.
“Perverts” by Ethel Cain
Written by Daniel Lopez
Something looms in the dirt. Beneath the grass, trees, and shrubs, or lack thereof– yields something dark. Sinister. Claustrophobic. Ethel Cain’s eerie title track “Perverts,” off her album Perverts, is uncompromisingly spine-chilling. It mumbles its curses towards the listener. “Heaven has forsaken the masturbator… Heaven. Heaven. Heaven.” In this world that Cain has crafted, heaven can only be seen as a distant dream. There is no salvation; only deafening silences, indecipherable dialogue, and a low, dreadful tone that bleeds throughout this twelve-minute monstrosity. Cain’s ability to induce terror in this way is undoubtedly brilliant, and yet, the sudden death concluding this track in its final breaths has left me sitting in my chair, relieved. Although, the dread of what may come next in this project leaves me masochistically wanting to plumb further into the depths.
