Tag: new releases

The Hit Songs of the Summer

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It occurred to me that I have been derelict on getting my full rankings of the charting single out this summer, which is no good because how else are we supposed to name a song of the summer? Let’s remedy that now that we’re officially into autumn.

June

  1. Roddy Ricch – Late at Night
  2. BTS – Butter
  3. Olivial Rodrigo – brutal
  4. Riton X Nightcrawlers ft. Mufasa & Hypeman
  5. Sofia Carson – Fool’s Gold
  6. Megan Thee Stallion – Thot Shit
  7. Bad Bunny – Yonaguni
  8. Polo G & Lil Wayne – GANG GANG
  9. Jackson Wang – LMLY
  10. DJ Khalid ft. Post Malone, DaBaby, Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion
  11. Olivia Rodrigo – hope ur ok
  12. Polo G ft. Lil Durk & The Kid LAROI
  13. Migos – Avalanhe
  14. Anitta – Girl From Rio
  15. Olivia Rodrigo – traitor
  16. Doja Cat – Need To Know
  17. Olivia Rodrigo – favorite crime
  18. Migos ft. Drake – Having Our Way
  19. Olivia Rodrigo – 1 step forward, 3 steps back
  20. Olivia Rodrigo – enough for you
  21. Olivia Rodrigo – jealousy, jealousy
  22. Olivia Rodrigo – happier
  23. Dierk Bentley – Gone
  24. Marshmello and the Jonas Brothers – Leave Before You Love Me
  25. AJ Mitchell – STOP
  26. Chris Young and Kane Brown – Famous Friends
  27. Nessa Barrett ft. jxdn – la di die

July

  1. Dua Lipa – Love Again
  2. Doja Cat & The Weeknd – You Right
  3. Tyler, the Creator ft. Lil Uzi Vert & Pharrell Williams
  4. Tate McRaw and Khalid – working
  5. BTS – Permission to Dance
  6. Rauv Alejandro – Todo de Ti
  7. Tyler, the Creator ft Youngboy Never Broke Again & Ty Dolla Sign – WUSYANAME
  8. Normani ft. Cardi B – Wild Side
  9. Billie Eilish – NDA
  10. Maneskin – Beggin’
  11. Coldplay – Higher Power
  12. Dan + Shay – Glad You Exist
  13. Bella Porarch – Build A Bitch
  14. Jason Aldean – Blame It On You
  15. Doja Cat – Ain’t Shit
  16. Cheat Codes – Lean On Me
  17. BIA ft. Nicki Minaj – WHOLE LOTTA MONEY
  18. DaBaby – Ball if I Want To
  19. The Kid LAROI ft. Justin Bieber – STAY
  20. NF – JUST LIKE YOU
  21. Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
  22. Cole Swindell – Single Saturday Night
  23. Post Malone – Motley Crew
  24. Walker Hayes – Fancy Like
  25. Chase Rice ft. Florida Georgia Line – Drinkin’ Beer, Talkin’ God, Amen
  26. Aaron Lewis – Am I The Only One
August
  1. Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
  2. The Weeknd – Take My Breath
  3. Silk Sonic – Skate
  4. Lizzo ft. Cardi B – Rumors
  5. Kane Brown ft. Blackbear – Memory
  6. Pop Smoke ft. Dua Lipa – Demeanor
  7. Tones and I – Cloudy Day
  8. Tai Verdes – A-O-K
  9. Lainey Wilson – Things A Man Oughta Know
  10. TOMORROW X TOGETHER – Magic
  11. Aventura ft. Bad Bunny – Volvi
  12. Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood – If I Didn’t Love You
  13. Camilla Cabello – Don’t Go Yet
  14. Farruko – Pepas
  15. Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow – INDUSTRY BABY
  16. Luke Bryan – Waves
  17. Bazzi – I Like That
  18. WizKid ft. Justin Bieber and Tems – Essence
  19. Maroon 5 – Lost
And after all of that I am calling the song of the summer, which totally doesn’t line up with my rankings at the time but after hearing it a bunch the song for summer 2021 is…

Silk Sonic – Skate

You cannot deny this feel good jam. It should have risen a lot higher up the charts because this song is just too fun to be relegated to just the second single off the Silk Sonic record.

