AS 12

Well hello again, dear readers! Has it been that long? In fact, it has – this release arrives a little tardily; not so easy to do the whole Audio Snobbery curation bit when we're all locked-down in our respective domiciles due to a global pandemic (wasn't exactly on our "things to expect in 2020" either).

Nevertheless, we soldiered on and worked out how to curate this, our most beautiful and wondrous twelfth release for you all: AS 12. Opening with Christine and The Queens' sensational La Vita Nuova from the EP of the same name (seriously, this girl is a star), we kick things off in high spirits as we take you through a few, recent pop hits we've enjoyed, also including U.S. Girls' 4 American Dollars and (Cuzomano favourite) Methyl Ethel's new Majestic AF (which is, as the song's title might suggest, majestic as fuck).

Damon Albarn's also been busy, earning him and his Gorillaz yet another appearance in an Audio Snobbery playlist with Désolé (featuring Fatoumata Diawara), and we also gave Caroline Rose a good shot for her third album, Superstar, which sadly wasn't as good as Loner, but we did like Freak Like Me.

All this music, however, was far too cheery, so we threw in some Nine Inch Nails to lift the mood, opting for the low-key (by NIN standards) Echoplex from 2008's The Slip in lieu of their latest release. Continuing the less-cheery-more-abrasive vibe, Nicolas Jaar, upon whom Cuzomano recently tripped out, also makes an appearance under the Against All Logic moniker with Faith, by far and away the strongest track from January's 2017 - 2019.

But that wasn't all we were tripping out on. With Coronavirus confining us to our cabins, hedonistic temptation can come creeping through the door and, if you were Tim Maia, it doesn't seem like there would be any hesitation in saying yes, so it's quite fitting that our own John should choose to profile the late, lovably-rotund rebel, from which comes Você E Eu, Eu E Você (Juntinhos).

The astute amongst you may notice an ever-increasing proportion of what could be deemed "new" music within our playlists, and that's certainly by design. It's all part of the plan. There is, however, still a mountain of music out there upon which to feast, leading to the latter half of our playlist's focus on some of the greatest Brazilian music out there in the form of Seu Jorge (we all flipped-out over Carolina), Gal Costa, Rita Lee and Erasmo Carlos, before we sign-off in tribute to the late, great Bill Withers, who tragically left this thing called Life last month.

If all of this isn't enough music for you, you can still while away the hours at home with our COVID-19 playlist. Wash your hands, you filthy animals.

The Snobs' Top Tracks

Seu Jorge – Carolina
U.S. Girls – 4 American Dollars
Tim Maia – Você E Eu, Eu E Você (Juntinhos)
Methyl Ethel – Majestic AF
Georgia – Started Out