Rae Morris — Weekly Finds

Today’s letter almost didn’t happen thanks to my entire week getting derailed by work obligations, getting sucked into yet another TV show (German post WWI mystery-thriller Babylon Berlin), and spending absolutely all of my Wednesday night listening to EXO songs (more on this Very Expansive Event can be found under the New Music Friday Selects section). Also, the Grammy’s f*cking sucked this year, so I’m going to leave my commentary on that subject AT THAT.

It’s been brought to my attention that a few readers haven’t realized there is a NEW cmd+f 2018 playlist. This is the playlist where I dump in all of the songs I mention in the letter (that are available for streaming) into a single Spotify playlist. You can find that specific playlist here in which I’ll be updating regularly with the weekly cmd+f picks. Please feel free to subscribe to the list so you’ll have one central place for you to listen to nearly every song I post every week, and share with your friends!

For this week’s letter, I’d been waffling around about ten songs I wanted to choose between this week, and then the New Music Friday releases dropped (which are rather good), and I ended up throwing down two emerging artists to highlight this week with extremely fresh releases (ahem, today). I hope you enjoy all five finds as much as I do.

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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“Proud of Me” - Mahalia feat. Little Simz | British singer Mahalia has been signed to a major label since she was 13 years old, and six years later she’s dropping pure heat. With the likes of Jorja Smith and SZA paving the way for inspired (and I fucking mean this! Their music is truly charged with life), soulful female vocalists, Mahalia is laying bricks to make her way onto everyone’s radar. She captured the interests of very buzz-worthy publications (i-D, FACT mag) with her summer single “Sober.” On “Proud of Me,” Mahalia’s rich vocals weave out the story of her passion for creating music for herself and not for the fame. She sings about musicians who aren’t able to handle keeping up with the demands of the celebrity side of being a musician, and she vows to keep doing this “music thing for herself.” Consider the song a massive “thank you” to her family for supporting her for being talented as heck and keeping her grounded. I can’t wait to hear more from her this year. Listen here

“All the Vultures” - hunter & wolfe | It was difficult to narrow down a single choice from hunter & wolfe’s Late Than Never EP. In fact, I’d have no regrets choosing any one of the tracks of the bunch - but ultimately committed to the opening track “All the Vultures.” The meticulously layered piano chords woven throughout take me back to the days of Something Corporate, in which the piano complimented the song as if it were a vital backup singer that toyed with the hopeful- or hopelessness wavering throughout the tune. hunter & wolfe have been writing music together since 2011, so it’s hardly a surprise they’ve managed to dig deep for a song this absurdly rich, vibrant, and utterly effortless. Listen here

“Back of Your Car” - Swimming Girls | For those of you currently covered in blankets in the blistering cold, consider Swimming Girls’ latest single “Back of Your Car” a sip of summertime bliss. It’s a powerpop jam fit for fans of Tegan and Sara, flourished with pseudo-80s vibes and a massive chorus. You can practically smell the sunscreen and raging teenage hormones through the vivid imagery coursing through the lyrics: “And I can feel you sweating/Your love so rough it’s like the sea/Let’s go to the back of your car/How I hope you understand/My dreams dry up and fall apart/Now we’re lying in the sand” Listen here

“Jaguar Spring” - JW Ridley | Holy balls – the first time I heard “Jaguar Spring” was electrifying. The guitar struck me with parallels to Orange Juice on downers and The Durutti Column, which means I can confirm the tune is pure goth bliss. Listen here

“Gayby” - Sam Vance-Law | Poised with the theatrical wit of Sufjan Stevens and the messianic tweeness of Jens Lekman, Sam Vance-Law is the queer kids answer to the void Patrick Wolf has left behind since going dark for the music scene circa 2012. A bonafide chamber pop delight, “Gayby” is the third single from his forthcoming debut album Homotopia (out in March!), a collection of songs surveying the life of a gay man in the 21st century. It was only a matter of time until we’d stumble upon the gay Father John Misty. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

