Astrid S — 2017 Letters Archive

It’s Independence Day next Tuesday here in America, and global affairs and chaos aside, I’m very much looking forward to enjoying a four day weekend. Part of me thinks a beach may or may not be involved, but for sure fireworks, my camera(s), and a whole lot of crazy food from local vendors and barbecues will be gobbled up across these days. Bring on all the Korean dumplings, short ribs, and mangonadas, y’all.

This week I’ve hand-picked six tracks to help you shimmy your way into the long weekend.

Please reach out to me via the handy dandy contact page on the cmd+f website, or on the 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.

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“Try to Fight” - Cathedrals | Oh. My. God. Remember Alphabeat???? Cathedrals are filling the void Alphabeat has left in my heart. “Try to Fight” straight up sounds like Keisza singing over a Years & Years instrumental. With a relentless bass looming beneath a bubbly synth and infectious hook, “Try to Fight” is “King” at half-speed, but still gets full marks on the campy electro beats. High key suprised this hasn’t made it onto the H&M In Store Music playlist, to be quite honest. Listen here

“Body Bounce” - Lao Ra feat. Konshens | This is the second time I’ve thrown Lao Ra down in the cmd+f letter (here is the first), and she’s thrown down yet another fine “pineapple pop” dancefloor banger. “Body Bounce” features Jamaican artist Konshens, fusing a delicious blend of Lao Ra’s Colombian roots with tropical and dancehall beats. Get ready to pop-pop-pop-pop. Listen here

“Flash” - The Belligerents | Damn: The Belligerents’ new single “Flash” is better than good. Underneath all that psychedelic flare, this song is undoubtedly bigger than it was likely intending to be. This song deserves to be performed in a damn stadium. I want to hear this at full volume, amps screeching. “Flash” is the first single off The Belligerents’ upcoming debut album (!!!), and I honestly can’t WAIT to hear what they pull off. Listen here

“Lonely Now” - Lover | Who on earth is Lover? I’m surprised there hasn’t been an artist already named Lover by this point, but here we are. UPDATE: he actually goes by LØVER, but he’s on Spotify as just Lover. Anyway, LØVER is an R&B-lite artist from Norway. “Lonely Now” sounds like a long lost Michael Bolton track in a 1980s teen movie, meaning it’s essentially perfect. Listen here

“Trampoline” (Saint Etienne Remix) - Kero Kero Bonito | Sickly sweet J-pop (in English) reworked over a ska beat - sounds like it’d be a mess, but I assure you it’s BRILLIANT. Kero Kero Bonito have been around for a minute, churning out ironic, blissfully bonkers pop music on speed. Saint Etienne have kicked “Trampoline” down a few notches and rubbed the tune down into a beachy-keen day dream. Listen here

“Call Me Out” - Sea Girls | I leave you with one last big tune: Sea Girls have come out the gate at breakneck speed with “Call Me Out” - it’s an unrelenting, contagious tune. What a freaking debut single, my friends. I’ve sent this off to two people this week, and both of their reactions were variations of “into it.” If you’re a fan of British indie pop (a la The Kooks, et al), BUMP THIS. Listen here

BONUS

JAY-Z dropped his 13th studio album 4:44 on TIDAL. Literally everyone who has a TIDAL subscription confirms it’s incredible (likely to justify the fact the have a TIDAL subscription). And if you’re curious and don’t have a Sprint phone plan, seems like you’re “never” going to hear this album as it’s not only a TIDAL exclusive, but it’s now a TIDAL with Sprint exclusive. It’s like this man thinks he’s Beyoncé or something...
Astrid S is ready to take on the globe!! The Norwegian pop princess has dropped her new Party’s Over EP Listen here
The only album you’re gonna need with you by the pool this weekend: Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 Listen here
EVERYTHING I DREAMT UP ONCE UPON CAME INTO REALITY IN A MUSIC VIDEO!!! The xx’s new video for “I Dare You” was styled AND DIRECTED by Raf Simons and Alasdair McLellan, filmed in Los Angeles at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sowden House and John Lautner’s Rainbow House, starring Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things, and Ashton Sanders in a crisp ass turtleneck. WHEW! Watch here
Mura Masa has dropped two new tunes: one with Christine and the Queens, the other with the legendary Damon Albarn. Listen here

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

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.

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.

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“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

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