South Central L.A.’s Paris Texas have returned as scene veterans to drop their second ever song, “SITUATIONS”. After the first, “HEAVY METAL”, came out of nowhere to get the hype machines whirring, this track has cemented them as the unsigned underground scene saviours next big things ones to watch. The duo have carefully played their cards close to their collective chest with limited promotion and activity on social media, which I find liberating in a purist sort of way. Jimi Hendrix never had Twitter and he did all right. The sense of mystery coupled with the quality of the output has whipped up a buzz a lot of industry agents would kill for, literally. They have killed. But at the same time, these same industry types are gazing through the green fog of envy and salivating at the prospect of an exciting new group to strap hip-hop to its back and blast it out of the doldrums. Then cash in on the resulting resurgence, smart play.
“SITUATIONS” has a distinctly more new-wave feel than the more straightforward hip-hop/punk hybrid of “HEAVY METAL”. The 80s synths and drums are booted into 2021 and introduced to some weighty bass drops while rappers Louie Pastel and Felix trade up the grizzled West Coast flows to give haunting, tripped out vocal performances which become an instrument in the track rather than trying to overpower it. “SITUATIONS” comes with a music video, like the previous track, and it is top shelf product once again. Paris Texas seem to have coolly sidestepped the protocol of having a first few embarrassing songs and videos before finding their stride, instead opting to release good content from the word go. There’s a lesson in there for would-be aspiring musicians.
“Fill the tank, hit the road outta state
Gotta blow, hit the switch, detonate
I don’t got any time, time to waste
Got the juice, no I don’t concentrate
Argue with my family, that was day to day
Leave the house for the all the dreams I had to chase
Didn’t come to close, but still got shit to say
Barely listened to what Papa had to say”
The video for “SITUATIONS” finds the group animated in blocky, Playstation 2 GTA graphics, doing bits in blue boiler suits and a white van, preparing for their final battle in the desert against a tennis ball gat-wielding grim reaper, who succumbs to a frankly ostentatious shovel attack and is splattered across the screen accordingly. The video and track are completely immersive experiences, the low-fidelity visuals creating a mood to fit the general unease of the track, as well as presumably costing less than photorealistic CGI.
The tonal shift between Paris Texas’s two tracks immediately displays the kind of diversity which would have a Proud Boy pissing his confederate panties. You immediately start to wonder which further feathers the group has to its bow, and the fact that there are only 2 songs on which to form a speculation really fuels the imagination. Of the few facts we do know, we know Paris Texas have swung for 2 and skied them both. As of the time of writing, they have officially never put a foot wrong. Shouldn’t be too hard to keep that going indefinitely.
Connect with Paris Texas : Soundcloud | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | Facebook
