The War On Drugs — 2017 Letters Archive

Back to reality - summer is over for most of y’all. Classes are starting to shuffle back in session, the sun is starting to set a little earlier (if you squint… you can totally tell), and my 6 day sabbatical away from my work and a computer has come to an end. Escaping to Portland for a few days did the trick (re: helped me freakin' RELAX). While I’m up to my ears trying to catch up on my tasks at work, I can’t help but daydream about the next time we’ll get to experience rain and I can appropriately crawl back into a chunky knit sweater. Who’s with me?

Please reach out to me via the handy dandy contact page on the cmd+f website, or on Twitter with your thoughts about any of the tracks I’ve selected this week. I love chatting about music. Let me in on your new favorite band; they’re looking for new fans, too.

As always, you know the drill: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about the songs you liked in this letter, but most importantly, let the artists know. There’s a good chance they’ll see your comments. Let them know how good their tunes are, and they’ll crank out even more magic.

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“It Changes” - Amber Arcades | I want to curl up to Amber Arcades’ latest EP Cannonball. Every single track on it sounds like a lazy day at the beach with the sun kissing at the tip of your nose - although “It Changes” in particular toes the line with an off-kilter edge. I dug around the net to find out a bit more about Amber Arcades and discovered she’s a Dutch war crimes expert named Annelotte who scrounged up her savings to fund her first album. Her tunes sound a bit like a hi-fi recording of Broadcast (RIP Trish) meets Warpaint. Listen here

“Only In A Dream” - Doug Tuttle | As I stated in the opening notes: I am so desperate for summer to be over, y’all! I sound like a brat, but the sunshine and need for aircon will not quit! “Only In A Dream” sounds precisely like the last sips of summer - like nursing a scraped knee with your skateboard beside you as you’re say on a hilltop watching the sunset. Listen here

“Submersible” - Sivu | Speaking of wanting summer to be OVER: last week, Brand New’s Science Fiction put me in a MOOD. I’ve been starving for autumn after walking through the suburbs of Portland wearing a denim jacket as soon as the temperatures dipped below 60F after sunset. Sivu’s haunting opening track “Submersible” off his latest LP Sweet Sweet Silent is a theatrical, languid, and deeply personal tune that will lull you into a crisp, cloudy October morning. Listen here

“On My Mind” - Jorja Smith x Preditah | I don’t usually take a liking to UK Garage (with the exception of the king Craig David), but Jorja Smith can sell absolutely anything. While I don’t think “On My Mind” will be the crossover hit to make Jorja’s mark Stateside, it truly is a BOP. Get ready to bounce. Listen here

“Lost in the Mystery” - Shock Machine | One of my favorite bands in high school was Klaxons. I rinsed a dodgy rip of Myths of the Near Future for months before I was able to snag an import copy at a record shop. Ten years later, Klaxons are no more, but James Righton is (thankfully) still putting out new music. His latest project is Shock Machine, a sound forged in colorful psychedelic rock with a twist of bubbly 1960s pop riffs. The debut Shock Machine album came out today, and I present to you the fizzy, sweet “Lost in the Mystery” in hopes it’ll inspire you to give the full album a spin. Listen here

BONUS

If there is one album you consciously listen to this week, please make time for The War On Drugs’ A Deeper Understanding - absolute masterpiece Listen here
LOL
Katy Perry has a video out for “Swish Swish” - a clear call to Pop Art, the visuals are a desperate display of modern meme-itry (whoa @ my literary agency) and a time capsule of contemporary internet culture. Song still BANGS Watch here
Fergie still got it! Girl dropped two singles tonight - “You Already Know” feat. Nicki Minaj and “Hungry” feat. Rick Ross. The beat on “Hungry” is dope - it’s actually got me looking forward to her forthcoming album Double Dutchess. Go AWF, Gothtrap Stacy!!
Fifth Harmony have dropped their first album sans-Camila…. Album is smooth as hell. Highlight for me is “Sauced Up.” These girls did the damn thing. Bravo, ladies! Listen here
Lady Gaga is releasing a documentary on Netflix next month and I am very, very, very excited
Lil Uzi Vert album Luv Is Rage 2 Listen here
Buddy’s new EP Magnolia Listen here
A$AP Mob mixtape Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy Listen here
Last but certainly not least, DNCE have linked up with Rod Stewart to re-record Rod’s 1978 hit “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and tbh it could have been way, way funkier Listen here

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If you’re interested in hearing what else I’ve been rinsing this month (aside from the tracks listed above), peep my personal August 2017 playlist. There I will be dumping in new (and occasionally throw back) tracks as the month carries on. You can dive into the cmd+f archive to hear what I’ve been listening to in previous months this year.

