Do I hear grime supergroup?
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[5.29]
Will Adams: If I heard this in a club, I would alternate between fist-bumping to Ms. D’s hook and laughing at all the fools who, like Wiley, Skepta, and JME, were awkwardly skanking around the party, explaining their jewelry to undoubtedly uninterested women, and moaning about not being able to Tweet a picture of the proceedings. But was this really meant to be a vehicle for schadenfreude?
[5]
Anthony Easton: Love the ayayayas here — onomatopoeic sound of the year? A few good lines, a solid growl here or there, some interesting reported details, doesn’t hang together or move towards an apex as much as it could, but all of those are forgiven for the chorus.
[7]
Alfred Soto: A percussive loop at the 1:50 mark, with the ayayayas fading to black, is the sort of impressiveness that I want to see on a Bieber track. The steel drum intro isn’t bad either. The Wiley rap is pure Cancun Hilton Hotel poolside band though.
[4]
Jonathan Bogart: That steel-drum opening is so great that the fact that the track turns into generic bosh is more disappointing than usual. Bonus for a middle eight that scrambles expectations, but while the hype is a lot of fun, it could stand to sound a lot less like Calvin Harris.
[6]
Brad Shoup: The chorus is a null item, as is the steel drum approximation, but the details are great: the Jesus piece that’s actually JME; the telephone chain that gets everyone in; JME’s reluctant, sober attendance. Actually, no one from Ms. D on out really seems that thrilled to be in public, but the reportage is much appreciated.
[6]
Pete Baran: There is something about Wiley’s flow which is starting to sound very samey to me, and I wonder if he has also realised it, because as on “Heatwave” he is a bit player on his own track. But there is an interesting bit of reverse engineering here: Wiley, JME and Skepta are the guest rappers on a fake Shakira song — but it’s actually a Wiley track. It’s not a bad fake Shakira song, but the focus is lost in all the guest verses which aren’t all guest verses. Six for the fake Shakira, minus one for conceptual confusion.
[5]
Iain Mew: Technically, this is vastly superior to “Heatwave”. Ms. D’s chorus sounds like a powered up version of that one and actually fits into its surroundings, and Wiley actually sounds like he’s spent more than a few seconds coming up with his verses. Problem is, he’s not that impressive, caught at an awkward half-way between his previous modes and almost disappearing as a result. The way that in “Heatwave” he embraced stupidity and its obvious half-arsed nature actually ended up really charming. The only charm in “Can You Hear Me” is provided by the guest players: JME, sober, girls around him, acting like he’s drunk and having a good time, and Skepta paying tribute to him via jewellery.
[4]