It couldn’t be a better time for it to be Friday than right now, dear reader. This week has been filled with many hours of planning budgets and orchestrating a massive, two-day photo shoot for my day job - and it all went way, way better than anticipated. Los Angeles has been raining non-stop for the past 48 hours – and it’s Florida rain, not that insufferably light Pacific Northwest mist that spits down on your enough to make your hair frizz up as soon as you step indoors.
I’ve slimmed down the selections to five songs again this week, and each one of them is a true gem. Some weeks I am so nervous I won’t find enough songs to muster up the enthusiasm to share them with you, but there is so much exciting music waiting to be heard out there.
To completely gas myself up (everyone needs to give themselves a pat on the back time to time) I can’t tell if I’m getting better at this, or if new artists are stepping up their game, but the picks for the past month have been ridiculously good.
As always, I hope these songs inspire you to check out more music by these artists, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard before!
Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.
You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.
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“Set It Off” - JessB | It’s the third week in a row I’m opening the letter with a track by a female MC! How could I not when ladies are killing the fucking game right now. JessB was brought to my attention via my dear friend Ana (who tips me off about what’s happening in New Zealand), and I completely lost my mind from the moment I heard “Set It Off.” She’s an exciting rising rapper from Auckland, making big wakes in the Kiwi hip-hop scene. Her EP Bloom packs pure HEAT, y’all. Keep your ears open for JessB; she’s only just getting started. Listen here
“Falling Into Me” - Let’s Eat Grandma | The best way I could describe the vibe of UK duo Let’s Eat Grandma is a cross between the brutal honesty and organic listlessness of MUNA meets the brutally calculated and left field-ness of Björk. “Falling Into Me” sounds like Lorde channeling CAN and Stevie Nicks all at once. It’s maddeningly fresh. Listen here
“Duck Hunting” - Gundelach | This week’s wouldn’t be complete without a song about melancholic nostalgia. Norway’s Gundelache has you aching with nostalgia in your chest. Between the analog synths and his sweet falsetto, “Duck Hunting” paints a vivid memory of beckoning for hopefulness when you’re on the brink of giving up on everything. It’s beautiful. If you dig “Duck Hunting,” give the rest of his new album Baltus a spin - it’s chock full of glossed up Tangerine Dream-esque vibes. Listen here
“Sure” - Hatchie | Back on my shoegaze bullshit. With swirling guitars stick in a My So Called Life-esque daze, “Sure” is a long lost Cocteau Twins daydream. Hymns to fractured relationships never sounded so gauzy. The Australian singer has garnered a lot of buzz, and I can't wait to hear more from her. Listen here
“Bedroom” - Litany | Alright, y’all. This song turns one year in a handful of months – but that aside, “Bedroom” is that song. "Bedroom" is a simmering, two-step lite, atmospheric pop bop. It's the audible nervously biting your finger and trying not to look at that person across the room. Their 4 Track EP is stacked with cottony jams and has steadily been raking in new fans over the past year. They're allegedly working on an album that's set to drop this year, and I hope the hooks stick as hard as the seductively sing-songy "Bedroom." Listen here
New Music Friday Selects
- Hallelujah! Old boy George Ezra has done it! He’s released his sophomore album Staying at Tamara’s. Stand out track that wasn’t a pre-released single has to be “Shotgun” Listen here
- Neo John Mayer Shawn Mendes has returned with not one but two new singles. One sounds very retro-James Bay, while the other sounds like a pseudo Mayer Hawthorne bop. Both are good each in their own ways. Listen to In My Blood here and Listen to Lost in Japan here
- A collab I never could have foreseen… but Thirty Seconds to Mars and A$AP Rocky???? It doesn’t even slap. Listen here
- Drake is back on his bullshit and gearing up for a comeback. This time brother Aubrey has dropped a “remix” (aka slipped a verse onto) N.E.R.D.’s “Lemonade” featuring Rihanna (which DUH) Listen here
- Superorganism have covered Carnitas Cabezza “Havana” and now THAT really slaps Listen here
- Queen Nadine, the only surviving member of Girls Aloud, has a new EP out Listen here
- cmd+f alumn FINNEAS hs a new song, and it’s gorgeous Listen here
- Sunflower Bean’s sophomore album Twentytwo in Blue is out today Listen here
- Resident brat pop cmd+f alum GIRLI has a new single called “Play It Cool” Listen here
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A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.
Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.
If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my March 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!
See you next week!