The coming week is going to be exciting for me. After many moons, the day has nearly arrived in which I will be seeing a concert lineup of my fever dreams: MUNA and Harry Styles live at the Greek Theater. Somebody pinch me, please! I’ve been working very hard at day-job stuff so I’ve been neglecting actual live concert coverage for the past month, so I’m very much looking forward to this one, so much so I’ve requested the day after the show off from my day job. It’s serious.
We’ve already got fourth quarter heating up - artists are coming forward with album release announcements and new singles. Considering 2017 has been the wildest year of Madlibs and nostalgia comeback tours, who do you think is going to come out of left field with a new album? After seeing that Cher and Future GAP ad, oh what I’d give for another Cher single.
Anyhow, I’ve harvested five sweet tracks for you to enjoy throughout your week.
Please reach out to me via the handy dandy contact page on the cmd+f website, or on Twitter with your thoughts about any of the tracks I’ve selected this week. As you already know, 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.
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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“Where’s the Bass Amp?” - Superfood | When you say “a-boom chicka boom,” and you chk chk boom to boom biddy bumbombrrapp skeetybeep pap pap - well, you get the gist. This little earworm is the opening track from Superfood’s new album Bambino. I’ve tested this extensively throughout the past week with the general public (re: my co workers) by playing it aloud (at my desk during work hours), and 100% of my subjects responded with a hip sway, a hop-skip-jump jump, or even a verbal response of delight. With findings like that, “Where’s the Bass Amp?” allows for guaranteed satisfaction. Listen here
“Victoria Falls” - Flyte | Phew! I’ve been gabbing on and on to a handful of friends this week about Flyte. I stumbled across their sonically light-hearted Beatles-esque tune “Cathy Come Home” (which is lyrically about a loved one begging Cathy to get out of an abusive relationship), and in turn dove head first into Flyte’s debut album The Loved Ones. While definitely soaked in 60s/70s rock vibes, their sound varies across a massive span of influences. With a guitar solo slick enough to make Blue Oyster Cult proud, “Victoria Falls” shines bright with a breadth of lush harmonies woven throughout the tune. Truly my most warming find I’ve stumbled upon this week. Listen here
“Soft power” - Ayla | Holy moly… Ayla is onto something. I was unsure about “Soft power” when it first started playing, but as the song builds on itself, it beefs up with a handful of plot twists - from the instrumental chorus, the politically charged lyrics. It took me ages to dig up info on Ayla herself, and I finally found a single blog post about her on a Swedish entertainment blog. Through the power of Google Translate, it turns out Ayla is yet another Swedish genius. If you enjoy unconventional pop (re: Grimes, Charli XCX, Lykke Li, etc.), “Soft power” is right up your alley. Listen here
“Lifted Away” - Joseph | Once again, shout out to my pal Agnes for throwing this gem down in front of me yesterday. Before I dip into the song itself, I feel very obligated to know my friend Brittany is likely reading this with her fist pumping in the air with delight knowing she’s heard of a music artist from this list before reading the letter. Joseph are her GIRLS, her Oregonian kin. While Joseph already have a strong following, I’ve plucked “Lifted Away” to share as it sounds completely different to their usual “White Winter Hymnal” / Power ‘Muricana sound. “Lifted Away” has a fate fit for a major motion picture trailer/soundtrack, potential for bubbling under the radar on local rock radio, and hell, even a nice life on all of the playlists you’re throwing together to slog your way through the next few months. Listen here
“Flags” - Shoffy feat. Yuna | A year ago, I watched this guy perform on the pool deck of the rooftop bar at the Mondrian on Sunset in West Hollywood. It was a private event for press and label execs, and he really impressed me. I lost touch with his manager to set up an interview in the future about his forthcoming projects (so if you’re reading this right now...hit me up), and now he’s got a full on album. That night I learnt Shoffy (named Alex) is (or now likely WAS) a suit-and-tie professional by day working in finance who comes home to write sexy R&B jams at night. He’s had some explosive success on streaming services over the years, racking up literal MILLIONS (one has over 40 million!!) of streams on his tunes (seriously, his songs have cropped up in every major pop curated playlist I’ve stumbled upon since 2015). Now his new single and opening track from his debut self-titled LP ”Flags” features Malaysian pop goddess Yuna. Despite all the online success with his songs, Shoffy’s career is only starting to simmer. “Flags” is the ultimate soft bop. Listen here
BONUS
MUNA, one of my absolute favorite bands and Album of the Year contenders, are about to kick off their tour opening for Harry Styles next week and have finally released a studio recording of their tune “In My Way” Listen here
Your favorite Norwegian more-punk-than-pop band Sløtface have dropped their debut album Try Not to Freak Out. While half the album’s already been released via singles/previous EPs, it’s a delight to imagine it as an entire LP filled with songs for an imaginary teen movie soundtrack. Listen here
Queen of Behind the Scenes Footage Cut Music Videos Carly Rae Jepsen has shared a really cute video cut with behind the scenes footage leading up to actual choreographed music video footage for her splash summer single “Cut to the Feeling.” It’s directed by Gia Coppola, because why not??? Watch here
LORDE FEAT. KHALID, SZA (er, and Post Malone) - HOMEMADE DYNAMITE REMIX Listen here
BURIAL - “RODENT” Listen here
It was the late Amy Winehouse’s birthday yesterday. Dua Lipa and Gallant paid a touching tribute with an absolutely incredible cover of Amy’s “Tears Dry On Their Own” Watch here
Niall Horan has announced his debut album Flicker will be released (a week before my birthday!) on October 20, and has gifted us with a world of pain with his new single “Too Much To Ask.” With the lyric “my shadow’s dancing without you for the first time,” I got three words for young Niall: WHO HURT YOU???? Listen here
Following up about Nadine Coyle’s new single “Go to Work,” and it’s available on streaming services in the States now. I’m not saying this little gay club BOP has helped me get through 15 hours of overtime in the past week, but then again, you’ll never really know 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 September 2017 playlist. There I will be dumping in new (and occasionally throw back) tracks as the month carries on. 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!