Max's Music Mondays ft. G Luné and Ferdous
It is actually May now and that means I get to keep sending two songs on Mondays
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 go hiking with you or send you a thank you note or something.
I got to enjoy a nice hike with a couple friends this weekend. Was really wonderful to catch up with them, hikes always offering so much space for people and conversations to explore. But what really struck me was how this particular hike had offered that before - how I’ve taken that same path (literally) with a handful of different friends from all parts of my life over the last four-ish years. I’ve been hiking that trail since before I lived in LA, and shared some beautiful days with all of those people, every time out. I found a lot of meaning in that moment, and while I can’t perfectly articulate it all, I can feel it. What is the takeaway? Is it the very literal, the earth is there for me, in whatever moment I find it? Is it the wonder in returning to familiar places as both you and the places shift slowly over time? Is it how places can evolve in meaning and importance and feeling depending on when you’re there and who you’re with? I think it’s all of them (what a twist!!!), and in considering all of this, I’ve also been thinking the same about music. About the songs that are so tied to specific memories and how they might change their meaning in the future. About the songs that have been a huge part of a difficult year and how I might be able to give them new meaning, brighter meaning, in the future again. About the artists whose music I hear and feel as reminders of their live performance, connections to those past experiences, and invitations to return to them again. I write this stuff every week because this does feels real to me, music does have that power for me, and in writing these I feel connected to these songs already. I’m still processing all of it, but hope these songs might mean something for y’all too.
This Week’s Songs
Follow along here ^ for this week’s and every week’s songs. They’re all so good and I am NOT biased.
BLOCKED - G Luné
Wait!!! Don’t hit play yet. Let’s play a game *Jigsaw voice* (i’ve never seen those movies, too scary, so sorry if this reference is wrong). It’s the Sit Still and Don’t Smile Like A Dang Fool Challenge. You’ll just need click play and stare ahead for the first fifteen seconds of this song and try to sit still and not smile like a dang fool.
Here’s my best estimation of your experience:
0:00 - 0:06: Hmm not that bad, a lovely guitar, some cool vocals, what is Max talking about?
0:06 - 0:11: Smile? Why would I smile? This is actually kind of sad!!
0:11 - 0:12: hm?
0:12 - 0:15 (and 2:18 for that matter): I’M LOSING MY DAMN MIND THIS SONG ROCKS AND IT ROLLS AND I AM DANCING AND, IN FACT, AM SMILING LIKE A DANG FOOL. SADLY, I HAVE LOST THE CHALLENGE.
Yeah, it went the same way for me. It’s ok, we’re human. The synth bending right up to pitch, the drums relentless drive forward. This is shit I love. Weird, different, so much fun. All of it done so well. G Luné’s vocals start to climb, and just ten seconds later the song ascends to a new high. I love the twisted vocal layer, an octave down and all robot-y. A little spice to the new moment. AND IT GOES. AND IT GOES. AND IT NEVER STOPS. I’m nervous to put this on my running playlist. I might run too fast?? Like when Jimmy Neutron made those fast shoes and couldn’t stop running? Anyways, it’s clear the power is real for G Luné. The blocked phone number is a genuinely strong move, the result of ending of a brutal relationship. After the chorus, these angelic aaah’s float over the waves of kick drums. I love this moment and could listen to this loop for hours alone. The second verse strips back a little (funny how this feels stripped), those descending vocals are a real treat. Love how gentle and soft it can feel over this endless kick. Somehow it’s only a minute in (this thing is a whirlwind how is it only a minute in) when G Luné switches it up again, rattling off some painful updates on how she’s feeling about this partner now. Pulling all the way back, both in content (flashback to the scene of verse one) and in production (one strong snare as we recover our breath after kicking someone in the face??), just one ever so brief moment of pause here. Before the ‘oh baby’ launches us into the Festival Pop Stratosphere. So big, so energetic, so beautiful really. It’s as massive as it gets and it’s incredible. The outro stands as one last chance for G Luné to show off the pipes, which she’s been doing (very successfully) for the entire song. Emotional moments and experiences harnessed and squeezed for all its worth here, a generous and big bold hit. Ugh, this one just goes crazy and I love it.
Follow G Luné on IG / Spotify
Starlight - Ferdous
Another song where the title captures the mood so well. Tension building in those first couple bars, under the dark of the night. The drums cut straight through it all, ushering in Ferdous’ vocals. The simple two chords, the roving drum fills, it’s got a great feel. We hit 0:17 and it gets even more bouncy with the give and take between the vocals and the synth. Impressive to see the same foundation of chords/drums offer so much variety from moment to moment. The stutter and stop at 0:35 a subtle taste of what’s to come, and what really draws me into this one. Ferdous’ tone is so unique to start, but there’s no hesitation, willing to toss them in the ol’ effects machine and see what comes out. This time it’s brief, a chance to cause a stir, contrasting with the clean ‘yeah’, drawing me deeper and deeper in. Then sends off the verse with a stunner “like a fish with no fins in a swimming pool.” Oh baby, what a lyric!!! Such a specific feeling, and while I can’t empathize with that fish, I know I know that emotion. Just past one minute and the vocals get a little twisted. Bouncing all over the place, all tuned up a little bit. Another jarring moment that hooks you in even deeper. A cinematic bending note over eerie chords and ooo’s gives Ferdous a whole new canvas to show out on as the story takes a darker turn. What originally came across as this ‘head over heels, falling in love’ moment, full of that anxious excitement, feels dangerous now. Slipping into a love Ferdous knows isn’t safe. The chorus hits again and everything reads different, opening your eyes to what you thought you knew. Things breakdown a bit here, a really beautiful moment, the production truly couldn’t be better. It has that slow motion feel, trying to run from something but just not able to move any faster. I know I already used the word cinematic like five sentences ago, and it’s a very noticeable word, so using it again does feel cheap, but it really does feel cinematic!! The movie of this song turns out to be a bit of a thriller, Ferdous getting dragged back into the thick of it as the song closes. Good luck friend, hope you make it out because I would love some more music.
Follow Ferdous on IG / Spotify
We surveyed 100 people and asked them were these good songs? Top 1 answer on the board. *you buzz in* “Yes.” Good answer, good answer!!
*camera cuts to the board and the #1 answer turns over and says ‘Yes’*. Everyone goes nuts, we win all of the money, etc. etc.
Thank you for reading this week and every week, hope you enjoyed these two as much as I have. Please follow the playlist and please please pass it along to anyone you know who might be in need of new music. It’s exciting to see this community growing, these songs are great and more people need to hear ‘em!!!! Appreciate you all <3
Happy May!!!
Max