ADVM’s Drop New Single “Weekend”

It staggers out of the silence rather begrudgingly, but by the time it comes into focus completely, there’s something rather loveable about the broken strut of the synthetic elements sailing out of our speakers in the first moments of ADVM’s new single “Weekend.” They aren’t being backed by a bassline just yet, and the percussion hasn’t kicked in to give them a little bit of balance and footing ahead of my man’s lead vocal joining the party, but the edgy introduction they afford this single is enough to get my senses aroused and my attention turned solely towards the music in the air. ADVM’s work has had that effect on me since I first gave it a virgin listen not too long ago, and from the looks of this, the spell he has over critics isn’t going to be broken as we move into spring. 

When he’s singing, it’s as though there isn’t anything else going on in this track for us to appreciate, but this is not because of anything ADVM is specifically doing as a vocalist. We already know he can rap any verse that comes to mind – he shows us this right out of the gate here with a potency that is startling, to say the least – but he’s also stressing his melodic capacities as though his life depended on it, even when the hip-hop elements of the track come into play. He’s juggling what would be considered chainsaws for a lot of his peers, but in this single, they present no greater a trial than soft tennis balls might. 

One of the most perplexing things “Weekend” gets away with is having the sway of a classic heavy rock chest-beater and none of that legendary indulgent bass component most of us have come to associate with dance songs of any genre over the past fifty years or so. Upon closer inspection, it’s quite obvious that ADVM can pull this off by putting physicality into the other instrumental parts here and even his vocal, which ironically comes off as being a lot sharper when he’s rapping than any of the beats behind him ever could. This isn’t just a sample of what his LP is going to sound like; it’s the premise for what could become an entire artistic direction for his career. 

Stone-cold and as original as the unflappable gaze he offers in press shots, “Weekend” is ADVM doing what he does best and making a lot of his competition in the underground look and sound like amateurs this May. He sounds like he’s ready to dominate at Rolling Loud here, and while I don’t think he should rush anything in terms of creating, getting onto the tour circuit, and giving live audiences some of the panache he brings into the studio with him should be considered a top priority on his to-do list this year. We can’t get back the lost era that became the late 2010s, but with his skills, I don’t think that’s going to pose any sort of a problem. 

Mindy McCall