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genre: pop / folk
release date: 01/03/23
runtime: 2:43
video: yes :)

got another banger for you. i don’t know how, i don’t know why, but we are so winning this year, it’s just that there’s so much good stuff out there, and here i am, giant net in hand, dragging it all in here for us to vibe out to. vibing out, btw, is exactly what i was doing to this song this evening. it was amazing, i literally raced from the end of work and climbed this big hill to see the lights of the city glitter in the dusk as the sun drifted down and the contrails of the jets drew sketches in the sky. it was lovely, i love the sunset and seeing things stay the same yet change utterly. the entire time i was boppin and drummin and feelin in my bones this song, it’ll be (video game song) by lauren juzang.

click the picture up above to give it a listen!

what i liked! :)

i don’t have a term for this, because it’s not strictly speaking sometihng clearly defined, but it clearly is something defined if you get me. so you’ve got hooks right, for the inunitiated, a hook is a bit of a song that is instantly recogniseable and repeated and stays in your head. the little guitar riff that echo’s around this song is like, not enough to be a hook, it’s not hooky enough, it’s not noticeable or prominent enough, it’s not quite there, but it’s not trying to be. what it does though is it almost occupies the space of a hook, on top of and in addition to the original hooks in the chorus and etc. whatever you call it, it rules it’s such a nice touch and it’s the kind of thing that when you hear it, you can’t waitt to hear it again because it’s so cool. this song has tons of elements like that actually now that i think about it. take the drums for instance, taking equal parts killer groove and pensive shuffle to make something that removes your ability to do anything other than bop and slide. or the doubled up vocals producing a vacant and impersonal but still captivating personality for a stellar vocal performance.

it’s just component after component of absolute stellar songwriting. it even does something that so many artists are afraid to do, which is step outside of itself, which you’ll find at 1:37 with the spoken word section. this is a great touch and i almost wish more artists would use it because when you spend so much time and effort establishing an acoustic world for yourself, taking a little bit of time in your song to almost switch it off does a ton to prove that it’s actually there so that when it comes back in, you get that rush of understanding what’s been achieved so far.

what i didn’t like :(

for all my talk of hooks and almost hooks earlier, i think the one thing this song is really lacking is that killer vocal hook. it needs something that is just inescapable as something that once you’ve heard it, you feel like you’ve heard it a million times. if this song had that you’d be looking at a top tier banger, but it doesn’t quite actually manage it. it gestures towards a few, but the thing about a hook is it either is there or it isn’t. it’s a binary thing, and you have to really work it until you’ve found it, but once you’ve found it the song won’t seem finished without it.

my drunk opinion :S

i wasn’t kidding about going up a hill and watching the lights with this song like, it works so well as the kind of music you listen to while witnessing something bigger than yourself. it’s like having someone hold your hand while you feel the kind of awe and terror being in the grips of something massive washing over you.

for fans of

actually, this song really reminds me of guilty party by the national, another song where the guitar riff does some real heavy lifting. it doesn’t quite groove as much as this song does, instead using the semi-straight beats and stilted vocal to build and build until that wonderful noodley riff comes in right at the gentle apex of the track.

should you listen to more?

you can find a ton of really cool songs by this artist, but the one that caught my ear the most was the latest song, it’s the holidays which is a bit of a christmassy one, and maybe a little unlucky to be listening to it right now, but it’s really sweet and lovely. lots to love here honestly, i think this is an artist that is in real popping off territory.

or better yet, reply to this email! what did you think of this song? have you been listening to anything good lately? any gems i’ve missed?

more i’ve been listening to

toechter / me she said

while this starts out as a stilted and odd little folk song, believe you me, it does not stay there. it gets going and gives a bit of dark, moody and strong before pulling all the way back, it’s very cool.

caroline polachek, weyes blood / butterfly net

this is, it must be said, an absolutely a star combo of artists. i want them to make a band and an album and another album and maybe another album after that but probably stop at 3 because that’s enough!!!!

mk.gee / dream police

it’s kinda odd and dream like, but there’s a really groovy song on the go here and i’m enjoying it a lot.

or just reply to this email! what did you think? what would you change? how are you?

that’s all from us in this edition! next edition drops next tuesday.