May 26, 2017

May 26, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

Holy bananas, y’all. Today is today. It’s here, you and I are breathing, and I want to take a moment to thank you once again for indulging me and reading this little letter.

I’ve been subtly hyping this up for a couple weeks now, but I am very pleased to share with you the official cmd+f website.

Yup–you heard correctly: a real ass website! Wahoo! I’ve archived all of the past letters onto the site, including a nice little gallery viewing area of the 35mm film headers that link you to the letters. I also wanted to have all the content aggregate onto a tidier looking page with the potential to expand content without having to link you to ten different social media pages. From here on out, you can visit cmdf.me and (hopefully) find everything you need.

Please reach out to me via the handy dandy contact page on the cmd+f website, or at the brand new cmd+f Twitter at @cmdf_me 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.

________________________________________

“Dynabeat” - Jain | If you’re looking for a new song to wild out to at the gym, let Jain’s “Dynabeat” be your new anthem. The purest, feelgoodiest funky beats remind me of a handful of funky one hit wonders from the early 80s. So good, it’s made it onto my (slowly) growing Poolside Jammery playlist. Anyone else feel like causing a traffic jam with an improvised dance routine in the middle of your block after listening to this? Just me? Listen here

“Hold on to Me” - Tsörf | Don’t let the “ö” fool you – Tsörf is actually from New Zealand, forging gorgeous and somber pop. “Hold on to Me” is an ode to making your way out of darkness. I can practically hear her fingers slipping up her grip, yet there’s a current of grounded-ness wavering beneath it. This song is pure love. Listen here

“Merv” - The Hubbards | This tune comes courtesy of BBC Introducing in Humberside. I haven’t listened to a lick of radio for at least two months at this point, and this was one of the first things I heard. Completely obsessed with unpacking that opening bass line that burns into your brain from the jump. After listening to their EP this week for a few hours, I can attest The Hubbards have a knack for crafting a tune. “Merv” is their standout track, and one of my favorite tunes I've stumbled across this month. Listen here

“Life of the Party” - Chelsea Jade | Can you believe I’ve got another Kiwi on the letter this week?! Well, New Zealand’s cranking out some fantastic pop tunes. “Life of the Party” is a Broods song on Benadryl. Now that I’ve said that, it sounds completely offensive and implying it’s boring. On the contrary; I mean it more in the sense Chelsea Jade’s vocals are softer, relaxed, and dreamy. Listen here

“Carry On” (Dubbel Dutch Remix) - Tkay Maidza feat. Killer Mike | Australia’s Tkay Maidza’s debut album dropped last year, but a handful of remixes breathed new life into her track “Carry On.” I first heard Tkay on a feature for a Troye Sivan song a couple years ago. She cropped up on stage for a guest performance at Troye’s teeny tiny show in a 200 person capacity venue I saw him perform at before Blue Neighbourhood came out. She’s got a lot of elements that remind me of Santogold in her music. Of all the remixes of “Carry On,” Dubbel Dutch plays on the whimsical flare laced in the original song, strapping on some pseudo-island vibes. The bubbly synth upgraded this to straight up “certified bop” status. Listen here

BONUS

Once you’ve moseyed around the cmd+f site, shared the link with a few friends (thanks in advance), please follow cmd+f on Twitter and Instagram!
Big day in pop music for the gays: Carly Rae Jepsen, Troye Sivan, Sia, Little Mix all have new singles out today, and Lana Del Rey has confirmed a release date for her album Lust for Life (“July 21 fam”).
Bisexuals unite! Halsey and Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony have dropped a synth-heavy lady loving anthem. Sounds like a bionic Stevie Nicks song. Taking bets on how long for MUNA to Tweet about it. Very much looking forward to this music video. Listen here
Lil Yachty got an album, y’all!! He’s even serving up some island vibes on a track with UK rapper and cmd+f alumna Stefflon Don. Listen here
Rita Ora’s taken a break from hosting TV shows, red carpet events, landing on the front page of The Daily Mail, and hung up the phone with Nick Grimshaw to remind you that, yes, she is indeed a career musician. Excuse me while I go bop to “Your Song.” Listen here
Today is too much. Too many single releases. I am both wired and tired.

________________________________________

If you’re interested in hearing what else I’ve been rinsing this month (aside from the tracks listed above), peep my personal May 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!

May 19, 2017

May 19, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

Before I start this week’s letter, I need to address a very obvious elephant in the room: for those who are unaware, there has been an incredible revelation regarding PWR BTTM, one of the five artists I featured in last week’s cmd+f. Allegations of sexual assault from one half of the group have come forward, and since PWR BTTM have been dropped from their label, had their album pulled from streaming services, and their tour canceled.The backlash has been swift and ruthless, as it should be against sexual predators. But the backlash has left others shocked how quickly PWR BTTM’s relevancy has been crumbled whilst other aggressors in the music industry continue to maintain careers.

While there are a lot of thinkpiece-y Twitter threads on this that floated around last weekend, I would ask you to take a moment to read about the situation filtered through the POV of a friend of mine who is actively involved in the queer DIY music scene. Please note the article contains themes revolving around sexual assault and emotional abuse.

Click here to read “It’s Bigger Than PWR BTTM” by Reed DeLuca

With that, SCHOOL’S OUT!!! I’ve got some great track up my sleeve that I’ve been excited to share with you.

P.S. School does not very much suck. I kinda miss it.

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.

________________________________________

“Feel OK” - GIRLI feat. Lethal Bizzle | GIRLI has returned in all her hot pink glory to serve us the most electric one night stand anthem we've heard in years. I’ve dropped GIRLI into cmd+f a few months ago, and that tune was vastly different from “Fuck Right Off Back to LA.” Whilst that was more a novelty jam, “Feel OK” is a serious ass pop jam. I love GIRLI, and I’m ELATED to know she had this mulling inside of her. Could honestly listen to this on loop all day. Listen here

“April Flowers ” - Jesse Jo Stark | Got a new sad girl jam for y’all: this one's got me feeling like I'm back at my windowsill in Seattle watching the rain patter outside while looping Hole for hours on end avoiding my Victorian Lit dissertation and how things could have been if I didn't let me crippling anxiety keep me from going to another part the night before. Yeah; one of those kinda sad girl jams. Listen here

“Awake and Pretty Much Sober” - Violents, Monica Martin | This track is my own personal surprise of the week. For those of you who haven’t checked out the podcast Switched On Pop, they have an episode where they break down The Chainsmokers. I hope you’re still reading this, and as much as I personally have never vibed with a single The Chainsmokers song, the hosts break down their song formulas and why they work so good, and it’s because they tease the chorus right from the start. In “Awake and Pretty Much Sober,” we get the instrumentals for the chorus straight away too, establishing that melody and ultimately some emotional intimacy with the song. It’s a damn nice chorus, the entire song sprinkled with cinematic qualities (including a brilliant strings interlude 3 minutes into the song before a bridge breaks through). It’s easily one of the most gorgeous songs I’ve listened to in a long time. Listen here

“Dead for seconds” - Moto Boy, Nina Persson | I have been sitting on this one for a week now after going down a Scandinavian music hole. Moto Boy’s latest album is surprisingly enough titled New music, and it got me through a tumultuous week clogged with over time and exhaustion. The morbid romanticism of being “dead for seconds when you look at your object of affection. Let's be real: high key relatable theme as I know feeling very well whilst watching Tom Hardy on screen. Listen here

“World of Wonders” - Buddy | If you listen to the lyrics too closely, I am like, “you’re really gonna push this, you cocky MF.” With lyrics like, “gonna make you love me long time,” and “what you got on underneath that? I wanna know,” it warrants some serious eyerolling, but honestly I think Kaytranada’s smooth production on the instrumentals brings down the cringey . I can’t help but groove to this, and I made it through the whole song a few times, and it gets better with each listen. Listen here

BONUS

For the past five years, I have harrowed through a tumultuous journey, traveling across the country for three consecutive summers, wept, screamed, clawed, yearned, and prayed for this day. For this moment. To hold onto the meaning of this feeling. The feeling of Liam goddamn Payne as, finally and rightfully, a solo artist. Listen here
To follow up my previous bullet point, my well thought out takes on “Strip That Down:” lyrics are very Ed Sheeran (who wrote it, and when you hear it, you can’t help but agree), also they’re so simple and not too raunchy so Midwestern moms are gonna love this. Beat is good, bangs in the car better than on my computer, wish they could have pushed the chorus to go a little harder. iHeartRadio producers/DJs are loving it and tbh those are the only people who matter when it comes to churning out a hit. Fun bop, and I’m glad it happened.
Excuse the fuck out of Katy Perry! I have whiplash! I nearly turned my back on her after “Bon Apetit,” because I have no time for cunnalingus elevator music featuring verses from rappers who’ve never been eyelevel with a vag since birth, but she Did the Thing. “Swish Swish” is a god damn bop. Listen here
Selena Gomez samples Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” for her new song “Bad Liar,” and I felt a whole lot of emotions about it. Listen to “Bad Liar” and then “Psycho Killer”

________________________________________

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!

