5 Seconds of Summer

April 13, 2018

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Wahoo! We’re back in action, folks. Please accept my apologies for the unannounced spring break last week, but I think not having an update last week is going to make the letter this week that much sweeter to enjoy.
I’ve got five incredible tracks that’re gonna knock your socks off. Not to set your expectations too high or anything… but you should brace yourself. I'm not accepting responsibility for any burnt eyebrows.
Oh, and the New Music Friday Selects this week is a laundry list of tunes for you to check out from the past two weeks. Grab your headphones – it looks like Friday the 13th is going to be a wild ride.

As always, I hope these songs inspire you to check out more music by these artists, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard before!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“Just A Stranger” - Kali Uchis feat. Steve Lacy | It’s with great delight to share the absolute best song to be released this month. Columbian-American singer Kali Uchis has a steadily growing, devoted fan base and a Latin Grammy nod under her belt, and her debut album Isolation dropped last Friday. Her vibe is heavily influenced by doowop, reggae,  and R&B, and she’s already worked with music heavyweights: Snoop Dogg, Gorillaz, Juanes, Lana Del Rey, Major Lazer, and a handful of other recognizable artists. For “Just A Stranger,” Kali links up with Steve Lacy (of The Internet acclaim) for a deliciously funky bop. Not to get totally obnoxious music blogger on y’all, but it sounds a bit like Billie Holiday with a blunt on the way to the beach riding down the 10 freeway with the convertible top down.This song sounds especially good over car speakers. Listen here

“Evil” - Ruthven | [checks calendar] Well, well, well. Look at the month -- it’s JAIPRIL, aka the month in which musicheads tiptoe around the idea of reclusive music producer Jai Paul actually releasing a debut album after an unfinished (but absolutely solid and highly influential) album informally leaked on the internet. The album was promised in April 2014, nearly 4 years ago to the date, but the entire project was scrapped, and Jai Paul has since kept under the radar – until late last year. “Evil” is one of two songs first released from the Paul Institute, an experimental music project based in London started by Jai and his brother, fellow megaproducer A.K. Paul. I slipped “Evil” into the new music Friday selects section in December, but my pal Amanda brought this back to my attention a couple weeks ago and I’ve fallen in love with it all over again. The throwback production is insane, hoisting a tinny two-step hi-hat. Ruthven is allegedly a firefighter from Lewisham, but deep down I want to believe the Paul Bros have actually broken the Jaipril void and quietly released a bop under the guise of a fictional vampire’s name. Listen here

“Bittersweet” - Only Girl | South London’s Only Girl first released “Bittersweet” in 2014, but has since grown into her voice, and re-released the serene track last week. The song builds on waves of her harmonies, gently rolling through waves in a a bay. Listen here

“911” - Mt. Si | A little over a year ago I plucked a Mt. Si track onto the weekly picks. Like the previous Mt. Si track, "911" ignites a luminous, glistening mood best served for night drives. I'm a sucker for mountains of reverb and a dope saxophone solo. Listen here

“Ride With Me” - Thutmose | Theeeeee hottest record out there you haven’t bumped yet. Holy, holy, holy -- “Ride With Me” is fucking perfect. After two spins, you'll already be humming along to the hook. If iHeartRadio didn't control Top 40 radio, "Ride With Me" would already be rolled out and destined to be a summertime hit. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

