Mabel

March 9, 2018

Happy day after international women’s day!

To keep the festivities rolling, I’ve handpicked five songs fronted by female vocalists, and I’m so excited to share them with you. I’m keeping this opening short n’ sweet, and will let these gals do all the talking.

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

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

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

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

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“The Game Remix” - Gabriel Garzón-Montano feat. Junglepussy | I spent Tuesday night leaning over a kitchen counter reading a book whilst getting myself reacquainted with Junglepussy’s discography. She’s hands down one of the best rappers from New York ever, armed with solid bars, and oozes levels of self love and confidence that I can feel myself start believing I have within me just listening to her voice. Her latest release is a collab with Gabriel Garzón-Montano, completely commandeering the instrumentals and replacing his lyrics with her own groove. This reimagination is thrilling, just turning the jam on its head. I wanna swim in this song. Listen here

“Wayside” - Renata Zeiguer | For those of you trapped in a snowstorm, and those of you sleeping off the days of the late summer sun, prepared to be swept off your feet by the punchdrunk, hazy folk jam ‘Wayside.” Listen here

“Like You Like That” - L Devine | This choice is an absolute curveball: I heard it back in November when it came out. Well, I actually tried to listen to L Devine’s EP back then, but it was likely an evening I was too overwhelmed by a barrage of higher profile releases, and it was sadly swept under the rug. “Like You Like That” came back to me this week after finding its way onto the formerly-collaborative Popjustice playlist, “POPJUSTICE EUPHORIA COME ON YOU FUCKERS LET’S FUCKING HAVE IT.” Peter’s been slowly chipping down the list from a whopping 1600+ entries, and I dip in the list every other day to see what remains. “Like You Like That” took me by surprise – it’s a highly calculated bop crafted to appeal to pop purists. It’s got the whimsical repetitive vocal inflections a la Terror Jr, and the curious sensuality of a Tove Lo track. Listen here

“Twentytwo” - Sunflower Bean | This song is absolutely gorgeous. I’m a bit annoyed with myself for putting off listening to this until this week, but I’m glad it found me. Sunflower Bean caused a bit of a buzz in 2016 around the release of their debut album Human Ceremony, and were noted to be fresh out of high school despite their sound being beyond their years. “Twentytwo” is a divine, dreamy mid-tempo track boasting a message of resilience on societal expectations for young women. If you can spare a moment, I can’t recommend the glossy, Olivia Bee directed music video enough. Listen here // Watch here

“Cat’s Cradle” - Hannah Epperson | Hannah Epperson is a phenomenon. A trained violinist, Epperson composes two versions of all her tracks: an Amelia (a devoted experimental pop interpretation), and an Iris (a stripped, minimalist interpretation). Using vocals and her loop-pedal, it’s mind blowing how the same song can sound from two worlds – each like a long lost fraternal twin living on separate ends of the galaxy. Highly recommended listening for fans of Andrew Bird, Patrick Wolf, and Sufjan Stevens. Listen here (Amelia version) // Listen here (Iris version)

New Music Friday Selects

  • Years & Years have finally returned with their first single since the release of their 2015 debut album Communion. Sticking with the lite-Catholic theme, the lead single is titled “Sanctify,” a low key Catholic guilt BOP about dear Olly Alexander engaging in intimate relationships with straight dudes. The music video also introduces us to Years & Years’ fictional universe of Palo Santo, a reversed-Blade Runner-esque society in which the androids are running shit and humans are a commodity. In the video, we see Olly: grind a chair, crawl on the floor, and is really just feeling hisself. 20gayteen is really out here. Watch here

  • Remember Vera Blue from the November 17, 2017 letter? Homegirl has released her Women’s Reckoning anthem “Lady Powers” as an official single this time throwing Kodie Shane for a verse on the track. YOOOOW! Listen here

  • Bellowing cherub George Ezra pulls through with yet another taste of his forthcoming album Staying at Tamara’s with the heartfelt ballad “Hold My Girl.” George’s kindly dressed up like a goofy dad for an equally sweet lyric video Watch here

  • James Bay has cut off all his hair and has apparently shed all that sadness from his shoulders. His latest single “Pink Lemonade” is a surprisingly upbeat, thirst-quenching delight Listen here

  • Editors return with their 9-track album Violence, and it’s a complete melter. Highly recommend “Hallelujah (So Low) Listen here

  • My favorite girls MUNA are celebrating 1 whole year since the release of their debut album about u with the release of an acoustic EP, About U: One Year On Listen here

  • Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard’s band Calpurnia have shared their debut single “City Boy” Listen here

  • ZHU and Tame Impala have linked up for the track “”My Life” Listen here

  • WSTRN jumped on a remix of Mabel’s “Fine Line” and somehow make this jam BETTER Listen here

  • [yodels] WET ARE BACK! If you’re in need of a bit of a Mood for a light cry after being rejected by someone, please consider bumping “There’s A Reason” Listen here

  • Sail away with Lil Yachty’s new tape Lil Boat 2 Listen here

  • The Wrinkle In Time soundtrack has arrived and it has the first officially released Sade track in, like, a decade. How blessed??? Also, please support seeing this film this opening weekend if you can. Listen here

  • The Neighbourhood, aka American The 1975, have a new self-titled album Listen here

  • Not only has Vince Staples launched a GoFundMe campaign for $2million to fund his retirement after receiving swashes of criticism for his new live stage arrangement, he’s also kindly released a new track, “Get the Fuck Off My Dick” Listen here

  • Run the Jewels have remixed Lorde’s “Supercut” and it’s dope, obvi Listen here

  • The bottom half of the new Beach House song, “Dive” is far superior. Stick out listening to the 2:30 intro and you’ll be rewarded greatly 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!

February 23, 2018

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Hello, hello.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Music Friday Selects

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you next week!