Max's Music Mondays feat. Marcus Charles and feeo
The photoshop is bad this week, i apologize in advance.
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays - a ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I think you’ll love them too. If you do, follow along on spotify and please respectfully smash that subscribe button. Let me know if you do I’ll send you a max-as-oscars trophy or a thank you note or something.
Another Monday another evening of writing prior to Monday where I scratch my head and say, “hmm what should I write about for the dang intro”. This week we’ve got some juicy options. There’s the Oscars, and it feels sacrilegious as an Angelino to avoid this topic. So if I seem at all distracted, it’s because I’m in the middle of getting ready for the big night - throwing on my tux and such (editors note: i wrote this part on Sunday morning). But also I got my second dose of the vaccine and that’s plenty to celebrate too. So if I seem happier or less anxious, I have a feeeeeeling I know why. And then third, and least impactful to any audience beyond myself, I did get a new laptop. So if these words feel more precise, better typed or something(?) we know why. Sorry that was a stretch, but really felt like this section needed a third thing.
Anyways, that’s what’s up with me… So now on to the good stuff, we’ve got two incredible songs here. Ease your way into the week and enjoy.
This Week’s Songs
In / Out - Marcus Charles
This organ and vocal combo starting this one off with a very groggy/just-out-of-bed feel. But Charles leaves no moment wasted, he’s just ripping off beautiful line after beautiful line, with a real sense of urgency that pops off the simple chords. “Sun rays reflecting off the moon / hitting my window, light up my pane” this is really good!! That feeling of being in bed coming through, thoughts racing nonetheless. Charles is getting crafty with the pane/pain play, maybe a touch of regret from the night before. Finally (only 10 seconds but feels like so much more) settling into an easier groove as the titular ins and outs start to rain down. The drums have picked up the slack, when it comes to driving this one, the rest of the band giving so color to it all. “Texts flying in like headlines / stress flying in like it got wings” like… this rules too!! Such simple poetic lyrics, delivered with real emotion. The drums switch up again, Charles incredibly efficient with this song, just never letting anything sit for too long. With a more subtle band around him, the vocals pop that much more, so smooth with just that touch of scruff as he picks up the next line. The contrasting drums x vocals urgency turn up the contrast even more, drums adding a slight shuffle, vocals finding even more patience. Timely, as Charles recognizes patience just might be the virtue he needed. That plea to want to believe good things are coming feels so genuine here too, especially that second time around. The flutter in their voice, the harmonies willing them on, these good things juuuust out of reach. As we cross the two minute mark, Charles returns to our laundry list of ins and outs. Which raises two questions for me - 1) wtf is a laundry list? and 2) how did he pull this off?? It’s such amazing writing, and a second time around just offers a moment to appreciate just how creative and well done it is. Telling the entire story in the in/out framework, it is genuinely beautiful. Around 2:23 the vocals take a little run, exploring every side of the track, leading us into this hot hot hot moment at the end. Explaining just why we had to wait for the dark… and seems like it was worth the wait. The voice whips around underneath, texture and passion that a synth or guitar just couldn’t have offered. The tape deck pops and I’m patiently waiting for this good thing to come back again soon.
follow Marcus Charles on IG / Spotify
End Song - feeo
Ok, yes, I do pride myself on the music I find. The music I click and click and dig and dig for. But sometimes, you just gotta hand it to The Algorithm. So this week, a tip of the cap, a pat on the back, to my buddy spotify for dropping this one on my discover weekly. It’s instantly distinct, that dust cloud growing with eeriness, dissipating to feeo’s voice over a bass and some oooh’s. It all fits perfect, the bass and oooh’s a peculiar pair. The dub style echo on the snare around 30 seconds or so? The chorus of kids cheering after the lyric, “Spent a few thousand years / Killing and stealing for religion”? All these delightful pieces forming one perfect scene. The first minute is a full takedown of the history of mankind, this “long long con”. feeo is so collected in this retelling, sauntering forward towards their declaration to break free of this cycle. The dust sprays and settles, before another verse. Now around 1:20, the call and responsiness of the ooo’s to round chords beneath really do make for this haunting, on edge feel. Again the kids are back to cheer after another killing… haunting!! on edge!!! feeo’s slightly filtered fully warm voice keeping me grounded here. Love the lyric just after, “I quite enjoy / the poetry in how we just create and destroy” a half tongue-in-cheek observation on the waves of our world. This waiting for the world to end moment is pristine - you can feel the heaviness, the sadness, the pain, the acceptance of all three. Relenting to the world. The drums come through with gusts of synths, enough to toss feeo around, just floating amidst all this. A moment that feels like it’d really explode in a live setting. It subsides, and feeo finds her footing once again. That first “but” giving me the optimism and relief I was certainly craving from this one. As this glowing, warm heartbeat of a bridge, feeo seems to channel some Sampha energy here - unbeatable vocals, recasting these moments of beauty. To sneak such a human and poetic love story at the tail end of a difficult song… So generous. A parting reminder that even through these frustrations and more-than-mild discomforts, there’s connection to be made, moments to be shared, even if we’re all just waiting for the world to end.
follow feeo on IG / Spotify
In case you missed it
This section got its own dang newsletter, how about that!!!! We love to see our friend (this section) grow up!!
Check it out if you missed it :)
It’ll be our Friday feature for the foreseeable future. I’m stoked about the format, gives me more room and space to yell about more artists I love on a more consistent basis. Tell a dang friend! Or also send me more music to write about.
Every read, every listen, every share, every everything really does go a long way. Appreciate you all for being here, and hope you’re enjoying the tunes as much as I am.
See you Friday,
Max