NUMBER 1 NEWS PRIORITY: NEW YEARS & YEARS MUSIC IS ON ITS WAY!!! The former BBC Sound of 2015 (jesus!!!!) winners hit up the BBC Radio 1 Sound of 2018 live broadcast to perform their hits “King” and “Take Shelter,” and made a surprise debut performance of a lush new track, “DNA.” Following the performance, they Tweeted “new music is coming in a few weeks,” which, hallelujah! Listen here
It’s been a year since one of my favorite band, MUNA, released their debut album About U. Today they’re celebrating this momentous occasion with a live stream at 3pm EST/Noon PST. They’ll be recording acoustic versions of songs from the album and hosting a Q&A session via NPR. Watch here
For those of you truly interested in the CRAFT of music making will be excited to hear Spotify is added songwriter and producer credits on their desktop app! I’m really stoked they’re acknowledging in the importance of highlighting the hardworking teams that are behind some of our favorite songs. Read here
The biggest boyband in the world (and I’m not talking about BROCKHAMPTON) have shared a new “album,” and it’s fuckin’ wild. KPop superstars EXO dropped COUNTDOWN on Wednesday evening, and my life spiraled into hours of listening to “Electric Kiss” on repeat. Granted it opens and you think you’re walking into the opening of Fifth Harmony’s “Boss,” but eventually it deviates into its own explosive chorus. I spoke with a few fans upon (freaking out over) the release, and was informed most of the songs had been released over the years as promotional singles and are just now being thrown into a single album (because their fans will buy anything and everything associated with them). Other standout track on the album that had me losing my mind was “Run This.” Production is wild, y’all. Listen here
For those of you surprised I listen to Kpop: 1) you must be new here, and 2) RED VELVET HAVE NEW MUSIC! One of KPop’s most beloved girl groups has re-released their latest album with a handful of new tracks that are VERY good. If you have listened to Red Velvet, you’ll likely know which songs are new. If you haven’t listened to Red Velvet, enjoy. Listen here
Rather than prioritizing your time to listen to the new Justin Timberlake album Man of the Woods, I highly recommend you take ten minutes to use up one of your monthly New York Times article credits to read Jon Caramonica’s review of the album instead. Pop music criticism at its best. Read here
Rae Morris has pulled a Dua Lipa for her sophomore album Someone Out There, re: she’s released half the songs as singles ahead of release, and those singles still slap, therefore the album is at least guaranteed to be half good. Listen here
Tove Styrke has released another solid pop tune titled “Change My Mind.” While I agree with it now, I’m not particularly overwhelmed by it. I’m sure I’ll be obsessively looping this on repeat in a couple weeks as I do with all of her singles. Definitely a grower. Listen here
The highly anticipated Black Panther soundtrack track list was announced this week, and everyone has proceeded to rightfully lose their shit. The full album drops next Friday, and I’m going to spend the next 7 days foaming at the mouth waiting for that James Blake and Anderson .Paak collab. In the meantime, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd’s collab “Pray For Me” came out today. Hopefully this will get you through the week. Listen here
Pale Waves have released another single ahead of their debut EP (why????) called “The Tide,” and it’s rather good. I’m hoping the EP has at least two unheard songs on it….we’ll see. Listen here
Lykke Li is BACK with her new single, “Time In A Bottle.” She’s serving serious Lana del Taco meets Dolly Parton vibes, and I’m very here for it Listen here
I was having a conversation with a friend this week about what qualifies as the sound of Alternative Music? I argued the Grammy’s have deemed the genre boring-rock-music-your-dad-wouldn’t-listen-to (I don’t have a dad in my life, but I’d imagine dads aren’t into The National very much) when it should in fact be music pushing sounds in all genres to the outer limits and borderline genreless. Based on my logic, I’d say Rhye could easily be categorized as Alternative Music. If you dig, check out their brand new, sensuous album Blood Listen here
LEGENDS Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, and Kelly Rowland have linked up for a ball bustin’, ass clappin’ fever dream titled “Get It” Listen here
I wonder what Quavo’s rates are - he’s managed to land some vocal bits on the new Iggy Azalea track (which isn’t horrible, just, weird? It’s not even enough to be considered a rap track) 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.

