Summer's just around the corner, so you might be expecting us to pack this month's edition of Now Playing with nothing but sun-soaked pop bangers and throwaway feel-good tunes. Or maybe you like to think that we have abandoned our test rooms altogether and run off to catch some rays, downing tools as we enjoy some volleyball on the beach, saving the testing of that new pair of floorstanders for a rainy autumn day.
Well, you're wrong on both counts. The testing grind never stops, and nor does our quest to find the best tracks for doing so. This month's list is as broad and varied as ever, with a little bit of Slipknot here and a touch of Portishead there, peppered with hints of '90s nostalgia and a big slice of lunar loveliness courtesy of Clint Mansell's Moon soundtrack.
Hey, you can't take your hi-fi system to the beach. Sunny weather? What sunny weather? Get back inside and keep listening!
- Listen to our Now Playing playlist on Tidal
Moon OST by Clint Mansell
There are many remarkable things about the sci-fi film Moon from 2009: directorial debut of Duncan Jones (David Bowie’s son); a compelling, thoughtful story that deals with what it means to be human; Sam Rockwell’s incredibly personable, emotive, affecting performance. And then there’s the music.
Clint Mansell’s stark but impactful compositions go hand in hand with the film’s equally stark visuals, as they tackle the desolation and loneliness of being in space. The soft, minimal piano composition underpinning the title track (Welcome to Lunar Industries) is at turns gentle and ominous; these are soundscapes that echo the monotonous and mechanical labours of Sam’s daily humdrum life alongside the vast, unknowable mysteries of space.
There are repetitive motifs that are hypnotic and unsettling, discordant and melodic: I’m Sam Bell, Too… ratchets up the tension as the film’s central horror unfolds, while Are You Receiving? plunges you into deep silence with only some haunting notes reverberating around you.
This is a stunning soundtrack to enjoy on a system that offers a wide, expansive stage for the minimalist music to flourish, not to mention keeping a firm handle on the timing and dynamics to immerse you in the nail-biting, melancholic atmosphere. It’s a haunting, captivating soundtrack with such a delicate, emotional pull – simply gorgeous.
Words by Kashfia Kabir
What Was That by Lorde
I’m a huge fan of Lorde’s 2017 electronic pop masterpiece Melodrama; so when I heard a snippet of What Was That teased on TikTok a few weeks ago, I was immediately intrigued. Lorde's new track, her first solo release since her 2021 album Solar Power, has been highly anticipated, and while I don’t believe it's her strongest song lyrically, it’s still an undisputed banger.
While it starts low-key, the track quickly gives way to an infectious, grungy synth baseline, juxtaposing the electronic atmospheric effects and Lorde’s raw, emotive vocals nicely. The track is brimming with angst, and though it retreads her retrospective style of teenage instability, it still manages to sound energetic and fresh.
What Was That acts as the lead single for her new album titled Virgin, set to release next month, and I am eagerly waiting to find out if we have a worthy Melodrama sequel on our hands here.
Words by Lewis Empson
In This Diary by The Ataris
If you're old enough to have grown up watching The OC, One Tree Hill or any of the multitude of rip-off shows that followed, then chances are you have heard at least one or two of The Ataris’ songs – even if you don’t know it.
As a millennial who falls into that camp, I have a soft spot for the band, which provided many of the bangers that contributed to the soundtrack of my teenage and early university years.
In fact, most of the songs from the group's 2003 album So Long, Astoria, still have the heart icon ticked on my Tidal account.
This week, whether it’s an imminently approaching milestone birthday, the fact I realised The OC is free on ITVX, or general nostalgia, I found myself re-listening to the acoustic cut of In This Diary.
Will it race to the top of our best hi-fi test tracks list? Not a chance. But I love it, over-the-top emo-overtones and all.
I have no shame admitting I’ve spent a good amount of time nodding along to its increasingly resonant line: “being grown up, isn’t half as fun as growing up,” over the past month. So true.
Words by Alastair Stevenson
Buy So Long, Astoria on Amazon
Left Behind by Slipknot
A little like our old favourites System of a Down, Slipknot are surprisingly effective for testing your hi-fi and headphones. It’s hardly the first name to spring to mind when someone says the phrase “audiophile’s dream”, nor are you likely to hear Psychosocial blasting out from the halls of a high-end hi-fi show, but Corey Taylor and co. shouldn’t be excluded from your setup’s weekly workout routine.
Left Behind makes for a great sampler, partly because there’s a lot of textural density and musical meat to be found within the track’s multi-layered instrumentation (there are nine band members, by the way) and partly because it’s a tune with a very particular and identifiable sound.
This is Slipknot at their rawest and most anthemic, evidencing that hard, industrial sound – clanking percussion, dirty guitars and powerful vocals – that was to become their sonic signature.
