Max's Music Mondays with Caroline Kingsbury (live!! & more) + Kendra Dias and Medhanit
That's right friends, we got our own performance in here!
Back again?? Ok, thank you!! I said something special was coming and I MEANT IT. If you do like what you read/hear/see, follow the playlist on Spotify (please) and share the songs and words with anyone you think might enjoy them too (double please).
Happy day after Valentines Day, I hope it was a good one <3.
I’m smiling ear to absolute ear today. So excited about this week (and every week moving forward, don’t get it twisted). Why? Well, MMM is has always been a place for me to ramble/gush about musicians I love. But, over time, I made up my own rules. Including not featuring repeat artists on the playlist. This was a point of pride, proving to myself (and you) that every week I could find something, someone, new. And folks? I’m confident in saying, yeah, I can. Getting pretty good actually.
But, now?? That stubborn rule is getting in the way!! Artists I want so badly to spend entire newsletters gabbing about only get a mention in the ICYMI section. And that’s not good enough! I wanna come up with bad metaphors about them!!
Well… it’s time to be freakin’ outlaws *tipping my cowboy hat, doing cool holster tricks with a squirt gun*. I’ve reached out to some of my favorite artists, ones I’ve been dying to showcase again - more directly and with more words. Today, we get the first taste, with the incredible Caroline Kingsbury.
The idea is pretty simple. Below, we’ve been blessed with:
a one song performance
a song she loves and wants you to hear (& some words on why)
a little writeup from me on her latest single, Massive Escape.
As always you’ll find all these songs at the top of the playlist (wink wink). We’ve got a few more of these coming up, so keep an eye out :) and let me know what you think. This is cool as hell for me, but at the end of the day, I’m just typing, you’re actually reading (i promise i do read/edit/revise/etc. a lot, don’t worry (or maybe that is cause for more worry?? alas…)).
Anyways, it’s showtime!!
This week’s featured artist!! Caroline Kingsbury!!!
Hell yes!! What a way to start it off. I’m a huge fan, duh, and wrote about her song ‘In My Brain’ alllll the way back in June of ‘19. For her performance, she played ‘U Take It Back’, another absolute smash. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to this song since it came out <3. The song is massive, a chance to vent and just let out feelings and fears. Yet, in this performance, it feels brand new to me. The two guitars fit together so well, moving with a bit of western flair, swapping horses for bikes.
“I will ride my bike uphill 'till I forget what you look like / I will ride my bike uphill 'till I forget what you feel like”… just breaks me every time.
I AM HOOTING AND I AM HOLLERING *clap emojis!!!!* Forever blown away by her songwriting, able to share crystal clear scenes that beg you to feel and explore deep and devastating emotions. Plus, her voice is out of this world, such festival-headliner power bubbling up and breaking through at the perfect moments, just begging you to scream alongside her. Even in a simple performance like this, you can feel it.
I asked Caroline to share a song as well, and I’m so glad she picked this one. It was entirely new to me. Something that scratches at that same emotional itch too.
I’ve been watching a lot of old LA Noir movies and this feels similar in some way. It’s a beautiful song, atmospheric yet personal. It unfurls slowly but surely - watching what starts as a simple offer elevate into someone begging for more, trying so hard to hold it all together. Devastating!!
In her words: The Blue Nile are a cult favorite 80's band from Scotland....this song "Let's Go Out Tonight" is so sad but so incredibly beautiful. Someone showed me this band and now I listen to this album every single day.
I get that, and I’ve found myself doing the same ever since she sent it over. Speaking of can’t stop listening (once again, we gasp in awe at my segue abilities), the second single off her forthcoming album is here, and wouldn’t you know it? I’m about to write about it:
Tossed into the moment with a yelp, this one feels drenched with the blacks, blues, reds, and greens of the cover art (matched again in the music video, directed and edited by Caroline Kingsbury too). The band instantly at full strength - guitar, bass, drums confident in their consistency. The claps bouncing underneath are the perfect touch, painting that retro feel with a little more color. The imagery is intense and immediate, “Someone crashed a plane last night / into a house, Los Angeles County”. I’m pretty struck by that. Painful, scary, something so unexpected. Difficult, almost. It sends my lil ol brain swirling with the ramifications. “I wanted it to happen” becomes this song’s core, sprinkling even more darkness (and deviousness? or maybe it’s shame?) on top. It also makes me curious about whether this plane crash was real or metaphorical (spoiler: it’s both). It’s a challenging song, these ideas and themes are asking for real and intentional consideration. So, I’m grateful for Kingsbury’s performance, for pulling me in and making it feel so easy. Those little flairs, like around 0:27’s “called him up” are so perfectly placed. As the want repeats, we feel it building, crescendoing in sound and emotion. But it’s the intense exhale that reflexively forces an inhale, “And now there’s all this space”. Masterful!! The band withdrawn, we’re left floating alongside Kingsbury, each line and each breath feels more intense. And that’s just the first minute??? This tune is rich! More color to the story in this next verse, a reeling from a loss of love and the immense emptiness it’s created (‘where someone lived before it’). They head to the bar trying to recreate that magic, or at least fill the void, and suddenly the “wanted it to happen” takes on a new shape, carrying us with more emotion. 1:17 is a MOMENT. Kingsbury absolutely exasperated and going for it all. Her power and passion is undeniable, this section fucks me up every listen. It demands your attention and is completely inescapable. The second “I made it happen” feels like a wink of a lyric. Cheeky, almost proud. A moment to breathe before we take off again, the band keeping it fresh. Someone let the drummer loose and I’m so glad they did, just crushing with pure anthemic fills, it’s all so enormous I love it. The song is a blast, in both senses - fun and explosive.