If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my January 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!

Holy CRAP, this week’s new music Friday releases are incredible. It feels like how October and early November music releases used to feel - brimming with fresh pop bops, jams, and bangers left and right. This week we’ve got a host of artists making a comeback with new albums and album announcements, solid singles, intense music videos… and extremely embarrassing rap careers from 1999 being unearthed from the depths of the earth. I’ve put together just enough content to distract yourself from living in the IRL for the rest of the MONTH! If you don’t have that kind of time, at least you can digest most of it this weekend while you try and muster up the energy to find enjoyment in cleaning your toilet.

Check out my top 5 songs by emerging (and established!) artists that may have flown under your radar.

If you like what you hear, spread the cheer.

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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“Mind Hijacker’s Curse” - Chad VanGaalen | Chad VanGaalen is by no means a new artist. In fact, he’s been releasing music for the past 15 years - before the rise of music downloads and streaming. I’m almost sure I poached a couple albums off someone’s iTunes in the Bellarmine Lobby using a music sharing software my freshman year of college and listened to maybe half of an album. Anyhow, Chad’s a veteran to this whole music artist thing, and he’s got a solid, established fanbase who’s been sustaining his work for well over a decade. His latest album Light Information dropped last year in September, and I’m gonna be frank: my eyes definitely glazed over that press email from SubPop. This past weekend I made a last minute trip to San Diego to visit with a friend. Her friend was driving us to dinner when “Mind Hijacker’s Curse” came on. The twang of the guitars, and lilting, wavering synths pecked through the speakers dancing around our conversation about a New Zealand restaurant that opened in North Park (I think). It’s high key melancholic, with lyrics clamoring for the preservation of evaporating time. If this is your first time listening to Chad VanGaalen, take some time out this weekend to sift through his discography - it’s chock full of gems like “Mind Hijacker’s Curse.” Listen here

“Lottery” - Jade Bird | As an avid anti-country pop music listener, I’m 1000% sure if most country pop music sounded like the material Jade Bird is throwing down, I’d happily become a country music stan. “Lottery” is a colorful, sweet friends-to-lovers anthem stacked with a big chorus and even bigger vocals on par with Brandi Carlile. While digging up some background info on ol’ Jade, she cites her greatest musical influence as Loretta Lynn, who seeps through her vocals. What shocked the hell out of me more than anything is finding our Jade is only 20 years old and British. A Brit! Nailing this Americana music game! Listen here

“Slower Than Usual” - Ariel Beesley | This was such a pleasant surprise - Ariel Beesley’s first official single! You may recall first hearing Ariel in a previous cmd+f letter as the featured vocalist for Love Thy Brother’s pop belter “Love Me Better.” Her debut single is virtually a Blondie tribute, and that’s definitely nothing to be ashamed of, innit. The tune is about a stranger Ariel met in Stockholm that she essentially fell in love with during her time there, but as the greatest love stories go, timing wasn’t right for either of them. The two lovers shared their very own Call Me By Your Name moment (this particular comparison is likely highly exaggerated, but it brings the drama) where they were very much in love during the time they were together, and they savored every moment they had together. The pre-chorus chimes in with a desperate plea for time to wane: “smoke your cigarette slower than usual/here with me.” Listen here

“Infinite” - solace | Soulful songstress solace’s single “Infinite” is sublime. From the innovative LA collective Milky Wayv, the track transforms from minimal to a full blown atmospheric slow jam. It’s absolutely breathtaking. Listen here

“Egyptian Luvr” - Rejjie Snow feat. Aminé | The first time I properly heard Irish rapper Rejjie Snow, he opened for Years & Years at the Fonda Theater in LA a couple years ago. I’m 100% he is the first and only Irish rapper I can recall of the top of my head. His song “Blakkst Skn” featured a hook sung by the lovely Rae Morris, and was produced by the beloved Kaytranada. Since that performance, he’s chipped his way up the ranks, dropping tunes with cool kid heavyweights Jesse Boykins and Joey Bada$$. Today he dropped a new EP, Dear Annie: Part 1, featuring the opening track “Egyptian Luvr.” The tune’s got a funky groove produced by none other than Kaytranada, features guest vocals by Dana Williams on the hook, and a guest verse by Aminé. “Egyptian Luvr” is slick as hell. Listen here