  • For those of you reading and consider yourself a pop music fan and happen to not be indulging in K-Pop, I must ask: what the hell is stopping you? How are you ignoring an entire market that is flushed with enough cash to produce excessive, elaborate music videos and promotional photo shoots with ten different wardrobes… and the pop stars themselves? Trained literally as if they are Olympic athletes, and paired up with the most left field, experimental pop producers in the industry. For a while a lot of the K-pop machine sounded a little too off kilter, but with the rise of alt-pop pioneers Robyn, Grimes, Charli XCX, and more, it’s clear western pop is starting to be heavily influenced by Eastern pop’s saccharine hyper-reality, the obsession with commodify-ing every aspect of popular culture to the point they’re labeling their stars as Idols…. Okay, so maybe I’ve freaked you the hell out. But there is a point I’m getting to here, but I have to start a new bullet:
  • This week CBX, a sub-unit made up of three members from K-pop super group EXO, released a new mini-album, Blooming Days. Each of the 7 songs are based around a day of the week. Visually: it’s soft boys with pastel hair, swimming in flower petals and Dior Homme, but still managing to look very Lost Boys-esque with the choppy haircuts and dangling earrings. I can’t imagine the amount of youths having a sexual awakening with this content. Anyhow: I’ve been waxing poetic with one particular friend of mine all damn week about it, spending nearly every moment not at work looping this album, and we've both declared it the EMOTION (yes, Jeppo's 2015 critically acclaimed pop masterpiece) of K-pop. It’s a sizzling summer album laced with neo-80s inspired hooks and beats. Blooming Days is just campy enough, just sweet enough, and still manages to not be ridiculously juvenile. While all 7 tracks are great, my top two favorite tracks are “Vroom Vroom” (Friday) and “Lazy” (Sunday). Readers who consider themselves pop purists have got to pencil in some time to listen to this album. Listen here and feast your eyes on the soft grunge “Blooming Day” music video right here
  • Janelle Monae has released another pop masterpiece, this time a pussy power anthem aptly titled “Pynk” and featuring dulcet harmonies with Grimes. The video has unleashed a second wave of questioning young women to come forward and declare “wow, I’m gay as hell,” after seeing Janelle gently caress Tessa Thompson’s face that’s very clearly between two lips–anyway, you get the gist Watch here
  • RCA threw Tinashe a bone and finally let her release her second album Joyride Listen here
  • Drake sampled Lauryn Hill who sampled Wu Tang who sampled Gladys Knight to foster one of the greatest onions of music history in decades for his latest single “Nice For What” Listen here
  • Lord help us: Gallant’s beautiful ass has shared a new song and video for "Gentleman" Watch here
  • Other K-Pop legends Super Junior released an entire album, but the highlight here is their lead single “Lo Siento” featuring the delightful Domincan-American Latin pop star Leslie Grace. It’s in Korean! Then it’s in Spanish! Then it’s in English! Then it’s in Spanglish! “Lo Siento” is fire Watch here and listen here
  • Princess Nokia got a whole ass EP out! Listen here
  • The new 5 Seconds of Summer single “Youngblood” somehow passed by my ears and since they’ve dropped the pop punk sound for more mature rock songs, I was pleasantly surprised. You will feel that, too Listen here
  • cmd+f alumnus Hatchie released a sinfully sweet new single, “Sugar & Spice”  Listen here
  • Nicki Minaj is back with two new songs: “Barbie Tingsz” and “Chun-Li” Listen here and listen here
  • CHVRCHES share the desperately lonely, crowd stomper “Miracle” Listen here
  • ALMA has remixed Years & Years’ “Sanctify” meaning she’s jumped on the track to add a verse Listen here
  • Kylie Minogue served us an entire album last Friday, and it’s perfectly fun Listen here
  • Everyone has been bumping Cardi B’s debut album Invasion of Privacy all week, so if you haven’t yet: GET ON IT Listen here
  • Billie Eilish recorded a new COLORS session last week Watch here

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A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.

Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.

New month, new playlist! If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my April 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!

See you next week!

February 23, 2018

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Hello, hello.

There is one important detail I must address before going into this week’s picks: last week I selected Kim Petras’ pop bop “Heart to Break” without considering to research the production team behind the jam. After publishing the letter, it was brought to my attention that she is a frequent collaborator with none other than Dr. Luke. Yes, that Dr. Luke. It’s a bit upsetting to discover the art you enjoy is associated with a vile reputation. While in pop music, a bop is a bop. Many argue to separate the art from the artist, but as consumers we have a socially conscious obligation to think about the origins of things we consume. I applaud Kim for smashing through the pop music landscape and paving the way for the transgender community, I must say I’m a little hurt to discover “Heart to Break” was produced by Dr. Luke. It is hardly a surprise considering Dr. Luke has produced some of the biggest Top 40 hits in the last decade. I hope Kim is able to eventually navigate through the pop landscape without him in the long run.

