Junior Mesa - Losing My Grip
I firmly believe that there is a special place in the world for upbeat breakup songs, and that place is a car radio. "Losing My Grip" by Junior Mesa is a high energy reclamation of control by acknowledging that you’re not fine, actually. The song riffs and rolls through two and a half minutes that validate your need to briefly disappear with just a car, sunshine, and your thoughts. “An escapist road trip is a totally reasonable reaction to heartbreak,” the track speaks, with equal parts serious lyrics and lighthearted production touches. Each verse is supported by steadfastly syncopated rhythm guitar, paralleling the feeling of hanging on by a thread—but still hanging in there. A whimsical flute line dances between stanzas, which conjures the aesthetic of Noah and The Whale and The Boy Least Likely To. Mesa’s voice playfully stretches syllables, crafting a vocal line that, somehow, feels a lot like a rainbow slinky. Overall, the track sparkles with wit, humor, and technical finesse. Dripping in optimism yet leaning into vulnerability and heartache, it’s a song that is sure to fit whatever headspace you’re in.
— Allison Hill on July 17, 2020Maude Latour - Ride My Bike
19-year-old pop songstress Maude Latour is making music for the ears that spent their final years of grade school filtering every experience through the low-humming draw of Lorde’s Pure Heroine. Today, the college freshman (who plans to be the first president to perform at her own inauguration) shares her latest single, “Ride My Bike.” Catchy and expansive, Latour’s vocals sulk through vocoded harmonies before erupting into a chorus of dance-y, bubblegum brightness. If “Ride My Bike” is meant to sonically characterize the very same runner’s high the song celebrates, it succeeds. An optimistic ode intended for getting one out of their head and into their body, keeping still becomes near impossible when set to the refrain’s effervescent lyrics and pulsing house beats. “Have I told you that I’m really fucking scared to die?” Maude divulged on her earlier single, “Superfruit.” “Baby for the very first time / I’m not afraid to die,” she amends with her latest and most energetic release.
— Lindsay Thomaston on August 19, 2019Jesse and Forever - Hologram Lover
“Hologram Lover,” premiering today from Brooklyn-based songwriter and instrumentalist Jesse and Forever, is a lush and full amalgamation of pulsing, eerie soundscapes and catchy, head-bopping beats. The track is just two minutes long but has an arresting composition, packed most notably with nostalgic samples, a groovy bass line, and grungy, rippling guitar. Jesse Scheinin’s vocal—dreamy and wistful in a hypnotic soprano—is transfixing as it guides you through the arrangement, keeping you hooked even though specific lyrics are sometimes hard to make out. Hazy, atmospheric moments awash in oohs which are offset by strikingly clear lines like “You can lie to your friends but you can’t lie to me.” It’s a distorted but pleasant listening experience where latching onto the vocal forces you to lose yourself in the arrangement, and once more, you’ll love every second of it. Surrealist and vibrant, “Hologram Lover” is a unique and carefree party song.
— Britnee Meiser on August 16, 2019Pearla - Quilting
Pearla, the folk-tinged project of Brooklyn-based songwriter Nicole Rodriguez, has a knack for evoking worlds that exist slightly off-center. On her recent release "Quilting", Rodriguez's imaginative lyricism is on full display as she weaves esoteric sentiment into her reflections on love and loss. Smoldering, dreamlike production and a kaleidoscope of sounds—like the creaking of a closing door, or humming overheard from the next room, settle like a haze over Rodriquez's steady folk lilt. Aching turns of introspection—"I should be fine on my own / I was born there / now I’m reaching out with both hands and nothings there"—pull us from the abstract into her inner world, where she parses through the notions of isolation and impermanence. Check out our recent Buzzsession with Pearla, where she performs two tunes from her upcoming release Quilting and Other Activities, out Sept 6 via Egghunt records.
— Emma Bowers on August 16, 2019Marika Hackman - send my love
Marika Hackman unveiled a dynamic, emotive, and unapologetic dose of intimacy in her new album Any Human Friend, which dropped August 9 via Sub Pop Records. Wedged right in the middle is “send my love," a track that doesn’t fail to grasp your attention. Hackman captures the biting mix of feelings that arise when something comes to an end with her poignant songwriting and swirling production. The harshness and self-deprecation ripple from beginning to end, “Are you coming home to feel alone / Did you love me tonight, or any night of our lives / It's never gonna be like it was before.” It’s an effort to put herself in the other person’s shoes and examine a turning point in a relationship that can’t seem to be undone. "Send my love" is a sort of reckoning in the aftermath of a difficult situation, which we’ve all experienced in one capacity or another.
— Meredith Vance on August 16, 2019Velvet Kove ft. DummyFresh - Hazel-Green
Velvet Kove, a 23-year-old artist hailing from Richmond Virginia, is breaking out in the Brooklyn music scene with the help of DummyFresh, a recording artist hailing from Maryland with a background in jazz and classical piano. The two have collaborated on a new track, "Hazel-Green," a song which grieves the loss of a relationship, one which is kept in the present through the small details which only exist between two lovers: waking easily, taking over Park avenue, the feeling of rain entering the apartment. As the artist sings, “You’re the woman in my dreams / I awake easily / My thoughts turn hazel green / Help me”, she is learning how to yearn for what is gone, begging for the past to become reinvented in the future. Velvet Kove and DummyFresh are both members of goodstuff, a new artist collective and record label based out of Brooklyn. With this new track, they are not only creating a name for themselves but for local New York musicians who are putting their heart into music, only asking to be heard, not unlike a song meant for a past lover.
