Eddino Abdul Hadi Music Correspondent recommends

Music Picks: Red Dot August

Dawn Ho. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE
APPLE MUSIC RADIO. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE
Irish band Fontaines D.C.. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE
A Hero’s Death. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE
Alemay Fernandez. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE
The Chicks. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE
Gaslighter. PHOTOS: OLI SARI-GOERLACH, DANIEL TOPETE, THE CHICKS/ INSTAGRAM, APPLE, ESPLANADE

RED DOT AUGUST

The fourth week of the Esplanade's Red Dot August, a series that highlights Singaporean and Singapore-based talents, features a multi-genre mix of home-grown musicians.

Among the acts performing in online shows are electronic artist Weish and singer-songwriter Crystal Goh. They will sing tunes written by youth from Singapore Girls' Home, who took part in the Esplanade's Songwriting for Hope programme.

Also on the bill are a set by indie pop band The MadHatter Project, winners of the 2015 Noise Singapore music award, as well as an Instagram Live chat with Melbourne-based Singapore jazz singer and composer Dawn Ho.

WHERE: str.sg/JhCP WHEN: Aug 25 to 30, 8pm


APPLE MUSIC RADIO

Letting algorithms decide your music playlists on streaming services is all well and good, but sometimes, you also want human taste-makers and discerning deejays to recommend tunes to listen to.

Tech giant Apple has rebranded its flagship online radio station Beats 1 to Apple Music 1 and launched two new stations - Apple Music Hits, which plays favourites from the 1980s to 2000s, and Apple Music Country - for country music fans.

Besides seasoned radio presenters such as Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden, the stations will also feature new shows helmed by artists such as pop star Lady Gaga, rapper Travis Scott and Latin singer J Balvin.

WHERE: music.apple.com/sg/browse


POST-PUNK/GARAGE ROCK

A HERO'S DEATH

Fontaines D.C.

4 stars

Irish band Fontaines D.C. traverse the uncertainties of the modern age in their new album, A Hero's Death.

It is the follow-up to their acclaimed 2019 debut release Dogrel, which was crowned Album of the Year by BBC Radio 6 Music and British record store chain Rough Trade.

It was also nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize.

The quintet effectively dial up the gloom and expand on the post-punk palette in their sophomore outing.

"Life ain't always empty," frontman Grian Chatten sings sardonically in the title track, a dig at advertising campaigns that target humans as products.

I Was Not Born is driven by classic punk rock defiance ("I was not born/Into this world/To do another man's bidding"), while the ballad-like Sunny is sweetened by melodic backing vocals.


Remote video URL

JASS@HOME: SWINGING IN SINGAPORE

The Jazz Association Singapore Orchestra celebrates Singapore's 55th birthday with an online concert.

The line-up of acclaimed home-grown musicians who are performing includes music director Jeremy Monteiro, associate music director Weixiang Tan as well as singers Alemay Fernandez, Rudy Djoe, Melissa Tham and Shabir Tabare Alam.

The repertoire will feature jazzy renditions of songs from Singapore and South-east Asia as well as the global premiere of The Lion Roars Again, a new song by Tan.

WHERE: www.facebook.com/JazzAssociationSingapore and bit.ly/3iZX7wd WHEN: Sunday, 8pm


COUNTRY/POP

GASLIGHTER

The Chicks

3.5 stars

Gaslighter is the first album from American country trio The Chicks since they recently ditched their old name, The Dixie Chicks, which was associated with the country's slavery past.

It is also their first full album in 14 years. The songs gain a contemporary pop sheen - thanks to producer of the moment Jack Antonoff, whom the group first worked with when they appeared on Taylor Swift's 2019 tune, Soon You'll Get Better.

A large part of the 12-track album - with songs such as Gaslighter, Sleep At Night and Tights On My Boat - serves as cathartic release for lead singer Natalie Maines, who recently went through a bitter divorce from actor Adrian Pasdar.

But as they show with the relentlessly political March March, a tune that touches on issues ranging from racism to gun control, the country stalwarts are still unapologetic when it comes to standing up for their beliefs.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 21, 2020, with the headline Music Picks: Red Dot August. Subscribe