BONUS

My prayers and good energy sent out into the universe last week have been answered: George Ezra has dropped a BRAND SPANKING NEW SINGLE call “Paradise,” and it’s surpassed all expectations. My new editor, Kimmie, described the sound of the single as making her “want to fall in love immediately like a teen movie” or “when [she] would skip school to drive to the beach with the windows down.” Not only has George inspired playing hookie and falling in love, the bellowing cherub has announced his highly anticipated sophomore album Staying At Tamara’s will be out March 23, and he has 2018 tour dates in UK, Europe, USA, and Canada. Word on the street is First Aid Kid (the folksy Americana Swedish duo who have released their very own album Ruins today) will be featured on a track on the album. PHEW! Big year for Georgey - it’s good to have you back, sir. Listen to “Paradise” here
Today really is better than a post Christmas shopping trip - Rita Ora has also released a new song! It’s sponsored by Absolut Vodka - which, before you say “I can’t believe she has a song sponsored by vodka,” remind yourself it’s Rita Ora we are dealing with here. The finest pop musique hustler in all the land - now enjoy “PROUD,” a mid-tempo generi-pop tune sponsored by Absolut Vodka, and don’t you dare forget it. Listen here
Troye Sivan has released ANOTHER single!! “The Good Side” is a gorgeous ballad that Harry Styles wishes he released as his debut single. Judging by Troye’s first two comeback singles, it’s evident he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with this year on the pop music scene. Listen here
Looks like Rae Morris is pulling a Dua Lipa and continues to release a new single each week leading up to the release of her debut album to the point that we will likely only have three songs we’ve never heard by the time the album drops, but who cares? Who actually friggin’ cares when Rae is satiating that hunger for her album? It’s a blessing. Listen to "Lower the Tone" here
Bad week to drop a single with Offset, Tinashe… what kinda fucked up karma does she have for the universe to keep sabotaging her career? Ironically titled “No Drama,” this single with the human pigeon issa bop. Listen here
Porches’s highly anticipated album The House is now out. From the select tunes I’ve heard, it’s dark, melancholic, and got enough drum machines in it to make you wanna dance. Listen here
Cashmere Cat has finally lived up to this unending hype and released a song I can fuck with, but it’s more than likely because Major Lazer also had their hands on the track. Featuring breathy, distorted vocals from Torey Lanez, “Miss You” is a winner. Listen here
Jorja Smith turns into a hired assassin in Italy in the video for her newest single “Let Me Down” featuring Stormzy Watch here
Lady Leshurr’s got a siiiiick new freestyle video, "R.I.P." Watch here
Unsure if the gays will rejoice, but it appears Kylie Minogue has gone full Joanne for her boot-kickin’ come back single, “Dancing.” What sounds like a long lost STEPS track is a lot of fun, but I really miss the “sticky, bruised knees in a sweaty club and feeling pretty slutty after 3 tall drinks” Kylie, you know? Listen here
SG Lewis has shared another brilliant single, “Aura,” featuring J Warner, and it’s brilliant. No SG Lewis album or extended projects have been announced, but please put in a prayer circle for a damn album. Listen here
Ah, yes, I did mention embarrassing mixtapes up at the top, didn’t I? Well, Tommy No 1, aka Hollywood Heartthrob and director Christopher Nolan’s golden boy Tom Hardy, had an unsuccessful rap career in the late 90s. Tommy No 1’s beatmaker and partner in crime, Eddie Too Tall, was TV writer Edward Tracy. The lost gems surfaced Thursday when Edward dropped the mixtape on Bandcamp. It’s reeeeeally rough, and I’m grateful Tom’s spared himself a lot of grief and become an actor. Read all about it 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.

See you next week!