Oculate UK: This Week In Music

The sun is shining, it's Easter weekend - Friday and Monday off work? Happy days! Question is, what sonic delight are you planning to treat your weary ears with? After listening to insert name here from work banging on about absolute nonsense for the last 4 days, you deserve to hear something special.

Oculate is here to help! As we've spent our time combing through the slurry of muck shot out onto streaming platforms each week, to find the real diamonds in the dirt. That's right, the very best music of the week is here, rounded-up in a playlist, an Instagram post, and even a blog full of witty remarks for those keen on finding out more from our wound-up wordsmiths, who are just brimming with music-based opinions.

We've got BXKS proving why she's the best of the new school, Barry Can't Swim showering us with shimmering soundscapes, JID reminding us why his pen is unmatched, and a whole lot more...

Welcome to This Week In Music.

BXKS - Flashing Lights

The grip a new BXKS track has on my mood deserves to be studied. So naturally, we're striking while the iron's hot following the release of her latest single Flashing Lights yesterday. Hard-hitting head-boppers are the Luton underground titan’s speciality, with this latest offering being no exception. Following on from her fast-paced collaboration with Irish riser Travy last month, in ‘Flashing Lights’ - produced by El Londo and TSB - BXKS keep her cool under pressure as she delivers her bars with a signature calm precision we can’t get enough of.

Barry Can't Swim - Kimpton

Barry Can't Swim, but he knows how to make some bloody good music. His newest offering, Kimpton, feels rich, textured and emotive. There's ascending vocals, punctuating percussion and an infectious energy to this. Made alongside fellow producer O'Flynn, I can vividly imagine this as a set ender at a summer festival. Just writing this out makes me want to be there now.

JID - WRK

Coming in hard and heavy on his latest release and first solo single in three years, Atlanta mainstay JID is commanding all eyes on him, and we are most definitely watching. With some peak 2010s nostalgia, sprinkled with all the aura and ‘give a f*ck energy’ of the scene’s favourite female, rap royalty Megan Thee Stallion, Glorilla and beyond, JID’s return on WRK is nothing if not an exhilarating surprise. Close your eyes while you give this one a listen, as rumour has it you can quite literally see JID sharpening his pen for a new and explosive chapter and one that we’re undeniably buckled in for.

Chip - Grime Scene Saviour

Chip. The name synonymous with Grime Scene Saviour. His new album of this name is a crowning moment of the Grime renaissance he's played an important role in. After years of experimenting with different genres, over the last 12 months he's gone right back to his roots. This writer recently caught his set at Outernet, where he brought out Skepta, JME, Big Narstie, P Money and many more veterans, as well as the newer-gen in the form of RB and Novelist. It felt like a very special moment in time, as the energy grime encapsulates was brought right up to the present. If you want to bask in that energy, press play on Chip's new album and enjoy. This writer will certainly be doing so this weekend.

Artemas - i guess you never really cared about me

Pay attention to Artemas. The breakout star has been steadily dropping a slew of hits with provoking lyrics and impactful production. i guess you never really cared about me is a heady rock-fuelled banger, featuring the outta pocket lines we've come to love from the young star. This man really knows how to make a hit. We see him as pegged for excellence, and he's well on his way with brilliant songs such as this. Just maybe don't play it during family dinner this weekend, or you might find yourself on the end of some disapproving looks from older family members!

MRCY - Wandering Attention

What MRCY do well is balance. They’re nostalgic but modern, polished but still raw, self-aware but not cynical. The chemistry is real, and it shows. If VOLUME 1 was about introducing the duo, the upcoming VOLUME 2 is about expanding the frame. What we've heard so far is more direct, more layered, more confident. Wandering Attention is sultry and soulful; it highlights the duos very best qualities. This is music in the truest sense.

JERUB - Deeper

JERUB is a star in the making. There's no two ways about it. Listen to the power of his voice in the stadium-oriented tracks he readily releases. It's a matter of when, not if. His newest offering Deeper will hit you right in the feels, as JERUB proclaims "I will love you deeper". The velvety richness of his voice will have you wishing the damn song was about you! A very special talent indeed.

Reuben Aziz - me + me

Now back with his latest single me + me, Reuben Aziz returns once again, offering equal opportunity to all the UK sonics that have had our playlists in a very firm (yet entirely worthy) chokehold. Come rain or shine, rap or R&B, the 22-year-old rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer is someone you can trust to masterfully bridge the gap. Enlisting the help of rising rapper Backroad Gee on ‘me + me’, Reuben takes care of the track’s yearning melodies, once again proving his virtuosic ability to tug on a few heartstrings.

AMARIA BB - All Of You

Toxic love explored over an R&B-Dancehall fusion? Yeah this one slaps. All Of You need to turn this one up loud. AMARIA BB pours out emotion, gets you thinking about love, and creates an immaculate vibe here. This is rumoured to be the first offering from an upcoming project, and if this is what we can expect more of, it's going to be absolutely fantastic.

Glizz - BELLY

Man, Glizz has been on a crazy run. I'm pretty sure he still hasn't missed?? But his new one, BELLY, has hit harder than most. The visual teasers Glizz loves to entice fans with have been stepped up for release of this, seemingly in order to properly do it justice. With his unique vocal inflection he details straight greaze over skipping production, with standout lines around every corner. His last track before this was called Inconsistent, yet Glizz has proved again that he's one of the most consistent in the scene.

Lizzie Berchie - Company

Ahh, we love Lizzie Berchie. Her voice is simply sublime and her songwriting is precious. Company is a melting R&B love song with an instrumental to die for. This is a proper pour a glass of wine, light a candle and feel the stress fade away type beat. She has consistently delivered, with a back catalogue of excellence and one eye on the future, what she does next will surely be brilliant.

Goldlink - METATRON

Bouncing heads are an unavoidable consequence of Goldlink's METATRON. The DC rapper finds exquisite pockets on this one, slotting between the buoyant hip-hop-meets-dance production. It's a fervent, bright track that showcases some top-notch lyricism. It's a windows down, volume up banger - happy listening folks!

Check out all the above, and some honourable mentions, in the playlist below:

List curated by Matt Sharp, Amalia Castle and Liam Tyler.