Clairo - Softly
Bedroom pop phenom Clairo blossoms into a refined, yet unflinchingly sincere songwriter on her debut album Immunity, released August 2 via FADER label. With "Softly," Clairo gives queer girls an outlet to dance around their bedrooms full of youthful infatuation. It captures the subtlety of a soft brush of fingers and stolen glances in the early stages of an innocent crush without the pressure of labels on a relationship or sexuality. Wistful lyrics over a lax, off-rhythm guitar melody improvised by Rostam further the song's whimsical energy. "I got this feeling / Telling me girl, I gotta know," she croons in a way that young queer girls can look up to, while also tugging at the heartstrings of older queer girls who felt confused and repressed. As a children's choir echos "I don't care what they say" in the background, Clairo asserts that she's exploring her sexuality on her own terms; she's "doing it differently," and although some look down upon queer love, this blissful feeling is the only thing that matters.
— Ysabella Monton on August 20, 2019Generationals - Breaking Your Silence
Generationals are a beautiful anachronism. They write the kind of songs you might (quite reasonably) assume were hits decades ago the first time you hear them because their soulful, retro stylings are more than an excuse to write soulful, retro songs, but are instead an inseparable facet of the band’s identity. But they seem to love smoothing over these potentially jarring juxtaposition—in the accompanying video for their latest single, “Breaking Your Silence,” a truck mounted with a video billboard shows the band performing in front of a vanilla concrete wall while driving through the idyllic wilderness. The truck, with its abrasive video screen, seems out of place at first, but dogs still frolic in its wake. The drum kit sounds like it’s covered in a layer of dust and the chorus explodes with a wall of sound like the Motown greats, but these techniques are used in the service of a sound more akin to trendsetters like The Strokes than to other retro-soul reenactors. Generationals’ fourth full-length album, Reader As Detective, is due out July 19th.
— Daniel Shanker on July 12, 2019Casey Dubie - Confetti*
Vermont-born singer-songwriter Casey Dubie has arrived with a stripped down version of her folk-pop ballad, “Confetti.” Feather-soft musings of both ache and fondness cascade around the listener like the very squares of rainbow tissue the song is named for. Such lightness is thanks in part to Dubie’s chiming harmonies echoing in the background, which lend a fuller, more mesmerizing tone to the song’s acoustic approach. Fans of acts like Daughter and Oh Wonder will appreciate “Confetti*"'s warm glow and accessible lyricism.
— Lindsay Thomaston on July 11, 2019Spoon - No Bullets Spent
“No Bullets Spent” is a Spoon song. It was released as part of the announcement of Spoon’s upcoming greatest hits album, Everything Hits At Once,and it has all of the hallmarks of what defines Spoon—the introduction has Britt Daniel’s snarling voice echoing with the reverb of their more experimental outings before Jim Eno’s simple drumbeat highlights the dual staccato guitar hits. Outside of numerous song placements in films and TV shows, Spoon has never quite hit the mainstream, although they perhaps came close when a video surfaced of Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg playing the instantly recognizable piano riff from “The Way We Get By.” A perpetual cool-kid’s band, able to co-headline with The Shins but open for Cage The Elephant, Spoon’s remarkably consistent and perhaps intimidatingly deep catalog—spanning nine full-length albums—is an obvious candidate for a greatest hits collection. In an era of playlists and single song streams, Everything Hits At Once is a way to canonize the work of a beloved band for future generations and “No Bullets Spent” is a summary of an astounding career and a commitment to continue forward. This is Spoon.
— Daniel Shanker on July 11, 2019Arlo Parks - george
London-based Arlo Parks’ twitter bio reads “poetry baby with a little side of soft rock,” and that is truly the best descriptor of the 18-year-old singer/songwriter’s sound. Her latest single, “george,” is a perfect example of this—blending elements of jazz, R&B, and soft rock together with some masterful lyricism to create an ambient, magnetic track. Parks’ newest song was named for the famed English poet and notorious narcissist and heartbreaker, Lord George Gordon Byron, and his legacy is reflected in the poetry of Park’s lyrics and her message on reckless loving. Her story builds as she describes the mess a careless lover can leave behind and stays grounded in both the melodic anchor of the guitar riff that plays coolly under her vocals and the arresting visuals Parks creates. Vivid colors appear all over the track—rose quartz, purple rose petals tracked around a pool, powder blue walls—creating a more complete sensory experience than we have any right to expect from a song. Parks hauntingly illustrates the marks her lover leaves, singing, “you leave a bit of blood in every room,” and describes how those marks linger with her somber chorus line, “I know that you’ve been here.” Arlo Parks reveals wisdom beyond her 18 years, but “george” also proves that the intensity of these feelings is something that transcends age as well as era.