May 12, 2017

May 12, 2017 in Newsletter, Music

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

HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I’M CURRENTLY WRITING THIS ON MY PHONE AT A CONCERT WHILE I WAIT OUTSIDE OF THE PHOTO PIT BETWEEN SETS. IT’S A BIT LOUD IN HERE, BUT I AM FULLY COMMITTED TO GETTING SOME NEW MUSIC TO YOUR EARS FOR THE NEXT WEEK. YOU READY?

Before we roll, let me keep my usual bit tucked in here: 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.

________________________________________

“Who’s the Madman” - Louise Burns | If Morrissey wrote for The Go-Go’s, I reckon it’d sound a bit like Louise Burns. “Who’s the Madman” is a the opening track to her latest album Young Mopes. Give that a spin if you’re into this track and you won’t be disappointed. Listen here

“Principle” - Ronika | Ronika girl serves up some Kylie (Minogue, this should go without saying) REALNESS in this funk-driven bop. LOVE IT! Listen here

“On My Mind” - Disciples | While we can't all be Pete Tong on a beach in Ibiza, we can sure try and feel like we are. I know Disciples are huge in the EDM community, rightfully so, especially after their smash single “How Deep Is Your Love?” with Calvin Harris, but I'm sure they've for the most part slipped from the general public’s ears since.”On My Mind” is a perfect dance track that I promise will have you feeling like you maybe are Pete Tong on a beach in Ibiza. Listen here

“Real Ting” (Remix) - Stefflon Don feat. Giggs | Y’all: UK rap is no longer fucking around. Between Skepta and Stormzy pushing through Stateside, the whole gang is hungry. The last female UK rapper I name dropped in cmd+f was Lady Leshurr, but make sure you keep your eyes on Stefflon Don. Channeling nearly everything down to image and biting flow, she’s the UK’s very own Lil Kim, throwing down the hardest bars in the highest heels. Keep your ears on her. Big things are brewing in Stefflin Don’s camp this year. Listen here

“Big Beautiful Day” - PWR BTTM | The absolutely fabulous glitterbomb punk band PWR BTTM’s sophomore album Pageant officially dropped today. If you haven’t listened to it yet (which if you have, you likely streamed it via NPR this week), know you’re in for a treat. I think “Big Beautiful Day” was their lead single for this album, and it’s glistening punk goodness. Listen here

BONUS

Harry Styles officially has a solo album under his belt! And it’s so good. How would I know? I listened to it on the way home from the show I was shooting last night. Listen here
It took a lot of strength to not share Tove Styrke’s “Say My Name” five times in a row this week. With dignity, I am just gonna slap down a link to the official music video for that dropped yesterday. This song is a ridiculously good earworm, and the visuals are pretty mesmerizing. Watch here
Disclaimer: get ready for me to be so extra next Friday. Just. You. Wait.

________________________________________

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!

May 5, 2017

May 05, 2017 in Newsletter, Music

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

Hello. Let me make this brief: six songs for this fantastic Friday. Some exciting bonus content is in the works! Stay tuned. Thanks for allowing me to share music with you every week. I genuinely look forward to it, and thank you for indulging me.

________________________________________

“I’m Dead” [Pretty Edit] - DUCKWRTH feat. Sabrina Claudio & Sad Money | This appears to be the latest single from Duckwrth’s I’M UUGLY album - a bouncy “Pretty” edit of the track featuring an added appearance by Sad Money. Kaytranada fans will love the shit out of this. Highly recommended to throw this on next time you bump in the car. Listen here

“Second Chance” - Mating Ritual | I feel so blindsided. Mating Ritual has a very strong and dedicated fanbase, and I tried SO desperately to immerse myself in the music. And you can’t do that! If you can’t ride the wave, don’t force it. “Second Chance” ironically popped up in a radio playlist this week, and I was astonished to see if was by Mating Ritual. It’s a complete bop paired with Ryan Marshall Lawhon’s gravelly vocals. The hook is begging for you to sing along. I'd imagine this garners massive audience participation points at Mating Ritual shows. Listen here

“Love Me Better” - Love Thy Brother feat. Ariel Beesley | Y’all: I faced a massive conundrum this week. I stumbled across the remix of this song first… remixed by none other than Love Thy Brother themselves. In said remix, the Brethren added a few wavy flourishes, well-placed reverb, and guitar licks under Ariel Beesley’s vocals, and the result is exactly what we’d expect from sky Ferreira's long lost Masochism album we’ve been waiting on for nine million years. In the end, I couldn’t settle on including the original recording or the reimagined remix, so for your convenience, I’ve linked both. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know if you prefer one over the other. Listen here (and the remix here)

“Say My Name” - Tove Styrke | Tove! Styrke! TOVE! STYRKE! I hear you, girl! “Say My Name” has been stuck in my head all damn week. I’m beyond excited Tove Styrke is back, and I’m so ready for a fresh crop of ear worms from her. Listen here

“Stay For Real” - Young Galaxy | Dropping this in here to go a little more left on the pop vein. “Stay For Real” is a stunning, gauzy day dream. Listen here

“My Nature” - Little Cub | Been looking forward to Little Cub’s debut album Still Life for a minute! It finally dropped last week and I’ve had the week to really let it marinate. The London trip has listed LCD Soundsystem and New Order as major influences on their music, but I’ll have you know they sound a bit more like Depeche Mode on opiates. I’m a sucker for a glorious synth, and “My Nature” has a few woven throughout, pushing and pulling at a pulsing thrum. If you like “My Nature,” give all of Still Life a spin. Listen here

BONUS

One of my favorite bands of all time, shoegaze legends Slowdive, has dropped their first album in 20 years. Based on the singles released prior to the album drop, it’s incredible. They can do no wrong. Listen here
New Flume track “Hyperreal.” Honestly lost my mind the first time I heard this all the way through-it lives up to the name. It’s insane, and can’t believe the level of quality production that’s in this. Flume has yet to make a song that’s disappointed me. Listen here
Might as well make a habit of mentioning someone from 1D in this letter every week: so far, Niall’s dropped the most exciting and compelling solo release. “Slow Hands” is going to be a summer hit. Still disappointed it’s not an Interpol cover. Listen here

________________________________________

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!

April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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.

________________________________________

“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

________________________________________

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!

April 21, 2017

April 21, 2017 in Newsletter, Music

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

This is where I usually write a quirky intro about what’s happening in music while vaguely referencing my week in music exploration, but my brain has turned to oatmeal. I will note: remember how last week I had 12 songs stashed in my cmd+f arsenal? Well, I sat on the tunes that didn’t make it into the letter last week, and they’re not so fresh anymore. Only one of the five songs listed this week survived the lot of leftovers from last week.

As for the Anchor recordings, those are definitely on hiatus indefinitely. I’m working on adding new features to take cmd+f to a whole ‘nother level. It’s all under wraps, but it’ll roll out soon enough.

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 – it's why I started this letter! Let me know what you’re listening to so that I can let everyone else know they should be listening to that too.