You can spend your time trying to pick out whether late drummer Joey Jordison sounds like he’s hitting his marks with appropriate dexterity or if a given bass passage is revealed with sufficient agility, but aficionados will be able to play Left Behind for the sum of ten seconds and know immediately if a system has captured its hard-edged, intimidating intensity.
Words by Harry McKerrell
Adrenaline Addict by Suicidal Tendencies
If you know them, you love them. At least that’s my experience as a die-hard Suicidal Tendencies fan since I discovered them in the mid-90s.
The iconic punk band has its fingers in many pies, being loved by funk-punk aficionados, skaters, and thrash metal fans alike. Their first single in six years, Adrenaline Addict, is a great example of why they are so adored.
The chaotic, genre-jumping track mixes the high-energy punk vocals for which Mike Muir is famous, with a high-octane scoop sound bass line that interlinks with a thrash-metal lead guitar part to great effect.
For those willing to give it time, or who are generally more adventurous, it's a blissfully obtuse track that strikes all the right chords to delight established fans while offering enough meaty hooks for newbie listeners to get their teeth into.
If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, the band currently has an all-star lineup. Ben Weinman (of The Dillinger Escape Plan fame) is alongside Dean Pleasants on guitar, with Tye Trujillo (son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo) on bass and Jay Weinberg on drums.
Words by Alastair Stevenson
Glory Box by Portishead
If you didn’t know by now, Portishead’s Dummy is a perennial favourite for music lovers and hi-fi tinkerers alike. It’s a titan of the trip-hop genre, so much so that we’ve got our own pristine vinyl copy on standby in our test rooms just waiting to give the next hopeful spinner a sonic evaluation. Like Massive Attack’s Mezzanine or Radiohead’s Kid A, it’s very much test-room royalty.
We could have been using any number of Dummy’s tracks during our recent testing forays, but Glory Box is always a reliable favourite for making a host of assessments whenever a new deck enters the arena.
The track’s sensual, ethereal tone comes through particularly well on vinyl, provided you have a player capable of bringing out such qualities, and so often you’ll find yourself mesmerised by Beth Gibbons’ seductive delivery as she switches between old-school jazz crooning and effusive rock wails.
Words by Harry McKerrell
Up is Down by Hans Zimmer
If a full-length love letter to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and their accompanying soundtracks was too much to handle, maybe a smaller appraisal of a single track might be a touch more palatable.
I’ve used Up Is Down pretty much since my first days at What Hi-Fi?, and while I have discovered many go-to favourites on the job, I haven’t found many tracks that have surpassed it for testing several key elements.
A “rollicking orchestral semi-shanty that’s as good as pretty much anything in Mr Zimmer's bulging back catalogue” (to quote...myself), only the finest systems will be able to keep up with those colossal dynamic swings and undulating rhythmic switches.
If you’re not using Up is Down in your test arsenal, it's time to walk the plank, matey.
Words by Harry McKerrell
Buy Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End OST on Amazon
Chokehold Cherry Python by Ashnikko
This high-octane track is an excellent genre-bending mix of electronic pop and emo, portraying a blood-thirsty protagonist set on revenge.
Ashnikko uses a combination of snarling vocals and fast-paced bass in the chorus, making it a great test of whether the lower frequencies can make the right amount of impact.
The lyrics are kept simple, with the lines “I’m a tickin’, tickin’, tickin’ timebomb / Like a villain die an icon” repeated for most of the song, building from a simple heavy bass to overlaying vocals and an even more intense overall sound.
For fans of the animated show Arcane, this all might sound quite a lot like the kind of song the talented yet erratic villain Jinx would jam out to. No spoilers for those who are yet to watch the series (I highly recommend you do that if you haven’t, by the way), but Ashnikko actually wrote this track with Jinx in mind and even sent it to the studio for the show.
Even though it did not make it into the series itself, Chokehold Cherry Python really captures that heart-pumping feeling of anger and vengeance.
Words by Robyn Quick
As a collective, our review team listens to a lot of music. Sometimes we rely on old favourites with which we're familiar, but we are always discovering new tracks – be they fresh releases or just songs we haven't encountered before – that give us key insights into new products we are trying out.
We also know that plenty of our readers are on the lookout for new tunes, either to assess the capabilities of a new system or simply to show off the full talents of their established hi-fi set-up. That's why we have come up with our monthly 'Now Playing' playlist, a rundown of everything we've been listening to and loving recently, whether at home with a set of headphones or at work in our fabulous test rooms.
Each instalment will bring you a handful of tracks chosen by our reviews team, detailing why we love them and what they bring out of certain products, so even if you're not looking for new tunes to play on your system, we hope you find something you'll love no matter how you choose to listen to it.
We're always on the lookout for new music, so drop a comment below to share what you have been listening to!
MORE:
Read last month's edition: seven test tracks that have been playing on repeat in the What Hi-Fi? test rooms
These are the best audiophile headphones for getting the most out of your music
Check out our ultimate test tracks collection
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