Max's Music Mondays with Cece Maravilla and Isabella Elise
plus recent favs from Leith Ross, Sudan Archives, and more :)
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 :) Your paid subscriptions go towards direct financial support of the artists you read about here too!! That’s right(!!), the artists who made This Weeks Songs are getting paid!! <3 Special community to be a part of and I’d love if you joined.
Cannot tell you how proud I am that this community keeps growing. It’s a great reminder to me that I’ve been holding myself back, focused on wanting what I need and not letting those bigger dreams in. But that’s what keeps this so special and so exciting. When my thoughts wander and start to think of what’s possible, it’s too easy to say oh no way that’s too much to ask for, but then I see that little gmail notification come through that another person has trusted me and believed in this thing and I remember that jk lol it’s all possible!!! And within the prism of Max’s Music Mondays, some of those ideas are really friggin juicy!
It feels exciting to step into uncertainty and just figure it out when I get there. Even in this first month of bi-weekly posts I’ve felt the ebbs and flows, seeing and feeling where/how things need to change. Realizing that I gotta keep pushing and tell everyone about this all the time!!! But it feels like it’s all happening too. What a dang relief to be moving forward rather than trying to solve it all in my head before this even existed.
And I’m trying to hold that and harness that wherever I can in life too. To just keep trusting myself, I’ll figure it out as it happens. Whether the little things - cooking dinner, trying a new route to run - or the big ones, the knowledge that I can step forward and adapt has been powerful. That’s kind of what I’ve done here today too - wanting to return to these intros as a place to write and share and be a little different than the rest of the letter. But not really knowing how or where to begin. I’ll keep going, keep learning, and keep evolving as I do.
For now, here are two absolutely perfect tunes from two really exciting young artists. I hope you enjoy them. And if you do… plz subscribe.
This Week’s Songs
Listen, enjoy, and send to a dang friend why don’t you. The path to 1,000 followers continues, now pushing 725!!
Cece Maravilla - Island
Fluttering into a dream, the clouds parting, the world coming into focus as this synth rises and falls. It’s a bit magical. Cece Maravilla pops in, the synth pausing before finding a familiar shape in this new progression. Maravilla’s first line makes a splash. Some great background layers, the ‘go’ echoing out so wide, and the moment ushering in that new chord progression. It is sick and lets the song really take off. The feeling they sing about lands well - trying to run from someone’s voice in your head, the synth feeling urgent and makes me feel like that scene in Severance where the characters run through a door and keep ending up in the same room(?). It’s a wanting, determined urgency. Maravilla sounds fantastic as we their passion comes alive in this ‘I cannot blame’ section. There’s some chaos rumbling as the moment ends, only to kick start some drums and reveal this was the dang chorus the whole time. Run it back, let’s go!!!
The drums give this song an entirely new energy. Hitting harder, but somehow finding a well paced groove in all the urgency. The moment feeling bigger yet more cohesive and calm. The chorus is full of little gems, synths sliding by, drum stutters, those twisted vocals draped on the edges of the song. So in the details, the song is wild. But zoom out and you’ll find it just as special. A golden chorus - warm, breezy, infectious, and unique. And inventive!! I wanna get that adjective in there too. Because it’s true!!!
We break out of the scene and step forward, the song paring back but not shying away. The bass keeps knocking, those gentle stabs that feel so soulectiony, so effortlessly groovy, bouncy and floaty, it’s so great. Maravilla’s delivery is smooth and patient, embodying the coolness that’s oozing off this whole song. And while you can tell they are cool as hell, they also aren’t Too Cool, which is an important distinction. And thank god because that’s what opens this one up. Unafraid to try and unafraid to play, the verse stays shapeshifting. Vocal chops, filtered adlibs that almost feel like gentle breezes, cutting the bass into the back half of the verse. The song is barely two mins and yet there’s SO much to say. Packing a dang punch, so much to savor. All of it pulled off with ease. Plus the writing is a joy, the snail/shell lyrics instantly charming me and winning me over. Maravilla’s delivery across the verse also finds new paths, new rhythms, making it feel so alive as lines spill into one another, the pace finding more and more momentum.
