On November 12th, the world received some phenomenal music, including Silk Sonic’s debut self-titled album and Taylor Swift’s reworking of RED. In addition to the heavy-hitters, there was amazing music being released by those on the come-up. The one that stood out most to me was the new single from “London-based alt-pop artist and producer” s.g.cackle. Covering the heavy subjects of “internet addiction, creepy old men, pronography, and trauma from the perspective of his preteen self,” “bait+switch” hits hard and mixes hip-hop with hyper-pop in a way that can’t be understated.
The instrumental sounds like a Melanie Martinez beat. There’s a childish innocence in the driving synth (probably because it sounds a bit like a xylophone), the groove is separated into two sets of three and a two instead of a straight eight, and the beat switch at the end reminds me a little of Martinez’s debut album, Cry Baby. While the guitar in the second beat initially feels disjointed, I think that can be interpreted as the point of the song: the beat gets you into one space before completely switching to another, thus completing the titular “bait+switch.”
All in all, this is an incredible track from s.g.cackle, and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here. Check out “bait+switch” below, and let us know what you think in the comments! This track is a memorable one, for sure.