________________________________________

“Shell” - Charlotte OC | “Shell” is stacked with melodic surprises: opening as a thrumming, melancholic power ballad, the pensive verse bursts through as a hopeful, dazzling chorus. It literally echoes the emotions of gently basking in the freedom that comes with letting go of a bad past relationship, and recognizing that void inside you is left behind for you to fill up with something fresh. I could honestly listen to the transition from the verse to chorus on loop for hours on end; it’s just that perfect. If you can get out of looping “Shell” endlessly, please do give a listen to Charlotte’s new album Careless People. Listen here

“Mo(u)rning” - Anne Dereaux | “Mo(u)rning” is Anne Dereaux’s debut single, and consider me scalpt. I can tell you right now, she’s destined to be a music journo’s DREAM to gas up. She’s got sick production, incredible vocals and tone, an entire look to go with her vibe. The journo’s are already foaming at the mouth, lurking in the shadows awaiting her debut Book of Lolita EP to drop. And to continue to blatantly hyping her up so more, Rick fucking Rubin emailed her the day after this song dropped, so needless to say her career trajectory is only going exponentially upward. Consider this your notice: all aboard the Anne Dereaux train. While I’ve seen a few write ups dub her sound similar to BANKS and FKA Twigs, I’d say Anne sounds much more like Kelela, Jorja Smith, and Tinashe when she's on her slow jam R&B tip. Listen here

“Minimum” - Charlie Cunningham | Before I even get into the music: if you stare at Charlie’s profile picture on Spotify long enough, your brain will start to confuse him for Chris Martin. I wonder how often he’s told this…. As for the music, “Minimum” has racked up a whopping 8+ million spins on Spotify. Most places with comment sections enabled that claim the song’s cropped up on a lot of people’s Spotify playlists and it's moved them. The song certainly stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it, leaving me slack-jawed and immediately filing it away into my cmd+f playlist queue. With the airy production overlaid in moving Cathedral-level reverb, “Minimum” is haunting, soothing, and absolutely stunning. It almost makes you wonder what the song would sound like performed in a church (definitely click that previous link to satisfy your curiosity; it’s as good as the studio version). Listen here

“Drum Machine” - Lao Ra | While I initially had Lao Ra’s new Pablo Escobar inspired track “Bala,” I found myself looping her bop “Drum Machine,” and it was only fair to share it with you, too. Early interviews with the Colombian-born London-based artist labeled her music as “pineapple pop,” dubbing her a Latinx M.I.A. The comparisons are fair when you see her boldly colored and collaged album covers – but the sound is still so clearly deeply rooted in Latin American musical influences. “Drum Machine” dropped last July, and I can assure you my ass will still be dancing to it this coming July. Listen here (and listen to it in Spanish here)

“It’s Cool” - Exit Kid | Emre Turkmen of Years & Years launched a new music project with Years & Years’ tour drummer Dylan Bell this week called Exit Kid. I never thought I’d see the day when Emre’d get behind the mic, but it is here, and it’s… fucking great. After spending months of obsessively scrubbing every inch of YouTube to watch every Years & Years live performance and interview ever recorded, I recall Emre living in a battered Elastica tee for approximately 78% of them whilst continuously listing Radiohead as a major musical influence. “It’s Cool” is dripping in Brit Pop vibes, but then again the Brit Pop "genre" was so nuanced and varied over the years that it was more a movement in rock music than a true sound. That history lesson can be saved for another day. Anywho, Emre and Dylan absolutely crush it with their first song for this project. Exit Kid’s debut EP drops next month on May 25. Listen here

BONUS

Pop’s current darling without a debut album Dua Lipa dropped a new single with Miguel and it’s rather good. Listen here
Pop’s other current darling Sigrid officially has a second single to her name for people to gas up. Listen here
While not exactly music, this is very much sound-oriented: stress is inevitable, but for those who have a difficult time falling asleep or trying to calm/sooth your brain, ambient/white noise simulations may help you tune out and relax. I use myNoise.net, and my personal favorite is the fireplace noise. You can calibrate the volume levels to your own liking so your ears can hear the noise even at a low volume.

________________________________________

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!

April 14, 2017

April 14, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

I know it’s going to be really hard to focus on anything else today between the release of DAMN. and mentally preparing oneself for Harry Styles’ first live performance as a solo artist ever broadcasted live coast to coast on Saturday Night Live tomorrow. From the bottom of my heart: thank you for taking time out of your day to pause Kendrick Lamar’s new album to have a gander at my little letter.

This week I scaled back on my compulsive podcast marathoning while at work and decided to focus more on music. Like. Way more. Like, I spent over 8 hours a day listening and finding a shit ton of cool playlists to dig into whilst sat at my desk. With all that audible heavy lifting, my eardrums are flexed and I ended up “””””finding””””” 16 songs! An Easter/Passover miracle!

Unfortunately for you, I only have five of those sixteen songs in the letter today. Those included this week were the first five I found, and I still feel very passionate to share them with y’all. Don’t fret: the others are stacked in my arsenal for a future week. You’ll hear them soon enough!

________________________________________

“Kryptonite” - George Maple | if you enjoy club music, odds are you’ve heard George Maple a time or two. Dear George made her grande entrance as a vocalist for a song on Flume’s debut album a few years back, and has since gone on to lend vocals for Goldroom and DJ Snake. My girl (yes, George is officially one of my girls) is rightfully making strides to set a name for her damn self, and her latest single “Kryptonite” is a smoldering, silky R&B-fused bop. Fans of Jessie Ware and Kelela are definitely going to love “Kryptonite.” Listen here

“Physical” - The Aces | Well, well, well, it was only just yesterday the HAIM sisters decided to come out of hiding from the last four years. And the day before yesterday, I settled in on including this The Aces track. Now, to connect these two sentences, The Aces share a lot of elements of HAIM-esque pop-driven guitars in their music. These girls are stirring up a lot of buzz, and 2017 is definitely their launching pad – and they know it. Head over to their website, and they introduce themselves as “FOUR GIRLS ABOUT TO RULE THE WORLD.” Hell yeah. Well, prepare to have “Physical” on repeat all week. If you live in LA, catch them at the upcoming School Night! at the Bardot in Hollywood (and maaaaybe you’ll run into me there, too….) Listen here

“I’m Easy” - Merk | Shout out to Coup de Main Magazine for keeping me posted with what’s coming out of the Kiwi music scene. “I’m Easy” dropped at the start of a sizzling summertime in the Other Hemisphere, and only recently dropped an official music video for the track that caught my attention. Merk’s not only got sunny-side-up egg glasses, but he’s got some really groovy tunes. “I’m Easy” passed my “windows down and driving 80mph in the fast lane at night” test. His debut album Swordfish is going to be rinsed heavily these coming summer months. Listen here

“Rodeo” - Pssy Pwr | WOOOOOOO!!!! Scream hallelujah! Pssy Pwr come through with a fucking BOP. I had to do some digging to figure out who the hell crafted this MASTERPIECE, and it turns out Pssy Pwr are a duo formed by none other than songwriting genius’ Anjulie and Oren Yoel, who both have an impressive roster of hits under their belts (Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Icona Pop?! And so many more?!). Good on them, as “Rodeo” has been stuck in my head ALL week. I washed my dishes humming the hook, yodeled “hallelujah” in my dog’s face when scratching his ears, had the song on repeat as I pecked out documents all day at work, and even couldn’t help but dance to it in the middle of my room a few times. Give it a spin - do note the song is best enjoyed at a high volume. Listen here

“To Swim” - Petrie | Embarrassment be damned; Petrie is the Level of Cool I drag my ass through the tumultuous desert of discovering damn good music every week in search of. “To Swim” initially dropped last November, but Petrie did include it on his new Slurs EP that came out a few weeks ago. It’s still a stand out track dripping in absolute quality, sexy alt-pop. Listen here

BONUS

Little Dragon’s new album Season High is out and you should definitely listen to it sometime ASAP. Listen here
Michelle Branch is back with a FULL ALBUM and you should DEFINITELY pencil in an hour of listening time for this comeback. Listen here
I never thought I’d be typing this… but Linkin Park, Pusha T, and STORMZY dropped a single. Listen to it to believe it actually happened, tbh. For those who are fans of Grime: do you think Stormzy is going to break into the US mainstream before Skepta?