We push past the minute mark, falling back into the chorus. Caught by that ol’ familiar synth arpeggiator, and another simple synth spitting back the main melody. Just that little hi-hat shuffle is enough to move me, and has me stoked about whatever else is to come. And the song doesn’t let me down - it continues moving and evolving. This section adds some descending vocal chops, the whole thing swirling even more than before. It verges on too much, this maximalism making it hard to focus on any one thing. But I find it pushed far, not beyond its limit. Everything so well choreographed that you can really just let it all wash over you, lost in the moment. Just when you accept that, we get another curveball, the song sliding into a new place yet again. The DJ taking over for this final run of the chorus, starting, stopping, repeating, riding this major kick drum, all of this while running in and out of filters. Again, it’s a lot, but it’s gorgeous. As the song fades, we catch a cheeky key change, pulling us into these chords as we part ways.
The song is electric and a ride from start to finish. Always the kind of song I’m drawn to. Especially when the writing also comes to play - vulnerable and human and fun (even if sad). I’m so happy to have found this song and to have gotten to share it with you. I’m so excited to see with Cece Maravilla is up to next and hope you dig it all too :)
Follow Cece Maravilla on IG / Spotify
Isabella Elise - Half of You
Eagle-eyed or elephant-brained (they’re the remembering one right??) will recognize this name. Isabella Elise’s If We Never Try made it’s way on to MMM just over a year ago. Now, I rarely write about an artist twice. Mostly as a challenge, to push myself to find more and more, dig further, look farther. But sometimes, I just hear a song and think - my god this song is incredible and I need everyone to know about it. And so, we meet here today, to once again celebrate a wonderful tune from Isabella Elise.
I love this song. From top to bottom, it’s mesmerizing and sweet and magic. I mean no choice but to start with an introductory drum fill, right?? Much too rare, but used perfectly here. The tone is so perfect, so warm and full. Ending on that snap/clap just hanging in space for a tiny moment. I don’t know why more songs don’t start like this but I’m so glad this one does. The intro maintains the whole why-don’t-more-songs-do-this of it all - guitars, sounding incredible. Bass, working so elegantly. The drum machine perfectly bright. I could sit in this loop for hours and be so happy. But there’s more to see here and the bass is kind enough to walk us there, running alongside Elise’s first line. It’s a really cool melody, and the way the songs shifts behind it, is so sick, like it’s all been swallowed as Elise hits us over the head with an honest declaration. It’s as if she’s pulled us into another room, away from the band, to talk to us personally, and oof does it hit. A verse that is honest and vulnerable and painful, but one that is so earnest and endearing. The side-room intimacy created is needed, not letting this real moment get washed away. She makes it clear things with whoever the narrator is talking to have been bad, have been hard, and feels like she’s taking a stand. So as the band comes back in for the chorus, it’s that much more devastating to fall right back into it.
I hate that I’d give it all up
If you asked me to
That I’d give double of me
Just to get half of you
Come on!!! Such a brutal feeling, trying so hard to get more of someone. Wanting them so badly, and sacrificing yourself in the process. And here, admitting that it still might not be enough. It’s harsh and real and breaks my heart. Sonically, it rocks too. That wet, reverbed guitar sending chords out to the horizon, the whole thing really sucks me in. Getting the most of every sound. It feels bigger and expansive but still grounded. We slide into a moment of recovery, ooo’s and aaah’s that feel so peaceful, healing the wounds of the chorus that are still so fresh. It’s another chance to love the killer band assembled here. The bass held so beautifully in the mix, the drums driving crisp, clean, focused.
The moment shifts again, a new synth taking up, supporting us as the story continues. It’s sparse but the production carries so much atmosphere and life, it never feels empty by any stretch. The verse is quick, as we see how unfulfilling the relationship is. But that give and take hits again - I think you know / I’ll be waiting / Until you want me to - sliding into the first half of the chorus. What an exciting move to refresh the lyrics in this way, hard to pull off!!! This thing is thoughtfully and expertly arranged… my goodness. Brave and fresh. That synth bulks up a bit in the post-chorus, making a bit more noise under the vocals, all of it working so well.