June 26, 2020

monkeyhammer81Leave a comment

HAIM – Women In Music Pt. III (Haim Productions)

First and foremost: there is not a “Women In Music Pt. I” or “Pt. II”.  There is a lot of significance to the number “three” here, however, given the three sisters that make up HAIM (Este Haim, Danielle Haim, and Alana Haim), this being their third album, and likely other references that I’m not smart enough to get.  Regardless of nomenclature, though, this is a powerhouse of a pop album.

Women In Music Pt. III shines for all of the different areas that it touches and excels in.  From a funky beat on “Los Angeles” that would be at home in an early 90s hip-hop track, to something closer to a Fleetwood Mac track (“Up From A Dream”), HAIM hits all the literal and figurative notes.

I refuse to call HAIM a “girl group”, because that would insinuate that “boy groups” are on the same level, which the vast majority are not.  The sisters have not only matured their sound, but have truly expanded upon it here.  I will be doing them the justice that I should’ve done them years ago, and going back to check out their previous two albums.  I know they won’t be as good as Women In Music Pt. III, but they will still be a treat.

FFO: The Aces, MUNA

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June 19, 2020

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Phantom Planet – Devastator (Gong Records)

If you’re like me and you were a huge closet fan (because you were way too old to be an “out” fan) of the teen drama the O.C. in the early 2000s, then you are already familiar with at least one song by Phantom Planet, “California”. This little band actually had 4 studio albums between 1994-2008, but haven’t played together or released anything since. Even though Jason Schwartzman is no longer a band member (fun fact, he was the drummer for the band from 1994-2003), I am still a fan of this band that I have heard dubbed as the kings of “wholesome American Indie”.

It’s always tricky for bands with long spanning careers to release new albums, especially when they have fallen into a strict genre of music. On the one hand, fans expect a sound that they can recognize. We want to be able to turn on the radio and say “Hey, that’s Phantom Planet!” On the other hand, we want something fresh and new, something that doesn’t sound exactly like the previous album from 2018. Devastator does a great job of this on both accounts. Their unnecessary teenage angst is gone (come on guys, you live in California), but what remains is an album of heartfelt melodies, exceptional instrumentals, and an album that I have not been able to stop playing on repeat.

My favorite song on the album also happens to be the first single released: “Time Moves On”. This is a bit of a sad and angsty song (albeit more grown up level angst) about time passing us by and the constant hope for things to change, all the while they just stay the same. “BALISONG” and “Party Animal” both play like upbeat rock anthems, and “Through the Trees” is a tale of accepting heartbreak from a “gated community turf”. “Torture Me”, “Waiting for the Lights to Change”, and “Gold Body Spray” are all also break up songs, presumably about the “devastator” who seems to have done just that.

Overall, Devastator is a no-skip playthrough, an album that will remind you of your emo days while remaining modern and relevant.

FFO: Rooney, Augustana, Neon Trees

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May 29, 2020

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Dive Index – Waving At Airplanes (Neutral Music)

In the past, I have been accused of comparing too many artists to Radiohead, to the point where that comparison loses some meaning. As such, I hesitate to use that as a jumping off point, even when the record is screaming for it. 

Dive Index is an L.A. based collaborative electronic project led by producer and composer, Will Thomas. Waving At Airplanes is the fifth full-length album under this name, and collaborators for this effort are vocalists Natalie Walker and Merz. In a convenient arrangement of songs, the tracks alternate back and forth between the two of them. 

Stylistically, this is shoegaze electronica at the top of the class. Most of the music is static pulses, electric blips and ethereal, atmospheric chord progressions. Every sound on the album is made using a modular synthesizer, with the exception of the construction sounds that happened to breach the studio soundproofing. 

Natalie’s vocals are beautiful and intoxicating, singing about deeply emotional moments of self-discovery, ignorance in relationships, and being absorbed by the things around us. “She’s Exploding”, “Wish I Had A Pulse” and the eponymous track stand out as jewels in this particular display case. Merz’s tracks, on the other hand, are a pretentious word salad that only occasionally stumble across a message. The most egregious example is “Pristine Wilderness”, which makes as much sense as a stroke victim with Tourette’s.     His tracks SOUND good, though, and ultimately, that’s what is most important. 