________________________________________

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!

April 7, 2017

April 07, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

Today is pretty historic. In a way. Kinda. I mean, I guess.

I had a bit of deja vu: I stayed up until Midnight to tune into BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw to tune in to hear Harry Styles’ solo debut. As a recovering 1D superstan, the dormant moonlit jitters in anticipation for a new damn song has not been at this level since 1D premiered a song and announced an album circa 2013. At that time, I was unemployed and suffering from insomnia, so the level of euphoria was rather different this round. Waking up this morning is terrible. Awful. God, help me. Please excuse any (possible but most likely very much scattered throughout this newsletter) gross spelling and grammatical errors.

With that: it’s another week of no audio recordings for cmd+f. I sincerely apologize for this, but look at the bright side: this is in your inbox on time, and I’ve committed to giving you five sick tracks to enjoy this week!

Got any questions? Tips? Please reach out to me via Twitter at @hellogoodbritt (or any other form 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.

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, and from recent encounters, I know it’ll really make their day.

_______________________________________

“Give It All Up” - RÉN | Yes girl! Make it RÉN! Seamless! Pop! Perfection! RÉN has been teasing us with some incredible tracks for a few years now with absolutely no debut project in sight (c’mon, girl! Tell us what we can do to scrounge up an EP?) The Brooklyn vixen dropped “Give It All Up” at the end of 2016, a minty-fresh power-pop jam serving up some serious MUNA-esque vibes. The song is laced with lush, silky-soft vocals, and bursts through with a spectacular hook. Listen here

“Grifting - Timber Timbre | My god, what a TUNE. Straddling on some seriously funky 1970s Bowie vibes, “Grifting” is captivating and totally addicting. This came on shuffle while I was cruising through West Hollywood circling the block for a parking spot. I had my windows down, cranked this up, and felt cool as hell. Listen here

“Lucid” - Kelly Lee Owens | Tapping into my inner love for the more cerebral with this Kelly Lee Owens track. The SmalltownSupersound signee joins the ranks of electronic music Scandinavian royalty (Lindstrøm, Neneh Cherry to name a couple), and has been receiving a shit load of rave reviews for her debut self-titled album. If you enjoy experimental, ambient electronic music, you’re going to fall in love with Kelly Lee Owens. Listen here

“Someone” - ROMES | Who the heck are ROMES? They surprisingly have a wikipedia page that tells me they formed after meeting in Wicklow, Ireland (which, after having a brief stint living in Ireland, OF ALL PLACES) in 2015, and are now based out of Toronto. 2015!! Only two years old as a band and they got this alt-pop down pat. Oh, and allegedly our favorite honorary lesbian Hozier loves the heck out of them, too. Then again, everyone in Ireland knows everyone in Ireland. This is a well known fact. I’m willing to put money down that Niall Horan’s foaming at the mouth over ROMES, too. In fact, Niall and Hozier talked ROMES on a golf course in Dingle. In all seriousness, pop “Someone” on to help marinate into those springtime vibes (or as your chase away the last dregs of warmth as autumn fades in if you’re in the lower hemisphere). Listen here

“Heathen” - Colouring | Let’s take it down a notch with Colouring’s newest single. Sounding very much like an ironed out Radiohead, the band are still full force in their blue period, visually (as seen on all of their cover art released so far), and sonically. They’re honing in on a more personalized and accessible sound – I’m very into this direction they’re taking with “Heathen.” Listen here

BONUS

I need to give a special shout out and wish my girl Bridget a fabulous birthday. I’m going to immortalize this day in a cmd+f newsletter. For those reading who do not know who Bridget is, well, I’m sorry for hiding her from you. She and her friend Brooke host a fab AF podcast called SPLAT! Each week they dissect an episode of Sex and the City from the perspective of twenty-somethings living in New York 20 years after the revolutionary TV aired. Get familiar (and wish Bridget a happy birthday!) – SPLAT! Online: Twitter | Instagram | iTunes

________________________________________

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!

March 31, 2017

March 31, 2017 in Newsletter, Music

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

Do I have some music for you! Of course I do; it’s Friday… and this is cmd+f.

Unfortunately there is no recording on Anchor this week. I went to a Throwback Thursday screening of Blade Runner last night, and, oh my god??? Can you believe movies were recorded on film reels once upon a time? I’m sure most of it was retouched/remastered for a contemporary screening, but then again, there are times when I drop into galleries and stare at photographs from 50+ years ago that look like they were taken yesterday. The camera lens is so incredible. The whole concept of capturing a moment in time and having the power to replicate it…. I’m starting to dive into some stoner philosophy TED Talk, and nobody asked for that. Onto the musique!

Please reach out to me via Twitter at @hellogoodbritt (or any other form you may know how to contact me) with your thoughts about any of the tracks I’ve selected this week.

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 veeeeery good chance they’ll see your comments, and from past experience, I know it’ll really make their day.

________________________________________

“Justify” - Tei Shi | Over one year after seeing her open for Years & Years, my girl finally has an album! “Justify” dropped last week and cropped up in a playlist, and I stopped in my tracks as I was smearing eyeshadow across my lids. As “Justify” cooed softly out of my computer in another room, I thought it was a Britney Spears deep cut, then for a moment maybe a chop and screw of Prince – and then, the full song was Realized, and I felt whole. Brace yourself for this sexy jam. Listen here

“The Poet” - Wyldest | If Warpaint went by Warpastel, they’d sound like Wyldest; they’re much softer sonically than Warpaint’s tunes, but still all the vibrant and memorable. “The Poet” is cerebral, serene, and divine. Listen here

“Silver Lined Clouds” - ZiG, Nic Hanson | I am here to set you up with some poolside jammery. It’s time to create a new playlist if you haven’t yet to stuff full of tracks best served whilst reclined on a chaise and a rum punch in a tiki cup (umbrella optional but definitely encouraged). When you’ve successfully created the playlist and dropped Calvin Harris’ undoubtedly Song of the Summer semi-disco bop “Slide” in there, go ahead and drop “Silver Lined Clouds” in there too. Listen here

“Workin’s Too Hard” - Rayna Gellert | My heyday of holing up in my dorm room listening to Fleet Foxes is long since behind me. I haven’t been able to really connect with much folk music since leaving Seattle. I reckon it’s an environmental think, as most of it is slow and well, a bit dull. Every once in a while there is one that captivates you. I stumbled upon this track on Soundcloud of all places, and while it’s on the slower side, it’s simple and gorgeous. Listen here

“Oh” - Mt. Si | This track has been out for a minute! “Oh” cropped up in a randomized radio station playlist this week as I was driving with my windows down, sun setting, on my way to grab some Thai food with some good company, and it was blissful. I tested this song out for a night drive (one of my favorite things to do in LA is hitting the roads after dark) and it too held up quite a mood. I’m all about crafting a mood to get me in a headspace before I go out. Listen here

BONUS

If you failed to take my advice to create your own playlist of Poolside Jammery as noted in our third track this week, I’ve got you covered and gone ahead and made one because I love you. I know you aren't done reading this new letter yet, but this is music honey; you gotta be three steps ahead in this game. Keep the party going, always. Feel free to follow/save the playlist, and use it to crank up at your galas this summer. More tunes will be dumped in there as the months start to heat up and the jams roll in.
Hold onto your wigs: cupcakKe dropped her new album Queen ElizaBITCH today!! One of the flyest, most confident rappers I’ve heard in a minute, she’s made the rounds on social media for being extremely generous to her fans. I first heard of her about a year ago after she helped set up an underage fan with a hotel room after the fan was kicked out of their house, and then helped the fan get on their feet. When I followed her, I was in for a damn treat: she ain’t even shy about talking about enjoying sex in the most explicit way - same goes for her bars. cupcakKe is a real one. I love her, and she’s gonna prosper. Queen ElizaBITCH is most definitely NSFW, but it’s got some truly incredible jams and raw heat. Listen here
This time next week we will all be listening to the new Harry Styles single. Oh. My. God.

