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.
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“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
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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 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!