I’ve been following London-based alternative folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who goes by the artistic name of Art Block for three years, and have featured him a number of times on this blog. A prolific artist who creates hauntingly beautiful music, he’s released an impressive number of singles, EPs and remixes since early 2015. His most recent work was a three-track EP White Horses, which I reviewed this past September, and the deeply moving title track “White Horses” takes over the top spot on my latest Weekly Top 30. The gorgeous piano-driven song was produced, mixed and engineered with Moog synthesizers by William Robertson aka Wheeliemix, who also played the subtle bass, Art Block played piano and sang vocals, and the gentle drums were played by Raphael Bouchara. 

In addition to beautiful melodies and captivating arrangements, a defining aspect of Art Block’s songs are his incredibly emotive vocals, which convey a deep sense of pain and sorrow. On “White Horses”, he nearly breaks our hearts. He says the song “was inspired by a beautiful place in England, but also by the attack in Mariupol Ukraine which was in the news, where I imagined I was going through the devastation there. Perhaps ‘White Horses’ is a metaphor for something else, greater, perhaps mystical or mysterious? The place I visited in England certainly had a mystical feel even though the White Horse itself etched into a hill was not ancient.” His lyrics are poetic and deep, touching on the terrifying randomness of death and suffering: “We bear our own cross. And the people may wonder why God’s left them alone? The wind is burning. There’s so much smoke cos’ you’re coughing up blood now. The poem has ceased. And the soil is all over me, I’m six feet deep.“

In other chart news this week, “Unholy” by Sam Smith, featuring Kim Petras, enters the top 10 at #10, while the lone debut, entering at #30, is the beautiful “Backpatters and Shooters” by British indie rock band The Zangwills (which I featured last month in a Fresh New Tracks post).

1. WHITE HORSES – Art Block (2)
2. SNAP – Rosa Linn (1)
3. SPIT OF YOU – Sam Fender (6)
4. CREST OF THE WAVE – Foals (7)
5. TONIGHT – Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (8)
6. SEX, DRUGS, ETC. – Beach Weather (4)
7. PARTY4ONE – dwi (3)
8. WEIRD GOODBYES – The National featuring Bon Iver (10)
9. THESE ARE THE DAYS – Inhaler (5)
10. UNHOLY – Sam Smith featuring Kim Petras (11)
11. I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – The 1975 (12)
12. THIS IS WHY – Paramore (13)
13. OFFCUTS – Mount Famine (16)
14. SHADOWS IN THE DARK – The Star Crumbles (17)
15. ANTI-HERO – Taylor Swift (18)
16. SAIL AWAY – lovelytheband (19)
17. I LIKE YOU (A HAPPIER SONG) – Post Malone & Doja Cat (9)
18. OUT OF MY SYSTEM – Louis Tomlinson (20)
19. LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – Crystal Cities (21)
20. NIGHT BUS – Caitlin Lavagna (22)
21. BAD HABIT – Steve Lacy (14)
22. EDGING – Blink-182 (24)
23. THEN IT ALL GOES AWAY – Dayglow (25)
24. TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather (26)
25. DANCE FOR ME – Sam Rappaport (27)
26. DISORDER – Columbia (28)
27. THE LONELIEST – Måneskin (30)
28. CRACKER ISLAND – Gorillaz featuring Thundercat (15)
29. SISTERS – pMad (23)
30. BACKPATTERS AND SHOOTERS – The Zangwills (N)