________________________________________

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

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!

March 24, 2017

March 24, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

This week on cmd+f, strap in for some extremely talented lady vox and killer guitars. I’ve got five tracks and artists that may have flown under your radar.

Like last week, I’ve recorded another ‘radio show’ on the Anchor app as a companion to this week’s newsletter. Tune in via the link below to hear me talk about the tracks I’ve picked out this week, padded with a little extra information I didn't mention in the letter.

If you’re wondering what Anchor is, it’s a new-ish app that’s essentially a Snapchat for radio - the recordings are only up for 24 hours, so listen to this station as soon as you open this email! (Note: you DON’T have to download the Anchor app if you’re accessing this link on your desktop!)

Click here to visit the cmd+f Anchor station

I absolutely love the fact Anchor has a “Call In” feature. Please take advantage of this wonderful feature and pop on over to drop me a voice note. Has this newsletter helped you discover new artists? I’d love to hear from you, and my readers would love to hear from you, too. We’re all in this new music discovery journey together, y’all.

You can also always get in touch with me on Twitter at @hellogoodbritt with your thoughts about any of the tracks I’ve selected this week, 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 veeeeery good chance they’ll see your comments, and from past experience, I know it’ll really make their day.

________________________________________

“The Cure” - Rotana | If you follow me on the ‘Gram, you may have noticed I posted a handful of videos on my Instagram Story at the Hotel Cafe. I was there for this gal right here, making her debut live performance. Her first single “Daddy” made an appearance in the second cmd+f letter - and after hearing her perform live, I am HOOKED. “The Cure” is her second single, and I can’t express how excited I am to hear more from her. All of her tracks she performed at Hotel Cafe were incredible. If you’ve watch Mozart in the Jungle, you know how Rodrigo is constantly reminding Hailey she plays the oboe with “the blood?” That’s Rotana - she sings with “the blood.” It’s pure, strong, and hits you right in the gut. Listen here

“All the Rage” - Allie X | So... “All the Rage” isn’t a new song at all. Allie X is well loved in the circles of pop-enthusiasts, but I’ll admit I’m a bit late on this train. I’ve been throwing her jams on playlists more and more, especially after news of her new LP COLLXTION II dropping in June. “All the Rage” was birthed from the guts of Annie meets St. Vincent meets good ol’ Charli XCX. Dear Alexxxxxandra crafts an incredible pop track. Can’t wait for COLLXTION II! Listen here

“Silver Heat” - Ten Tonnes | This guy is going to be EVERYWHERE by the end of this year, mark my words. BBC Radio 1’s been gassing him up, and rightfully so. “Silver Heat” is a wall-to-wall high energy track, oozing with vibrant youth. Keep your eyes out for his new EP out in June! Listen here

“Lit the Fire” - Ralph | “Lit the Fire” is a long lost teen fantasy diary entry. Glistening with smooth confessions of holding onto love, the song simmers with a weighty sting of desperation to cling onto them by any means necessary. This is the sadpop we deserve. Also, check our Ralph’s self-titled EP. Listen here

“Edge of Town” - Middle Kids | I fucking love finding a song I know I’m going to like from the first note. “Edge of Town” fell into my lap by way of an email exchange with a couple PR people. I paid no mind to it at first, but for some reason I kept opening the email up, and eventually opened the video link for this track, and it’s absolutely brilliant. The Sydney trio have been making the rounds with this track for nearly a year now (shame on me), and got a huge boost after Sir Elton John played this track on his Beats 1 show, too. Middle Kids have a full EP up on Spotify - so I’m mostly sharing this track as an appetizer to help guide you to the full EP. Give that a full listen or three after hearing “Edge of Town,” then let me know what you think. Listen here

BONUS

CUE: AN AESTHETICALLY AESTHETIC-ESQUE 8 MINUTE MINI FILM MUSIC VIDEO YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH THIS WEEK

“Samaritan” - ionnalee | Last week, I was thinking, “wow, I haven’t heard from iamamiwhoami in a while - I wonder if they’ve been teasing new music.” It’s like a piece of my soul has parsed itself within the pixels and bytes of their YouTube channel, because when I did mosey on over I was greeted with a full on 8 minute mini film. For those unfamiliar with iamamiwhoami, it’s an avant-garde pop music project that’s produced and filmed 3 full visual albums (literally every song they’ve released has a music video for it) since 2009. Their initial cryptic, creepy, and cerebral videos sparked a lot of buzz around who the hell was behind the project. When it was revealed Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee decided to overhaul all of her standard pop songs and reinvent herself, the shroud of mystery and awe of the incredible artistry behind iamamwhoami remained. Anyhow, looks like she’s reinvented herself again, channeling the same creepy Bjork au naturale aesthetic, but now goes by ionnalee. For my fashion geeks, dear Jonna is draped in some incredible Comme des Garçons. Feast your eyes on that. Watch here

________________________________________

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

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!

March 17, 2017

March 17, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

Welcome to another exciting week of cmd+f! Not only do I have five incredible new tracks all by duos (except one) waiting for you to dig through, but I’d also like to introduce a whole new component to the newsletter: audio! You heard correctly: this week marks the first time I’ll be tipping off the best new songs/artists of the week through recordings of my very own voice.

Each week, not only will you have a neatly typed newsletter nestled in your inbox, but you can now head over to the cmd+f station via Anchor and hear me gab on about the songs I’ve chosen for the week, and the songs in full. Anchor is a new-ish app that’s essentially a Snapchat for radio - the content is fleeting and disappears after 24 hours, so act fast!

Click here to visit the cmd+f Anchor station

Another great feature is the “Call In” feature in which you can drop me a voice memo either gushing about how great a particular song is, or even send me song/musician recommendations through the app.

Hit me up on Twitter at @hellogoodbritt with your thoughts about any of the tracks we’ve got for this week, and please do send me any finds of your own – let me know what you’re listening to these days.

________________________________________

“Falling 4 U” - Superbody | Superbody are the cool kind of weird. Like, Wes Anderson weird, not rule 32 weird. Like an acid-dipped Mark Mothersbaugh track found on a long lost, jelly-filled cassette tape, “Falling 4 U” has been looped in my head for days. Listen here

“The City Don’t Care” - Leon Else feat. Oliver | Holy hell. Shout out to my girl Jess for dropping this one into my lap. This jam builds so effortlessly, is so finely tuned and self-aware. I am OBSESSED with this damn song. The marriage between Leon’s buttery smooth falsetto in the verses and pre-chorus and Oliver’s neon fused synths woven throughout the track. I think my favorite instrumental bits are the bells echoing their way through the chorus. This is a level of pop I fuck with heavily. Listen here

“Heavy” - POWERS | Once again, my favorite music-based radio show/podcast Popchops come through with another wicked recommendation. As Dan and Andy pointed out, it’s so easy to imagine this as the avenue Gwen Stefani should have walked down for her solo comeback album, but let’s not undercut POWERS. They’re a songwriting duo now based out of LA who’ve penned a handful of hits and racked up millions of spins of their tracks. I promise “Heavy” is going to be rinsing on every party list you compile this year. Listen here

“Burning Echoes” - Storme | Oh my god?? It’s so hard not to draw comparisons to other artists to describe what you’re experiencing, but without a doubt “Burning Echoes” was struck with the same bolt of energy handed over to Kate Bush while she recorded her album Hounds of Love. Balanced in equal parts surreal and wildly, universally appealing, “Burning Echoes” is very much like Bush’s catalogue: it’s a song you can feel rooted in your gut. Fueled with a melodramatic, explosive chorus, Storme’s track came as the biggest surprise of my week. Listen here

“Countryside” - Shadowgraphs | Ever since I went to the Desert Daze show a couple weeks ago and caught Temples live, I’ve been digging 60s rock vibes more and more. Shadowgraphs channel early Pink Floyd vibes, diving into a sound much like a blurred out The Kinks with a knack for throwing down a catchy hook. While the song doesn’t even reach the 2:30 minutes mark, the song still carries a sick guitar solo to melt out over the final minute of the track. Listen here

________________________________________

If you’re interested in hearing what else I’ve been rinsing this month (aside from the tracks listed above), peep my March 2017 playlist.