A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I’ve shared this week and past cmd+f newsletters are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here. You’re welcome.

See you next week!

This is an archived post originally sent out via the cmd+f weekly newsletter

Harry Styles announced a world tour this morning and I ceremoniously apologized to my credit card nearly ten times this morning between my wiping the sleep crust out of my eyes. I’m so used to 1D pulling that kind of shit, I figured the tickets would go on sale at 10am this morning, but it turns out I have a week to mentally prepare for this bloodbath for tickets to The Greek.

This isn’t the reason cmd+f was sent out late today; it’s just there was TOO MUCH NEW MUSIC unleashed today that I couldn’t keep my brain together. Well, I managed to wiggle the list for today down to SIX tracks and a bounty of bonus content.

Got any questions? Tips? Please reach out to me via Twitter at @hellogoodbritt (or any other way you may know how to contact me) with your thoughts about any of the tracks I’ve selected this week. I love chatting about music. Let me know what you’re listening to that everyone else should be listening to, too.

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“Nights With You” - MØ | Nights With You,” a so conspicuously obvious sapphic proposal to ditch the D for a weekend of lady love was so BLATANTLY dusted over by a number of music outlets when it dropped last week, and, well, it’s the most important part of this damn song. So I’m including it in cmd+f this week because it’s a culturally important song!! When’s the last time you’ve hear a female pop singer propose getting down with some lady love? Huh? Also, the track was produced by Cashmere Cat (who has a highly anticipated [by like inter-label standards and general hype] debut album that dropped today if you feel like listening), and PC Music affiliate SOPHIE, who’s dabbled in a few of Charli XCX’s recent projects to help map out a demented pop landscape I yearn to hear more of in the coming years. Give me all the wonky, saw-seared synth cuts. I also wanted to throw this bop in here for my lady loving friends in lieu of lesbian visibility day that happened this week. Listen here

“Thinking of a Place” - The War On Drugs | I know it’s considered pretentious as hell these days to make a song longer than 5 minutes. With our brains hardwired to twiddle between Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, Snapchat, and out email apps every two minutes, it’s kind of hard to get a grip on how to focus our attention for longer than a handful of minutes. The War on Drugs consistently recall on the days when rock gave zero fucks, took up a whole B-side on one track. “Thinking of a Place” is a song that you actually want to never end from the second it starts, and it travels so many moods, it’s four songs in one, all oozing with the essence of the Golden Hour at sunset. If you can handle a song over 10 minutes, please take sometime and plug in for “Thinking of a Place.” Listen here

“Regrets” - Zipper Club | Lissy Trullie has a side project! And gosh, is “Regrets” insanely good. I’m in love with this composition, starting out as a bumbling, shy track that swoops and sways between the hesitant verses, and then eventually sputters out to an aggressive, punked out headbanger. Listen here

“Up All Night” - David Archuleta | Yes, that David Archuleta from American Idol. For those who refuse to get down from your high horse, may I remind you this whole newsletter is about digging up songs that may have flown under your radar or you may have likely glossed over. This track came to me last week whilst listening to the New Music Friday Latin music list, and I was confused because it was the only song that popped up not in Spanish. I then noticed it was none other than David Archuleta. Serious, serious shock, y’all. “Up All Night” is a great, beautifully crafted pop song that could easily get lost on the current trop-house saturated radio market, but what really did it for me was the cinematic quality to the track. It sounds ripe and ready to score a film trailer. David’s got a new EP coming out in a few weeks, and this song has definitely piqued my interests. Listen here

“Lover’s Letdown” - Goldmyth | I wasn’t sure about this song until I got at least 30 seconds into it. And that may happen to you, too, so just wait for it to really juice up and kick in, because the payoff is delicious. What a fantastic hook. Listen here

“Your Love” - HAERTS | Calling all my Stevie Knicks loving sad girls (and boys): this one is especially for you. Go forth and prosper. Listen here

BONUS

Hailee! Steinfeld’s! New! Single! “Most Girls” !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Listen here
Wale dropped his album a week early and he made sure to tuck in a rip roaring summertime banger called “My Love” featuring none other than Major Lazer (requisite for establishing summerygoodness, duh), WizKid, and Dua Lipa Listen here
Lady Leshurr dropped an entire EP yesterday, and it is fiiiiire. Listen here
Will link you to Ryan Tedder’s Newsweek interview for posteriority in which he gloriously reveals Liam Payne is ready to eat my soul and churn out a pop career. Read here

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If you’re interested in hearing what else I’ve been rinsing this month (aside from the tracks listed above), peep my personal April 2017 playlist. You can dive into the cmd+f archive to hear what I’ve been listening to in previous months this year.

A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I’ve shared this week and past cmd+f newsletters are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here. You’re welcome.

See you next week!