This record is definitely not for everyone, but it certainly struck a chord with me. 

FFO: Amnesiac-era Radiohead (Sorry. Had to.), Roger Eno, Ian Masters

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May 8th, 2020

monkeyhammer81Leave a comment

Mark Lanegan – Straight Songs of Sorrow (Heavenly Recordings)

Since the dissolution of Screaming Trees in the mid-90s, Lanegan has pumped out a steady stream of solo, quasi-solo, and collaborative projects. Each of these projects falls inconsistently into the generic and not-so-descriptive genre of “rock”. While some of his work has a definite and undeniable relationship to blues, folk, and shoegaze pop, a large proportion of it is rather tightly related to Leonard Cohen’s brand of nearly monotonous croaking. This places the emphasis on the dark poetry of the lyrics, rather than be distracted by trifling diversions like melody and beat.

Straight Songs of Sorrow is not an exception to this tendency. Rather, it feels like Lanegan digging his heels in, daring us to challenge his brand. His voice is croakier than ever, nary finding a foothold on whatever staggered melodies exist. In most of the tracks on the record, we have a choice to make: do we focus on the poetry or the attempt. When the poetry is good, it’s emotive and colorful and we hear his internal struggle. When it’s not good, it’s super-repetitive and banal, grasping at overused imagery and ‘sung’ with no connection whatsoever. 

The musical attempt is pretty typical of Lanegan’s tendency toward slow, three-chord progressions. By itself, it isn’t much to write about, as it relies heavily on a relationship with his voice. When that relationship is evident, it bangs. It’s a vibe that Lanegan has repeatedly dubbed “Dark Disco” in the lyrics to his songs (“Ode to Sad Disco” from Blues Funeral, “Dark Disco Jag” from Somebody’s Knocking). 

The big problem with Songs of Sorrow is that the 2 elements rarely line up. When the poetry is keen, the music is dispassionate, and the song falls short (“Burying Ground”). When the music is cool and reaching for attention, the lyrics are rambling and incoherent (“Bleed All Over”, “At Zero Below”). And sometimes neither is there (“I Wouldn’t Want To Say”). The middle of the record has the songs that stick out as examples of what Mark is capable of. For 3 contiguous songs, everything lines up, the clouds allow the light in, and we get to bask in his post-grunge, drug-addled perfection (“Stockholm City Blues”, “Skeleton Key”, “Daylight In The Nocturnal House”). 

FFO: Screaming Trees, Afghan Whigs, Leonard Cohen, PJ Harvey

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April 17th, 2020

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Nils – Caught In The Groove (Baja/TSR)

Let’s face it: these are trying times.  We’re all stuck inside, oftentimes without much to do.  Some of us are locked down with significant others, boyfriends/girlfriends, husbands/wifes, etc.  After that 5th or 6th ep of your rewatch binge of The Office, you glance at one another, and it’s time.  Clothes go off, deodorant goes on – don’t pretend that you smell good right now – and from there it’s into or onto the bed, the couch, or even the washing machine.

You know what’s missing in this scene?  The music, of course.  But not just any music; it has to be right.  The two of you (or more, I don’t judge) deserve it to be right.  And that’s where Caught In The Groove comes in.

I can’t claim to know much about German jazz musician Nils Jiptner, or what exactly he was thinking as he conceptualized this album.  Maybe it was an audio illustration of the rolling German countryside, or an ode to the neo-gothic architecture still on prominent display in Munich.  Perhaps it was more of a call-to-action, to encourage all who listen to unite and make the world a better place.  But regardless of any of that, this is very clearly a sex album for doing sex with other sex-doers.

From the uptempo “Good Times are Better” and “I Like The Way You Do It”, to the slower “My Mornings With You” and “All Roads Lead To You”… oh.  I guess Nils knew that he was making a sex album all along then.  As smooth as a fine whiskey, and as layered as a fine dip, Caught In The Groove delivers as a complete listening experience.  Good luck getting through the whole 12 track ride with your pants on.

FFO: Sex

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