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!

March 10, 2017

March 10, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

I’ve truly outdone myself: six tracks AND three album recommendations are packed into today’s letter. Unlike last week, I’ve been much better about keeping this week more under wraps. I actually had 12 tracks lined up initially, and weeded out half because, really? Would you even bother with that much text? This is already getting out of control.

I also have a very special project in the works to accompany cmd+f sometime next week….keep your eyes peeled on my socials (re: Twitter) to see when I’m harking the good news.

________________________________________

“What You Want” - Zuzu | Firstly, I’d like to give a huuuuge thank you to my friend Chris for tipping me off to Zuzu. From the first note, I was craving more. “What You Want” is only her second official single she’s released, and both tracks warrant much hype. Dancing between shredding guitars and a chorus that’ll eat away at your eardrums, Zuzu’s absolutely carving her mark out on 2017. Listen here

“Isabel” - Gold Connections | “Isabel” sounds like the feeling I get remembering the times I’d sit in my apartment while living in Seattle, refreshing my Tumblr dashboard for 3 hours straight while avoiding a mid-term research paper. Now that I’ve read that description back, it makes the song sound potentially awful, but here’s what I mean: I found a lot of solace in my solitude through those hours of procrastination. I spent a lot of it wired into my headphones, plopping random lo-fi dreampop tracks into playlists fit for very niche emotive states (exhibit A, exhibit B). Back to “Isabel” - the entire mood of the track, plotted with peaks and valleys, veiled in softness yet freckled with bits of ferocity that punch through the atmosphere. The most magical part of the song is it’s relentless commitment to staying in 4/4 time, no matter how distorted and bitter the instrumentals swirl into themselves throughout the last third of the track. Listen here

“Breathe” - Astrid S | So, Astrid S is a big deal in Norway. As we know, the Scandinavians fucking adore their pop music, and they’re so damn good at making it. Astrid’s dropped an endless string of singles the past few years, all solid efforts, and with the right PR team/strategy, “Breathe” could help Astrid tap into a broader, global audience a la neighboring rising Swedish superstar Zara Larsson. “Breathe” has all of the right elements of that darkpop vibe that’s creeping onto the radio here, at least Stateside. It’s a future hit, y’all. Listen here

“Sports” - Fufanu | This song is on here for two very particular reasons: audible Joy Division cosplay, and ‘Fufanu’ is reeeeeally fun to say. Go ahead; say Fufanu out loud, I’ll give you a moment. Let it roll off your tongue. Yeah? Great. Now that that’s aside, let me tell you why “Sports” is in here this week: Fufanu are an Icelandic band who started out producing techno music, but have since evolved into a really sick rock band. As noted above, their newer music truly sounds like audible Joy Division cosplay - down to the frantic drums and two tons of reverb caked over the vocal stems. The title track and opener to their latest album Sports is a fucking ride, so strap in. Listen here

“Don’t Ya Feel Better?” - The Velveteins | Now to bob you back up to the surface with a lighter track, “Don’t Ya Feel Better?” is pure summer, like that sheen of sweat cooling on your skin in the breeze whilst on your back in the grass with your shoes kicked off and you’re wiggling your toes and trying to find your slowly warming can of blood orange San Pellegrino to quench yourself in the midst of some primo cloud watching. Yeah. That’s exact kind of summertimeness this sounds like. Listen here

“Fuck Right Off Back to LA” - GIRLI | If you can’t tell by the title, this track is NSFW solely based on the fact it’s littered with a robust helping of “fuck you’s” in the chorus, and that’s not even accounting for the amount of fucks given in the verses. “Fuck Right Off Back to LA” is the sonic equivalent of trying to be cordial and smile through a really shitty break up. After blowing through the first two seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend in the last two weeks, I’m pretty sure I’m finding traces of Rebecca’s crazy ass in this song. If you haven’t seen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, do yourself a solid and watch the pilot episode at the least, and then you’ll fully understand what I’m talking about when you head this track. The contrast of cotton candy production paired with the most abrasive middle finger is easily the most relatable song I’ve posted on cmd+f to date. Fans of Charli XCX will especially enjoy GIRLI. Listen here

Oh, and one last thing:

ALBUMS/MIXTAPES YOU SHOULD RINSE THIS WEEK WITH NO EXPLANATION BEYOND ME CONFIRMING THEY WILL NOT BE A WASTE OF YOUR TIME:

Volcano - Temples | Listen here

Number 1 Angel - Charli XCX | Listen here

Feel Infinite - Jacques Greene | Listen here

________________________________________

If you’re interested in hearing what else I’ve been rinsing this month (aside from the tracks listed above), peep my March 2017 playlist.

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!

March 3, 2017

March 03, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

This week's batch has been the most difficult week for me to keep under wraps simply because I’ve fallen neck deep into these tracks. I’m pretty sure I’ve shared half of them to a handful of people sometime this week because I couldn’t contain myself, but kanyeshrug.gif.
As usual, I’ve got five tracks by five artists that may have flown under your radar. Grab a coffee, kick your feet up, and enjoy the tunes!

You may have also noticed the header is different this week. I decided to dig through thousands of digital scans of film photos I’ve taken and decided to put them to good use. The photo above is from FYF Fest last summer when I fell to my knees outside the Cafe Bustelo sponsored booth and went to embarrassing lengths to swipe up some coffee swag. It’s not a paid endorsement, but if they happen to see this, please know I start my day with a cup of Bustelo black every morning.

Hit me up on Twitter at @hellogoodbritt with your thoughts about any of the recommendations below, and please do send me any finds of your own – I get really pumped. Last weekend I was at a bougie grocery store in Venice Beach, and the cashier gave me a music recommendation after noticing my Prince badge on my backpack. It took every fiber of my being to act casual about it. When I had one foot out the market, I whipped my phone out and immediately started dragging the recommended artist’s tracks into playlist. Help make this happen more often! Shoot me some suggestions.

If you like any of the songs mentioned in this letter, tell your friends about it, but most importantly let the artists know, too! They work really hard on helping evolve the culture.

________________________________________

“The World’s Best American Band” - White Reaper | HELL YEAH! What a fucking jam. This song was obviously made with a live show in mind: the guitars shred start to finish, the production on the reverb is fuckin’ crisp enough for you to get the gist of the words well enough to scream along in a sweat-drenched crowd with someone else’s arm hair stuck to your cheek. Solid 10/10 from start to finish. White Reaper are upping the stakes for their new album, and I’m loving what I’m hearing in this track. No joke, I'm putting a sticky note up in every room of my house to remind myself to catch them live this year. Listen here

“Bellyache” - Billie Eilish | Not going to front: the reason I initially listened to this song was because I read her name as “Billy Elliot” and thought, “why not?” The first time you listen to “Bellyache,” the opening minute and a half is rather disorienting. You’re waiting for a chorus to drop, but instead Billie is circling around trying to get her head in the damn song, and SUDDENLY! After enduring two pre-chorus and verses, we’re rewarded with a chorus when the song is half way over! You’d think that’d bring some relief, but no, we too are left with a bellyache. Every aspect of this tune leaves you hanging. The strange composition of this song really sold me on it. Oh, and when you find out the song is about a psychopath attempting to come to terms with going on a murdering spree, you may recognize that as the “aha” moment you were waiting to drop the whole song. Listen here

