Max's Music Mondays: Exclusive performance from TALIA + June in Review
Wow... ur gonna wanna read and listen and watch !
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. If you do, you can follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :)
We’re back at it!!! The end of the month wrap up - finishing strong with an AMAZING PERFORMANCE from TALIA for our paid subscribers (which if you want to be one you could click below. About 2/3 of the proceeds of your money goes straight to the artists I feature & commissions like this performance. It means the world to me, and hope you see the vision too!!) that I know you’ll love. Plus my month in review - a handful of the songs I’ve had on repeat and I need you to hear!
Thank you as always - I’ll see you all next week.
June in Review
This month has been a WILD music month, so so so much to enjoy. Here are a few of my favorites.
A common theme here in MMM-world is me being so touched by friendship music and god oh god this is the holy grail. a big brash beautiful nostalgic rock song screaming about your childhood friends. Deeply specific in the most relatable ways, cherishing those friends even if they aren’t as present as they used to be. Complete with a partnering stripped version, good luck getting through them without any tissues. Sang from the heart and it hits so hard. These two voices so perfectly paired together, pushing hard to get the love out just as they mean it. I have to stop here before I dissect and nod my head to every single line. So sweet and so fucking good.
Boyish taking over the world, said it before and i’ll say it again. Another sick collaboration for them, King P stepping in so naturally. Haunting and rocking and magnificent. Such wonderful production, amazing vocals throughout, and I adore the writing too. What more could i ask for!!! Heaven, Hell it’s all the same stuck in my head since I heard it. Dropping into this MASSIVE rock climax, washing over me, holy moly it’s a gem.
New Wallice EP!!! Full of hit after hit, I’ve been making my way through it and loving every second. This one is breezy and warm and full of fantastic percussion. Wallice always delivers a magic performance, so so smooth and this you know i like to swim feels like the most patient float down a gentle river. Subtle summer smash.
Got to hear Victoria Canal play this one at a SXSW showcase and was DYING for it to come out ever since. A gorgeous and thoughtful and powerful reckoning with body dysmorphia and self worth. The early verses note these painfully simple moments that change the course of our lives and our brains. All sang over soft guitars, Canal’s voice so perfect. Letting pain between you and an ex grow because you thought he was lying when he called you beautiful is SO DEVASTATING, ugh what a song. Then in the final minute the true piece de resistance (don’t spell check!!!), this don’t be so pretty refrain run over and over and I am BEAMING cheek to cheek. This song hits home in so many ways, and I’m just grateful to have someone like Canal sharing so generously.
That synth is CRAZY!!! Bubbles of chords with the perfect texture. I adore the first verse, such a gentle bed for such devastating writing. You gave me head in the locker room then said you’d kill me if you said so. Think of how it could’ve been if you opened up back then, who was ever gonna to stop you. HOLY FUCK GO OFF des hume!!!!!!!!! More stories follow, all heartbreaking, putting words and heart to the internalized homophobia that haunts so many of us. The drums come alive in the final moments, the whole track swelling with energy and heart. Love this one so much and excited to soak in the rest of this album in the weeks to come.
Folk-but-make-it-weird-and-indie-and-cool heads STAND UP. Quiet Light is up to something!!!! These songs all so masterfully produced, her vocal performances just undeniable. All of the writing is crisp and strewn beautifully across the band. The layering is always exciting and could morph into anything at any time. I’m stoked about this upcoming project and can’t wait to see what’s to come.
Saya Gray’s new project QWERTY is out and is full of heat. And full of Saya Gray. Someone with a SOUND who is really bringing it to life with every song. DIZZY is the intro track and whaaaat an intro. Huge keys raining down, rugrat’s ooo’s bouncing all over the mix, a tornado of distortion and drums swirling this all together and slamming it back down on the track. Gray’s performances are always electric, this one no different. The layers are spectacular, and she bounces from singing to a more chant/rap delivery in ways so few others can (maybe Remi and Dora Jar but can’t think of another). These songs bleed into each other finding similar sounds and motifs but each so viscerally different than the last. I really really encourage giving the whole thing a spin, suuuch an exciting artist.
HAHAHAHA yep! Still at it!! I can and will put this song on repeat for an hour at a time. Nothing hits me quite like this one, STILL. Seeing him live really reinvigorated my love for this album and these musicians. My obsession renewed. FUCK!
And now, an exclusive performance:
TALIA - riot
TALIA first came into my life at the start of 2022, her song Running is a beautiful sunset of a song that I couldn’t get out of my head. Earlier this year, TALIA came back into mind when her latest single riot hit my release radar, and I’m so thrilled. I’m stoked about what she’s up to. This song is steady and sure, haunting as it pulls you close between surprising explosions. The writing is beautiful, charting this self-actualization/growing into yourself narrative with gorgeous imagery that hits this perfect balance of making a point and making me smile. In this gorgeously shot performance, TALIA strips back those explosive punches of punk and layers in an acoustic guitar instead. For me, it