And the more I’ve listened the more I can’t stop thinking about it’s meaning. Whatever that ‘home’ might be, the immensity and tragedy of a plane crashing into it. The history, the emotions, the artifacts of life disappearing in the blink of an eye. A blink of an eye you might’ve wanted, or needed, or maybe even willed into happening. But it’s all so quick and so permanent. Ugh, it’s very moving and beautiful.
So thank you, Caroline!! *standing ovation, crowd just going wild* For a fantastic performance, and song, and for being our first ever featured artist (commemorative t-shirts on the way). Obbbbviously we’re all running to follow her on IG and Spotify and I hope you stay smashing that play button on these singles until the album drops (Heaven’s Just a Flight, out on April 16th!). And if you think someone would dig any/all of this… *eyes watering emojis*………..
This week’s songs!!
Flexible - Kendra Dias
Another one of those tunes I’ve been kicking around for a while just trying to find the words for how good it makes me feel. I just want to do it justice!!! Love the synth chords to start, so fat, so full, and so warm. The simplicity is easy to rock with, Dias’ voice given plenty of room to shine. It’s a cozy performance, front and center, with those harmonies floating in the background. The two feeling confident as they walk us to the chorus. Part of me does take this pre-chorus as a personal compliment - I have been stretching more thank you for noticing. Anyways… Sheesh who would’ve thought that adding an acoustic guitar could have such an effect? I can say, as someone who plays acoustic guitar, very much not me! It offers such a brightness and urgency atop those synth chords. Dias, of course, does a bulk of the work here too though. The flow of the first couple lines is intoxicating, sprinting through the lyric to reach the emphasized end. Dias moving gently and with grace, ending with a punctuative (that can’t possibly be a word…??) declaration. Contrasting the light with bit of emphasis to prove they mean business. It ties the lyrics together in an interesting way, each line pulling from the last and falling into the next. The bass gets away with some fun wobbling around in verse two, Dias giving more of the story, a relationship that’s come and gone but one that refuses to fully leave her mind. The chorus almost a reminder to herself, and maybe one last offer to the former(?) partner. A bridge adds a sparkling little synth lead. The bass now fully going off - a funky delight. Dias is, again, the star of the moment. Those vocals are so smooth and so strong. Immediately dropping into this withdrawn chorus, the tone is somehow still perfect. That stark contrast is impressive and comes right back to the forefront as Dias’ background riffs overtake the chorus vocals. A clear, and very enjoyable, example of her talent. Then we fade out with a synth solo??? Cherry on the damn top!!! The whole tune is a joy and couldn’t have asked for a more fun way to close it out.
Same Things - Medhanit
True pop star hours, good luck not getting this one stuck in your head. Actually, rewind *doing rewind noises*, scratch that. Bad luck. Let this one seep in and keep playing it because it’s a delight. The intro alone is enough to know it’s special. The fucked up vocal, a reverbed little guitar. Truly, this is enough for me. Medhanit comes in over those rolling waves of chords. More guitar chords shimmering, background vocals popping in, while Medhanit sets the scene of a co-dependent and seemingly not so great relationship. There’s awareness in her lyrics, almost frustration, but hard to think she isn’t in control with vocals that are so elegant. But no time to think about that now, we have arrived at the crown jewel of a jewel-filled-crown (you get what I mean). This chorus is just pure perfection. Catchy as could be, big and bright and weird, Medhanit belting out over that warped reflection from the intro. Whew, that’s a treat. The second half adds an aggressive guitar line that ties it all together (feeling like a moment of Tom Tripp). A wavy start to the second verse quickly picks up the pace. Some horns swelling around the edges. A mellow balance as the vocals really get after it. Building momentum and added passion as Medhanit starts to comes to terms with the pain that’s present and the pain that’s still to come. That brass hands it over seamlessly to that guitar, true relay race vibes!! And when the drums come back in I am dancing (where dancing = jumping around my room)!!! Just a big, enjoyable chorus, I can hear you singing along from here. The bridge smashes the brakes, just us and Medhanit. A moment that heightens emotionally, like we’re just sitting on her bed or in her car, just feels incredibly personal. The production shines again as this moment closes, beautiful chords moving us towards that chorus one last time. <3 that chorus <3. The kind of song I’m just dying to see live, this kind of energy deserves more sound than my dang headphones can offer (@bose…). She did just open for Mallrat at a real life show in Hobart so I’m glad to know at least some people are getting the full experience. Anyways, Medhanit is still so new and clearly such a talent, and I can’t wait to see where the music goes from here.
In Case You Missed It - Smino x Saba do not miss ever, and the streak continues with this one. Soft Streak is back with a stunning new single!!! Lucky Daye ft. Yebba is such a sick combo, Yebba really thriving. New Georgia Greene, lush and impressive as always. Buscabulla with a great cover, any Buscabulla is a gift for me. Lucy Park with another gorgeous and smooth smash.
So, what’d you think? I hope you enjoyed it, I know I did.
Yours,
Max