“Money” - That Poppy | I feel into a That Poppy black hole this week after seeing a retweet from her account, which led me to her YouTube channel, which led me to a whole mess of conspiracy videos about who the hell That Poppy is and.... Jeez. I’m two years late to this game, and it turns out That Poppy is like some pop music creepypasta story of an ambiguously aged girl/woman who may be 15 or possibly 25?? Her aesthetic is very Suburban Late Teen Instagram Influencer Raids Forever 21 and Feeds Off Sanrio Candy. That aside, the phenomenon reminded me of when iamamiwhoami first broke out with their cryptic video series. With That Poppy though, her music is straight up top 40 pop. Out of all her tracks under her belt so far, “Money” is my absolute favorite - I can totally hear singers from the likes of Annie or Marina and the Diamonds singing. Also, the lyrics are hilariously, intentionally juvenile. Listen here

“Some” - Steve Lacy | Imagine Raphael Saadiq and Mac DeMarco produced a song together. Imagine no more: Steve Lacy is realizing this concept through soulful, sexy, melodic vocal arrangements over low-fi, drunk guitar riffs in 4/4 time. I have a good hunch about Steve, and great things are going to be happening around his name this year. You should really check out his entire new demo/EP. “Some” is a great intro to his music. Listen here

“Matter” - Shallows | Some may have forgotten my most gassed track of 2016 was a quiet little pop number dropped at the tail end of 2015 called “Summer Sucks,” and to this day it is pure heat. The duo behind my de facto Song of the Year 2016 have put out a new single “Matter,” and it’s a tightly produced track extracted from a1980s Junior Prom dance floor, gnarly guitar solo and all. Shallows are one of my favorite acts from LA at the moment producing thoughtful, well crafted indie pop. The world needs more of THIS. Listen here

________________________________________

It’s a new month! I’ve already started throwing things into my March 2017 playlist. Feel free to take a peak or follow to keep up with everything I’ve been listening to this month.

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!

February 24, 2017

February 24, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

Happy Friday, y’all. I’ve plucked six new tracks you may have overlooked–enjoy!

Hit me up on Twitter at @hellogoodbritt with your thoughts about any of the recommendations below, and please do send me any finds of your own. If you like any of the songs mentioned in this letter, tell your friends about it, but most importantly let the artists know, too! They work really hard on helping evolve the culture.

________________________________________

“There’s a Honey” - Pale Waves | Love at first note. “There’s a Honey” is the quality evolution of guitar-driven pop I wish to hear in the world, and thank god it has arrived. Hands down going to be an insta-fav for fans of The 1975 (+ the track was produced by Matty and George). I can’t wait to hear more from Pale Waves this year. Listen here

“Charm Assault” - Ride | Between news of a Kanye West makeup line and Future releasing two albums a week apart, news of Ride’s return were gravely overlooked this week. And this is fucking huge – over 20 years ago, this band had major ass beef and split after crippling record sales (could you imagine having your label telling you they want you to be the ‘new Oasis’ all the time?), and probably other drama, but they’ve been in the studio with Erol Alkan (yaaas keep those kid dancing, Erol), and plopped down the incredibly fresh “Charm Assault.” Good to have you back, fellas. Listen here

“Temple” - BF/C | “Temple” is the soundtrack of Black Mirror episode, pitched in darkness like a ghost breathing down your neck. There isn’t much information about BF/C out there, aside from a Facebook page about Californiaman from Sweden??? Either way, very into this. Listen here

“Restless” - darkDARK feat. Haley Bonar | “Restless” reminds me of early Zola Jesus, verging onto more power-pop production. It’s luxe, sultry, and velvety. Listen here

“take me on” - joan | The first time I heard “take me on,” my initial thought was, “what are the odds I’ll hear this on a TV show?” Maybe I’ve been getting way too into Riverdale every week, but this track is soaked in the kind of teen lust you’d expect to hear on a primetime soap. Listen here

“5 fine frøkner” - Gabrielle | I’m including this track as a Bat Signal more than anything. For those who obsessively followed the wildly popular third season of Norway’s teen drama TV show Skam late last year, you’ll know fans outside of Scandinavia kept trying to track down the song Isak and Even danced to in the kitchen one episode. And when they did manage to track a recording down, many were sorely disappointed to only find low quality rips on YouTube. Look no further: Gabrielle’s 2014 sapphic Norwegian club banger is officially up on streaming sites! Listen here

________________________________________

To keep up with everything I’ve been listening to this month, please feel free to follow my monthly Spotify playlist for February 2017 here.

I’m also adding all of the tracks I post in the cmd+f newsletters into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here and listen at your leisure.

Thank you so much for subscribing and all of your feedback.

See you next week!

February 20, 2017

February 20, 2017 in Newsletter, Music

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

Hi! I’m back with five new tracks a few days late, but who’s really counting? This week I unintentionally show some major California love with tracks by four acts from my hometown of Los Angeles, and one from New York (it’s still good).

________________________________________

“Further Away” - Satchmode | Lush dream-pop goodness. I caught them at a tiny bar show in Highland Park a couple weeks ago and their live shows sound nothing like their studio recordings, but they’re still fantastic. The live shows ooze more of a California beach rock vibe with more stress on the guitars, whereas their studio tracks play heavy on the reverb to melt into that dreamlike quality. Armed with neon synths, “Further Away” and a handful of other tracks from Satchmode’s debut album Love Hz would fit in on a Drive 2 soundtrack. Listen here

“Until Tomorrow” - Groundislava feat. Jake Weary | A new track from the Wedidit crew. With brisk synths and vast harmonies, “Until Tomorrow” is audible heartache. Listen here

“I Don’t Wanna Love” - Melanie Pfirrman | Holy shit. This song was so clearly crafted in a blender. I get more obsessed with it each time I rinse it, which has been a healthy amount the past week. It’s a pop brunch buffet of Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better” stuttering through guitar loops as Melanie serves some Ariana Grande levels of ‘aah aahs’ that linger in the background of her verses. It sounds like it was written for a pop group (without a doubt), but Melanie’s holding her own and busting through the gates at breakneck speed. “I Don’t Wanna Love” sounds especially good turned up extremely loud in your car speakers or headphones. Girl absolutely slays her runs at the end. Listen here

“We Gon Make It” - Cam & China | Cam & China are raw AF. They’re twin sisters from Inglewood and are currently my favorite rising rap act from LA, and they have the bars to fuck up the entire industry. “We Gon Make It” is different from the rest of their catalogue, but what sets it apart is when you hear Cam & China spit, you know they are fucking hungry. 🔥🔥🔥 Listen here

“Pull Me Under” - Kevin Garrett | I know what you’re thinking: another singer songwriter. Okay. But Kevin Garrett has written for Beyonce. I only found out he co-produced “Pray You Catch Me” on Lemonade after I listened to “Pull Me Under” a gazillion times. His tracks are more cerebral and sexy, a la Jamie Woon circa Mirrorwriting. Listen here

________________________________________

To keep up with everything I’ve been listening to this month, please feel free to follow my monthly Spotify playlist for February 2017 here.

I’m also adding all of the tracks I post in the cmd+f newsletters into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here and listen at your leisure.

See you next week!

February 10, 2017

February 10, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

Hello hello! I’m back with five tracks this week that may have slipped past your radar. The tracks are all lower energy, perhaps subconsciously my response to all that’s happening around us in The World right now. Hopefully all of them can take you to a state of much needed zen.