Now that I’ve laid that out, let’s swing into this new week! I try my hardest to pick artists across different genres in hopes there is something for everyone, and this week I think I may have succeeded. Hopefully these five tunes inspire you to check out more music by these artists, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard before!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“Cigarette” - RAYE feat. Mabel, Stefflon Don | When this song popped up on my radar, I figured the song would be good before I even pressed play. My expectations were upstaged from the drop of the first note. The song dives straight into the hook, an earworm over syncopated electronic steel drums. While the lyrics are mad corny (they laud about being as addictive as a cigarette), it’s Rihanna-level corny. You know what I’m talking about – song is still so damn good that the lyrics don’t matter and you’re bopping a third of the way through. “Cigarette” is the best tune I’ve heard all damn month. Listen here

“Karma” - Thutmose feat. Alex Mali | I stumbled upon this track via a different Alex Mali song I was forwarded last month. Thuthmose is a Nigerian-born rapper from Brooklyn who gained some attention last year for a freestyle over Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” beat. While Alex Mali is a skilled rapper herself, rapping takes the backseat for “Karma” and instead she contributes to the sweet, melodic verse. This track is chill as hell. Listen here

“Gentle Frame” - Thunderpussy | Thunderpussy truly are a diamond in the muff (pun courtesy of their Spotify biography). Hailing from my adopted city of Seattle (that I miss so dearly), these ladies are tearing up music venues from coast to coast. Having landed a major label deal late last year, the foursome have dropped their new EP Greatest Tits (truly impeccable pun-mensip) today, and “Gentle Frame” is oozing with confidence and sex appeal. 12/10 recommend headbanging your way through this chorus. Listen here

“The Times I’m Not There” - NE-HI feat. Jamila Woods | What happens when the coziest garage band on the block teams up with a flawless neo-Soul singer? You get the compelling union of “The Times I’m Not There” by Chicago’s very own NE-HI and Jamila Woods. When separating the body of work produced by both acts, the collaboration sounds like it wouldn’t work. Between NE-HI’s fuzzy, low-fi guitar plucks cascading under Jamila’s velvety harmonies, the tune sounds like pure sunshine (despite lyrically not being a happy song). Listen here

“Word of Mouth” - Metroplane feat. Bree Runway | This last one is an insane wildcard. It’s a chaotic gay club dancefloor filler, woven with motorized barbershop quartet “bops” looming in the background like a demon possessed an episode of Glee. If you haven’t pressed play on this song just yet, and are a bit scared to even consider listening to it, I cannot stress to you how fucking fun this song is to dance to. The power vocals served by Bree Runway which she calls out her ex for being caught cheating and flawlessly cuts the bullshit. Truly inspiring. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

  • JANELLE MONÁE!!! If you can only stomach one piece of New Music Friday News today, it’s the fact that Janelle has dropped not one, but TWO songs with music videos today. For those who have listened to her single “Make Me Feel,” all can agree she received Prince’s blessings for this masterpiece. This is the tune that’s got everyone hyped up. Not to mention J serves some serious, blinged out,1980s neon bisexual visuals Watch here

  • I did not forget to link you the second Janelle video for “Django Jane” Watch here

  • If you thought I’d go another week without mentioning a K-Pop artist: you were wrong. Queen BoA, one of THE biggest solo artists in the Asian music market, has dropped a new mini album One Shot, Two Shot, and it’s fucking fantastic start to finish. Highly recommended for my pop music purists out there. Standout track for me is “Everybody Knows.” Listen here

  • Oh, and BoA goes full on Rihanna (luring men to their demise) in her new music video for “One Shot, Two Shot” Watch here

  • Este Haim of HAIM was embarrassingly drunk at the BRIT awards this week and made headlines after being caught on live TV acting really foolish while Cheryl (Cole) was being interviewed. In the aftermath, Este called Chez to apologize via voicemail and it’s HILARIOUS Watch here

  • So far: women are f*cking killing it this week

  • A$AP Rocky and ten million people have linked up for the new single “Cocky” with Gucci Mane on the hook Listen here

  • Twin Shadow has released a collaboration with the HAIM sisters for a jam fit for a John Hughes film titled “Saturdays” Listen here

  • Puerto Rican legends Ricky Martin, Wisin, and Yandel have released their new single “Fiebre” Listen here

  • Troye Sivan has released an acoustic version of “My My My!” and it still somehow goes off Listen here

  • 5 Seconds of Summer have released their comeback single “Want You Back” and it’s generic, but still listenable. I think if I spin it a few more times it’ll grow on me. I know they have a lot more in them, but I’m happy they’re making music again. Listen here

  • For those craving left-of-center pop, highly recommend listening to the new Kero Kero Bonito EP TOTEP Listen here

  • And for those craving lighter, more folksy rock tunes, Vance Joy’s new album Nation of Two is out Listen here

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As I mentioned above, a(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.

Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.

New month, new playlist! If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my February 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!

See you next week!