— Samantha Weisenthal on August 15, 2019Chastity Belt - Ann’s Jam
Chastity Belt reminds us that the simpler moments in life are worth remembering with the release of “Ann’s Jam”, the first single off their forthcoming self-titled album. The comforting track progressively floats along as lead singer Julia Shapiro warmly sings about old times the group has had and revels in the meaningfulness of possibility. Chastity Belt masterfully paints the picture of youthful experiences and how things used to be, “We were driving South in your parents car / Singing aloud to scratched CDs / Feeling meaningful, thinking / This is a start / And it'll go on.” At the same time, their narrative tone isn't filled with wallowing—they point towards a hopeful kind of change, a chance for a new start. “Ann’s Jam” is an ode to the friendship that the Seattle outfit continues to share. It also reminds the listener that where your story started isn't always something to skip over or forget. Chastity Belt is officially out September 20 via Hardly Art Records.
— Meredith Vance on August 15, 2019Long Beard - Sweetheart
Long Beard, the moniker of New Jersey-based Leslie Bear, released her debut album, Sleepwalker, back in 2015 and is now back with her latest single, “Sweetheart.” The new track is an ambient, indie-pop musing in which Long Beard gives herself over to the impulse to wax nostalgic about a high school sweetheart. The song lulls you into a daydream with a warm guitar loop and rhythmic drums that lead into Bear’s breathy, alluring vocals. Bear hovers around melancholic throughout the track, singing “I think of you way too often / looking out every window that I can,” and before you know it, you’re walking down memory lane right alongside her. The dreamy melody is soon lit up by gleaming keyboard, elevating it from hazy to luminous and Bear’s breathy voice glides effortlessly with the motion. Long Beard’s lovely and lonely “Sweetheart” is the first glimpse into her sophomore album, “Means to Me,” coming out September 13 via Double Double Whammy.
— Brigid Moser on August 14, 2019Modern Nature - Séance
Bella Union signee Modern Nature create hushed, melodic folk-pop that gushes with both precision and vitality. Their newest single, "Séance," showcases the trio's delicate nature, spearheaded by Jack Cooper and supported by Will Young, Jeff Tobias, and Aaron Nevue. There are some obvious nods to White Album-era Beatles, with sprawling melodies colliding with stuttering tape experimentation, and a deep reverence for the insular blues of English Folkman Nick Drake. It's a wistfully satisfying listen that hints at the boundless promise of the newly formed band. "Séance" is lifted from their debut album, How To Live, due out August 23rd.
— Mike Olinger on August 13, 2019Cuco - Do Better
Three years ago, nineteen-year-old Omar Banos was making beats and writing love songs in his bedroom just for fun. Now, he’s known as Cuco, a dream-pop artist with a unique blend of hip-hop and Latin jazz influences who’s currently riding on 3.5 million monthly Spotify listeners. “Do Better” is the closing track off his debut, Para Mi, an album lush with catchy drum loops, cool guitars and breezy Spanglish vocals, but this song’s infectiously smooth beat deserves singular recognition. A groovy bass and jazz-inspired guitar line create a head-bopping beat that nicely compliments the percussion, a tight but muffled drum loop that emulates a vintage style of recording. The track crosses genres and cultures as it seamlessly weaves English and Spanish lyrics with soothing ahhs as Banos sings about the universal language of love. Conversational in tone and smooth in cadence, Banos’ leisurely vocal delivery perfectly offsets the intensity of the lyrics: “Baby I’m gonna do better for you / Because I love you with my heart.” Breezy and cool, “Do Better” is a summer love song that will bring out the romantic in all of us.
— Britnee Meiser on August 13, 2019Lune Rose - Can’t Be Sure
Although it is only her second single, Lune Rose’s “Can’t Be Sure” is a sweet and mellow soundscape masterpiece. The dreamy alt-pop track narrates a long-distance relationship and the uncertainty it brings. In it, Lune Rose struggles to understand what her partner is thinking when their only interactions are through a telephone. In a voice so calm it’s almost eerie, she sings, “when I’m guessing all your emotions, I can’t be sure that this is real.” Although the narrator is unsure of where she stands, Lune Rose’s vocals are steady, echoing mystically throughout the song. “Can’t Be Sure” is at first carried by a few melancholic guitar strums but it soon expands into something cavernous, with each sound magnified and pulsating. Lune Rose is delicate, absorbing, pensive, and profound and although “Can’t Be Sure” is teeming with bewitching noise, it somehow emulates the lonely silence on the other end of a phone that we all know and fear. This hopefully only the beginning for the emerging artist, who is set to release her debut EP this fall.
— Brigid Moser on August 13, 2019