________________________________________

“Face Like Thunder” - The Japanese House | The Japanese House are a sonic blend of the two most exciting pop acts in my atmosphere at the moment: The 1975 and MUNA. That aside, The Japanese House really do hold their own presence in their music, blushing with a tinge of melancholic beauty. The first time you hear “Face Like Thunder,” will catch you breathless with the thrill of not knowing which way the melodies will turn. Listen here

“Renita” - Pavan | “Renita”’s composition is one of my favorite types of songs – the Slow Build. It starts off on a heartbeat, pulsing low and steadily. Each measure builds, winding up delicately with new ticks and “Ooohs” before abruptly folding in on itself. Sublime. Listen here

“Vessels” - Rationale | Rationale has one of my favorite voices of the moment – a thick, syrupy richness on par with Tracy Chapman. Rationale’s debut LP is slated for a release in March, and if the tracks off the Vessels EP are any indication, it’ll rip your heart out. Listen here

“Hopeless Romantic” - Michelle Branch | Did you know Michelle Branch is back? And she’s got her Lana Del Rey on? Well, she’s had a song here or there and other music projects crop up since her last full studio album release of Hotel Paper in 2003, but she’s been so wrapped up in running her music label, raising her daughter, divorcing her husband... that she ultimately put solo work on pause. Michelle’s been in the studio with Patrick Carney of the Black Keys (her new partner), bringing her songwriting forward into the current musical climate. Her new album is out in April, and “Hopeless Romantic” has got me so hype. Listen here

“Technically Single” (Lenno Remix) - Tayler Buono | BOP ALERT! The unremixed version of this track has racked up an impressive 20 million+ spins on Spotify, and I suspect it’s the result of being strategically placed into so many official Spotify playlists, thus fading into the background of so many lifeless H&M shopping trips. “Technically Single” deserves better! We already know somebody out there is working hard to make Tayler Buono happen, and her songs are great. This Lenno remix fills in a lot of the vast space that makes the original song fall on the wayside of Retail Radio Anonymity. Perhaps Tay can link up with Lenno for some of her future tracks??? I’ve got my eyes and ears on you, Tayler. Listen here

________________________________________

To keep up with everything I’ve been listening to this month, please feel free to follow up my monthly Spotify playlist for February 2017 here.

I’ll also be adding all of the tracks I post in the cmd+f newsletters to a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here and listen at your leisure.

See you next week!

February 3, 2017

February 03, 2017 in Music, Newsletter

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

Happy February! I got overzealous this week and have plucked 6 tracks and a full album recommendation. I hope you enjoy!

________________________________________

“Ultra Love” - Brödet | You know that point in your dreams when deep in your gut you know it’s about to turn south? That sinister itch you try to stave off so desperately? And you can’t even wake yourself up in the midst of it happening? That’s what “Ultra Friend” sounds like. In contrast, it also sounds a lot like the first time I went into a sensory deprivation tank for an hour –soothing, serene, yet an edge of uneasiness having to confront some serious ass feelings. Listen here

“Thumbs” - Sabrina Carpenter | I love me a Disney Channel star leading her way into a music career. I’ve said this several times, but I have an inkling that Sabrina’s going to have a Selena-esque career trajectory. Sabrina’s debut LP EVOLution is stacked with some bangers. “Thumbs” is gaining traction on the US radio at the moment – and rightfully so. The chorus is catchy, and it’s the kind of campy conscious pop we need in these trying political times. The bridge says it all “Don't believe everything that you hear/ Let it go through your left and right ear / Don't just march to the beat of that drum / Don't be one of them people just twiddling them thumbs.” What a nice way to remind us to get off our asses and make our way through the world! Listen here

“Daddy” - Rotana | This one came to me via press email, and PHEW! “Daddy” is how we thought Gaga’s JOANNE would sound like: a powerhouse intersection of dark pop production overlaid with solid country pop-like vocals. This is the only song under Rotana’s profile at the moment, but according to her release she made her debut performance at Sundance last month. I’m intrigued to see what else she’s going to deliver. “Daddy” is a solid introduction. Listen here

“Love is the Beast” - ROMANS, Avelino | I’m praying 2017 is the year for both of these artists. ROMANS is an incredibly talented UK songwriter who’s penned some tracks for Alicia Keys, Disclosure, and Mary J Blige (look at his own Spotify playlist to get a grasp; CHOONS ON CHOONS) - alas he’s signed to Roc Nation. We must not let him pitter off our radars. Meanwhile Avelino is rising the ranks and paving a path for UK hip hop (not Grime!!) with some of the smoothest bars in the game. Would not surprise me if Drake’s snatched him up for whatever new project Drake’s working on now. Listen here

“Little Black Book” - PUZZLE | Okay, the chorus is totally channeling some maaaajor Debbie Deb vibessssssss. Whew! I need more acts to pluck that Freestyle essence and punch them into their production – “Little Black Book” has just enough to have you groove and jam with ease. Listen here

“In The Air” - Ten Fé | For those who crave a bit of UK indie rock, Ten Fé absolutely nail modernizing the Madchester scene. The harmonies during the chorus of “In The Air” are simply divine. They dropped their debut LP Hit the Light today, so give that a rinse if you dig this track. Listen here

FULL ALBUM REC: About U - MUNA | I’ve been waiting for this album all damn year, and it’s finally here, living up to every ounce of expectation I set for it. I heard all the new songs for the first time Wednesday night when I saw them kick off their first headline tour at the Teragram Ballroom in LA, swiped up an early copy of the album to blast on the way home, and it’s honestly already ranked up on my AOTY list - and it’s only February. DEFINITELY LISTEN HERE

________________________________________

To keep up with everything I’ve been listening to this month, please feel free to follow up my monthly Spotify playlist for February 2017 here.

I’ll also be adding all of the tracks I post in the cmd+f newsletters to a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here and listen at your leisure.

See you next week!

January 27, 2017

January 27, 2017 in Newsletter, Music

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

Hello! This is the first issue of cmd+f, a splinter project from my collaborative music sharing project What’s Poppin’? I was hosting every other week with my friend Chris. Since that’s gone on hiatus and I’ve missed having a concrete way of sharing music recommendations, I’ve set up cmd+f as a means to quench that urge to introduce friends to new tunes.

Most of my day is spent listening to ad free radio, thumbing through press release emails, and stumbling across some incredible emerging artists. I’m committing to sharing at least five of my favorite tracks that have entered my life weekly with all of you.

If you like what you hear, let me and the artist know! Gas these artists up, dive into whatever discography they may have. Please share me your favorite songs of the moment, too! You can find me on Twitter at @hellogoodbritt.

Strap in! Here are five songs I’m really digging at the moment:

________________________________________

“Shock Horror” - Shy Luv, JONES | BOP ALERT! Doused in early Calvin Harris neu-disco vibes with substantially more appealing vocals, “Shock Horror” is a dizzying accident I found while dicking around on YouTube. The music video is fucking bizarre–part Hot Chip, part Metronomy–but it definitely works. Listen here

“Oslo” - Anna of the North | Sublime. Sounds like the morning sunlight filtering through the frost on your windows in the middle of winter. Listen here

“Now & Then” - Sjowgren | I always think I’m going to get over indie pop, but then a song like this sweeps by and I’m mesmerized – it was the harmonies in the chorus that suckered me in. There’s very little information floating around on the net about Sjowgren, and I’m proud to say they’re a three-piece from (Northern) California. This song is paired best with a cup of coffee and feet kicked up on the desk. Listen here

“Waiting” - Betsy | Betsy is my girl. Truly. I continually refer to her as the second coming of Cher. Not only does she sound very similar to the pop icon, she’s also got glitz and glamour to flaunt, all the while still coming across authentic as hell. It’s very easy to spot artists who help craft their own stylized image versus the ones who’ve been signed, locked away and processed in a label laboratory with a management team for a year. With one of the biggest voices in pop at the moment, each Betsy release has me foaming at the mouth for another EP or an album announcement. Listen here

“Back In The Room” - KLP | Pop connoisseurs are making up for their severe lack of attention to the talent flooding out of Australia at the moment (we’re all stuck on Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighbourhood LP, soz) - and it’ officially our duty to get the word out about KLP ASAP. “Back In The Room” was tipped to me via one of my favorite music podcasts Popchops, hosted by pop enthusiasts Dan and Andy from Down Under, and they both always bring forward a few pop perspective. After listening to their interview with KLP (who I learnt is not only pursuing a pop music career, but is also a radio/dance music DJ, and worked with Julian Hamilton of The Presets – and immediately I knew this project was gonna be mega), I immediately rinsed her Ember EP which dropped last October a few times. It’s absolutely incredible - and I’m ashamed so many of us have slept on it for so long. Better late than never! Listen here

________________________________________

To keep up with everything I’ve been listening to this month, please feel free to follow up my monthly Spotify playlist for January 2017 here.

Uncork your finest and raise your glass ‘cause the weekend is basically here.

Cheers to a happy Friday and see you next week!