— Brigid Moser on July 10, 2019Rayland Baxter - 2009
With his smooth and steady voice, Rayland Baxter pays homage to the life of the late rapper Mac Miller with his cover of “2009”. Rayland’s typically folky vocals sport a new outfit, gliding over the jazzy piano and showcasing a different domain wherein his talent resides. While the track does take on a sound unique to Rayland Baxter, the charm and lyrical mastery of Miller remain. This is the second-released track from his upcoming EP, good mmornin, which will consist solely of covers of Mac Miller’s work as a tribute to his life. “2009” is a glass-house glance into the troubles and triumphs throughout Miller’s life, sung with love and respect by a dedicated, and endearing self-proclaimed fan.
— Laney Esper on July 10, 2019Michael Nau - Rides Through The Morning
Michael Nau's "Rides Through The Morning” sounds like going to church. His newest single, released via Karma Chief Records, is reminiscent of a different time. The first verse has a slow start—minimal instrumentation and a choral arrangement that brings to mind a church choir. The lyrics of the first verse nod to the sound, stating, “ Go by the breeze, I’m bound to pine / You will always come to mind / And rescue my dream down this marvelous stream / Where holy waters overflow.” The chorus picks up with a nostalgic 1950s/1960s inspired blues, “Alas the ship rides through the morning / When the darkness aptly grows / Now every bit of the, bit of the, bit of the, bit of the sun is shining / I feel it calling, feel it calling me back home / Put down your sorrows and dance with me.” This song is the perfect mash-up of psychedelic-folk and soul, the ideal soundtrack for all these sunny days. You’ll be listening to “Rides Through The Morning” all summer long while driving with the windows down. Nau’s two newest singles, “No Quit” and “Rides Through The Morning," will be released on vinyl August 16, 2019, but can be streamed pretty much anywhere right now.
— Anastasia Philabaum on July 9, 2019Ritual Talk - If
Imagine you’re driving down a long, wooded road in the middle of a calm summer day. The sun is shining, there are no other cars around, and the lush green trees trick the light into casting prismatic shadows across everything around you. Then, the perfect song comes on your queue: it’s indie rock trio Ritual Talk’s dreamy new single, “If.” The otherworldly soundscapes, psychedelic guitar riffs, and shimmering synths are reminiscent of nature’s hypnotically effortless beauty. Slapping drums push the song forward with vigor and optimism, and the hopeful melody, luminous in the form of singer Alex Desimine’s soothing vocals, feels like the sun coming through the clouds after rain. “If I hold my breath for another second more / fall to the floor,” he sings in the chorus, and his vocals drift off naturally into the arrangement, almost as if they had been born out of it. “If” is a vivid, atmospheric daydream, and it’s Ritual Talk’s best work yet.
— Britnee Meiser on July 8, 2019Vagabon - Flood Hands
Lætitia Tamko, better known by her moniker Vagabon, leans into electronic with her newest single “Flood Hands.” Tamko’s voice glides over each beat and synthesizer, shifting from deep and syrupy to high and piercing with casual precision. She played every instrument and produced the entire track, which explains the extreme cohesion. Every sound builds or subtracts from the ones around it as it peaks and drops in just the right places. It is eerie and ethereal as Tamko explores submission to the unknown of love and life. The vulnerability that one must embrace if they are to truly experience it in its full capacity as she sings, “I know even if I run from it / I’m still in it / I know I’ll hold you so close.” It’s not defeatism though—it’s a sincere belief that releasing control could be the answer. “Flood Hands” is the first taste of Vagabon’s upcoming second album All the Women in Me due out via Nonesuch Records on September 27th.
— Corey Bates on July 8, 2019Erin Durant - Islands
"Islands," the title track from New York singer-songwriter Erin Durant’s recently released sophomore LP, is an open-windowed summer lullaby that captures the emotional dissonance that simultaneously experiencing beautiful weather and heartbreak can bring. Swelling piano melodies, the hiss of jazz-tinged percussion, and Hemingway references alight the tune, while Durant coos with the kind of quiet gravitas that harkens the greats of the folk revival. Durant seems to find some comfort in lyrical escapism, lines that paint images of drinking champagne on the Californian coast are informed by the ones that imply tension—“the islands are calling / the islands are calling / you told me to go and have a good time.” Durant’s narrator never settles on the ground, but even as the islands call and heartbreak looms at home, the tune shifts and expands like a kaleidoscope of swooning piano and summer breeze.
— Emma Bowers on July 5, 2019Mini Trees - Thinking of
"Thinking of" by Mini Trees is as smooth and melodic as you'd expect from the artist. Kicking in a drum beat after the second verse, this silky synth song is interrupted tastefully with just the right speckling of angst and nuance. Mini Trees is the project of L.A.-based drummer Lexi Vega, who released her first EP under the moniker earlier this year. The five tracks are sweet sounding but still cut to the genuine anxiety of self-discovery and loneliness. It's all at once airy and drenched in meaning. The artist's conflict seems to meet at a pinnacle coming-of-age crossroads of self-expression or self-denial. "Thinking of" embodies this confusion and anger with subtlety and mastery. Mini Trees’ breakout EP Steady Me is out now.
— Hannah Lupas on July 5, 2019