Home stretch here, with less than a minute to go, but still a lot to mention. This bridge-y bit, is great. The syncopated “oh!” at 1:58, buried so deep in the mix, a perfect gem in the midst of it all. The whole thing growing, an eruption on the horizon, almost like the dang volcano emerging from the earth in this “I think you hate me” section. The song filled with more space and texture as they SLICKLY send us back to the chorus. A smooth transition and one that caught me off guard, almost took my breath away. Exciting!!! More layers of vocals sneak in, and you can feel the song filling with air. One last desire for more of this person, before we let go of the balloon and it sails off towards the sun. A damn TUNE. Man I have been loving this one so much and I hope you do too.
Follow Isabella Elise on IG / Spotify
Here’s what else I’ve been listening to.
Yeah, I’ve got another playlist…^^ a live look at the songs I can’t get enough of beyond our weekly picks. It’s a mix of everything. Old, new, big, small, mainstream, weird as hell. Give it a listen :)
Leith Ross - (You) On My Arm
LEITH WTFFFFF. Ugh. I love this song so much, and am just constantly overwhelmed by Leith Ross’ talent and vulnerability. They have one of my favorite voices, loving and welcoming. Plus they are one of the best songwriters around right now, deeply personal and generous in detail. So thoughtful and beautiful, so creative and emotional.
It brings me endless joy to see the world realizing the same about such a special person.
This song is a damn hit, so lush and loving. I love the unique melody in the chorus and love hearing Ross with a full band at their back. I WANNA BE I WANNA BUY YOU PRETTY LITTLE THINGS AND NEVER EVER LIE TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So special wtf.
Barrie - Races
Barrie cannot miss. Song after song finding its way to the core of my head. Sonically all living in this world together, a tone, a mood. Yet she is always finding new corners of that world, letting the sounds and instruments come to life and shine. Barrie’s vocals are so damn good, so damn cool. They’re soft and sure, managing to cut through sharp all the same.
Races bellows out with the full band, and I love it. The chorus swells with those keys and organ, and the message lands so beautifully.
You stand in your own way (Your own way) / And you played it well (And you played it well)
If you've been lying (Lying) / Now’s the time (Now's the time to tell)
But I think that final verse really summarizes the message well. Stop buying plastic / go to practice / start giving a shit. A message to themselves? A message to all of us? Idk. But one we could all stand to hear clear. And one I’ve been running back time and time again.
Sudan Archives - NBPQ (Topless)
I listened to this one a bit when it dropped, but lost track of it, and when it came back up on my running playlist?? Ooooo boy, it did the trick. It’s enticing and exciting, Sudan Archives speaking their mind as they fly through this first verse, claps relentless. The drums throughout are massive, and this I’m not average section really comes to life because of them. A storytelling section over the claps before a cinematic sonic sunrise. This song has so many faces, takes so many shapes, it’s a hot one and a great one. And has me so excited to go back to the SA album that came out last September.
Caroline Polachek - Blood And Butter
HAHAHAHA this one is so fucking sick. Polachek is absolutely on one rn and I can’t wait for the album tomorrow. Can’t wait for it, whatever it might be (which is really the most exciting part). This one is stunning and sprawling to start, unfurling with her unmistakable voice reaching out, reaching forward. When that acoustic guitar hits, she really is the star, a timeless moment, before the production brings it right back to modern day. The second chorus gives way to a dang bagpipe. Are you kidding???? Both a stunning shock, and a “yep, well, that was only a matter of time” feeling. It’s surprising and beautiful and perfect, almost a natural extension of her voice. Don’t think anyone else could pull it off. Speaking of pulling it off, hard not to mention the ‘mythicalogical and wikipediated’ of it all. She knows what she’s doing and she’s doing it so well, and that’s all we can possibly ask for.
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I’m also so excited to spend more time with this Paramore record, the new Kelela record, and also diving into this wild Liv.e album too. Any thing I missed?? Please let me know!! Always searching for more.
That’s it and that’s all. As always, grateful to get to share the music that’s moving me today and hope it can have an impact on you too. Our FIRST EVER subscriber’s only post is coming next week - a special, exclusive performance from Farrah Hanna, who you might remember from a couple issues back :)
It’s special to get to commission work like that, and couldn’t happen without your support. If this mission of supporting young, up and coming musicians directly with your cash speaks to you, please subscribe. It’d mean the world.
Until next week,
Max