Max's Music Mondays: Cassettes are live + All The Other Days round up
Enjoy some music today <3
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays. My ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I hope you love them too. Your subscriptions go such a long way. Free subscribers help these artists get the audience they deserve, paid subscriptions help keep this thing running and also PAY THE ARTISTS!!! 2/3 of every subscription goes right back to the artists I write about. Please consider supporting independent music and music journalism(?) here today <3
Good morning, happy Tuesday!!
Obviously, for those of us in the US, today is quite the day. I’m feeling anxious, and frankly not too creative! I had a couple special songs picked out for this week, but I’ll be pushing those till next week to give them the full MMM treatment they deserve. Just didn’t have it in me this week.
Instead, I’ve got two very special and important items of business, before I’ll do a quick roundup of All The Other Days tunes. Can’t leave you hanging entirely.
Sending love to everyone, hope these songs can be a welcomed distraction today <3
Some Important Business!
The redbrd cassette is now on sale!!!
The first release on Mendel is LIVE!!! I can barely believe it. A limited run of cassettes, redbrd’s debut EP + an exclusive remix and instrumental. Such an honor to release this, Noah is such a special artist. Please pick up a tape and support an incredible person and musician!
But don’t just take it from me. Meet Noah below, and check out all the beautiful and intentional details that make this cassette so special.
Like… how could you not want to get your own!!? Now you might be saying, “But Max, I don’t have a way to listen to this cassette!” Well, literally that’s no problem!! And this is a genuine offer, if you do want a cassette player - stereo or walkman - please let me know!! I’d love to help you find one. The medium is so special, and has been such a refreshing shift for listening and connecting to music. I can’t recommend it enough :)
Anyways, take a listen to Cave Hill here, and order your dang. cassette!!!
Last week’s ~spooky~ essay!!
Secondly, did you catch last week’s guest essay?? Georgia Hampton went off, and put me on to the best spooky record ever made. If you missed it, please check it out: Substitute Teacher 02 w/ Georgia. I can’t stop listening and thinking about it. The fact that an Oscar-Nominated actor made one of the coolest albums I’ve ever heard?? ugh, speechless.
So grateful that this platform can continue to grow and support musicians and creatives in more and more ways. Thank you all for reading and thank you all for being so open :)
Recently on All The Other Days:
For those of you who might be unfamiliar, All The Other Days is the sibling playlist to Max’s Music Mondays. It’s the playlist I throw to listen to on all the other days. A go-to collection of new music, old music, big artists, small artists, just everything I’m excited about right now.
Here are some of my favorites from the past couple weeks:
What A Relief - Katy Gavin
Ok maybe this was my fault, but I spun this for the first time in the final 45mins of a cross-country flight and holy hell I was tearing up at nearly every song. Such a special collection of stories and sounds, wearing her influences on her sleeve and doing them proud I’m sure. The whole thing is worth your time, but here are a few favs.
As Good As It Gets ft. Mitski -
This should be illegal. Obviously always a fool for a Mitski feature, but this song is so beautiful. You only understand me / 80% of our days / the sex can be amazing / and otherwise it’s ok / but I think this is as good as it gets my love.
What the actual hell. Gavin’s delivery is so patient and understated, the pain (turned acceptance?) sitting on each word. The Mitski verse is short, but manages to build an entire world in so few lines. A magician <3
Inconsolable -
The last single before the release, this one tugs on my The Chicks heartstrings. A folk tune for the ages, instantly timeless. I adore the lizard lyric, again on the plane that one got me good. Gavin and I have a lot in common, the midwest → LA pipeline among other things, and I can’t help but see myself, my family, my life in these words.
Sweet Abby Girl -
Ok this one is also fucked. Not only is it just such heartfelt writing and an incredible performance. The vocal layering is soooo sick here. But also just fascinated by the production and the arrangement. A lot of beauty and magic happening all over the track. Wowowow.
Thru The Walls - Ruthven
Here on his new record, Ruthven is dialed in. A member of the Paul Institute, the sound is familiar and beloved. But Ruthven adds his own dynamic vocals and really give the production a new shape, new places to go. And that falsetto… come on… Groovy and funky and simmering, but as we reach 2:50 and onward he is SOARING.
LOST - meija
This guy just can’t miss. Such a talented musician, and such a particularly satisfying voice. Great tone, well layered and arranged, it’s all so sick. My favorite meija songs thus far have all been guitar songs, so it’s exciting to find ourselves drowned in piano here.
The marching chords a perfect partner for his bold melodies. Expert control from top to bottom, the song stays consistent but brings so much variety in energy it works so well.
Charlie - Lola Young ft. Lil Yachty
What a year for Lola Young. Scratch that, what a week!!! A single ft. Yachty and a feature on the new Tyler album??
Her own song, Charlie, is sultry and nasty and bold as-ever. Pining over a murderously hot lover with a perfect and massive band. So fun to balance these deeply intimate lyrics with a theater-filling sound. It’s a SHOW. It’s excellent. You can hear the lights flashing on stage.
Then Yachty shows up, fitting in so naturally, as he responds by letter. It’s fun and dynamic and adds a lot to an already great one.
4:06 starts one of the coolest/harshest moments of the year. Damn.
Too Much - Bartees Strange
Another unstoppable force, Bartees Strange lands another hit with this one. He noted on IG how this one always fit so naturally in this three act structure, and it’s a joy to witness him and Antonoff thread that needle.
Filtered crooning to heavy hip hop verse to massive rap rock head banging finale. The song is dark and loud and ever-evolving in a genuinely thrilling way. It can feel like a lot but the way it’s all executed and tied with a bow, it really works as a powerful and impressive song.
Burnout - villagerrr
I love this band so much. This song is a beauty. Tremendous writing, so much feeling in easy phrases and relatable imagery. The melody is sick, and love hearing the guitar dance alongside him or in harmony.
It’s exciting to hear a first single after an album earlier this year. The band continuing to grow and evolve and make special songs. The momentum continues <3
Untitled October Song - Runnner
Back to back triple letter bands, a thing of beauty.
So glad to have this one. I was lucky enough to hear Noah play through an early version sometime last year, and I am thrilled/heartbroken to hear the lyric that stuck with me this whole time made it to print.
My foreign bedroom
all our old things / reconfigured into something new
the saddest museum / dedicated / to all my bullshit
am i that dried flower / on the table / half immortal / even though i died…
The image of the dried flower, the thought of the museum, it’s been haunting me ever since. And hearing it here, amidst his stunning guitar playing, it’s really special. Such a vulnerable piece, a snapshot of such heartbreak, sheesh. Grateful for this one.
Thanks y’all! Back with two new discoveries next week. Please buy the cassette!!!!!
Yours,
Max