Max's Music Mondays with Esme Emerson & Timmy Skelly
TWO PERFECT SONGS & ONE PERFECT SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT (LA!!!)
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. Your subscriptions go such a long way. Free subscribers help these artists get the audience they deserve, paid subscriptions help keep this thing running and also PAY THE ARTISTS!!! 2/3 of every subscription goes right back to the artists I write about. Please consider supporting independent music and music journalism(?) here today <3
🚨SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!🚨
I’VE PUT TOGETHER A SPECIAL SHOW IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA ON OCTOBER 15TH AT MAKE OUT MUSIC.
The lineup is silly.
Salome Hajj - Harp player & songwriter and she’s sick as hell at both. Find her on the MMM Comp Vol. 2.
Purser - Nashville-based indie-folk artist, literally no one is doing it like he is. Bring some tissues but be ready to rock.
Tyler Ballgame - ripped from another era, an unparalleled voice that is even better live. So excited to witness it.
Ren Martinez - Every time I see a clip of Ren performing I get such fomo - don’t let that be you too!! Crazy vocalist who puts on a SHOW. I’m so geeked.
It’s the first time I’ve done this ~on my own~ in Los Angeles, so genuinely, it’d mean so much to see you there. Please please please come enjoy a night of amazing performers and help support this newsletter in the process!! And major love to the Make Out Music team - they’ve always been so supportive of my work and I can’t wait to share the night with them too.
Anyways! I’m still basking in the love from my birthday. It’s been a tough year, a lot of growing and changing and figuring things out. And these days, without my full time job, most everything I do being online, it’s easy to slip into a disconnected feeling. Experiencing moments that make me feel so much more isolated than I really am. Days like my birthday that remind me what’s really good. I just kept telling my partner how I needed to bottle up this gratitude, save it for those hard moments. Easier said than done, but you know I’ll be trying. And if you’re ever going through the same emotions, don’t hesitate to say hey. Chances are I’m free lol and every conversation/connection brings me so much joy.
But (in a classic MMM transition), conversation isn’t the only way I ground myself. Music is the other big one, I’m sure you’re shocked to hear. And this week I’ve got two songs that I’ve really fallen for and returned to time and time again. Hope you enjoy.
“Wait Max!” I hear you screaming, “I forgot your birthday and forgot to get you a present!!”. Wow aren’t you a little sweetie!!! Well it’s ok, all I really want is for you subscribe and share with a friend. The shares go SO SO SO far in growing this ol’ thing.
If you’re feeling especially generous. The Paid Subscription drive is still going! Use the link above for a 25% discount on annual subscriptions! They’re the most helpful for me to plan/make offers to artists for future projects. It’d mean so much if you can afford to support MMM!
Esme Emerson - Fade Out
I mean so obviously yes, right? Is this the perfect drum fill intro?? Simple, direct, suspenseful, effective, efficient, fuck! The bass and guitar immediately landing with *chefs kiss* tone. That eerie synth whispering out to the side. The entire band wasting no time, falling into this beautiful groove, special chord progression, it’s all magic. 15 seconds of brilliance. Big, heavy, welcoming.
One crash clears the room, the band bowing out and taking a breath. Esme, one half of this sibling duo, steps to the mic. Their gentle voice dancing across this more chill guitar scene. Such dreamy and soft vocals, tiny moments of sharpness poking through, it’s a great balance. The production is sick throughout, the big shifts from anthem to intimate, but also for the tiny moments - like 0:23’s digital “ooWEee!” diving into song, turning the page further into the verse. With the turn comes some subtle harmonies. Just as angelic as that main vocal. Finishing the moment with a perfect lyric - cross my heart and swear / it’s only a little lie this time. It just makes me smile. The promise of mostly-honesty is so charming to me. Cheeky little lie, what’s the harm.
The band falls behind a filter, coming back full force into this chorus. The titular phrase repeated time and time again until the chords change at 0:56. The moment is hypnotic almost, it feels like it’ll never end, and so when those chords pull us in a different direction it’s shocking and beautiful.
Sliding into this stunning post-chorus scene, like are you kidding?!?!?! The melody feels so 00’s R&B to me, but slowed and draped over wonderful piano, the band playing in the other room. I really really dig it. And then the drums come back, clean and strong and wow wow wow. A great way to send us over to the next verse.
Short but sweet (and by sweet I mean emotionally resonant and impactful and also sad, but sweet sounded better) this self-inflicted circle of shame and guilt is shared simply here, but packs a punch. The loneliness in the moment and the fear of deeper loneliness to come, all feeling bigger and more certain than it ever could be.
We cross the 2min mark and witness one of the coolest transitions imaginable. The winds growing. The wave cresting. Whatever this sound is, effected vocals or some crazy synth, it glitches half way through. Somehow not interrupting the climax but sucking me in even deeper. Launching me back to the extended version of the post chorus, further thoughts on these same feelings. The guilt for bailing on whatever this was mounting and hitting our narrator hard. Again struggling both in the moment and from a birds-eye view. Oof I feel ya there.
As the band runs it back one more time, they break out the guitar slide. A little bit of extra drama, extra emotion added to the moment. It’s a great touch and really makes for a strong finale. I love this song a lot, it’s a smash else can you say!!?
The duo just dropped their new single, Yard, last week - and if I hadn’t already chosen Fade Out, I’d be writing that one up too. A delight, please go check it out. There’s this moment after the minute mark with this gnarly bouncy piano… obsessed.
Follow Esme Emerson on Instagram // on Spotify
Timmy Skelly - Breckenridge Lane
The way this song has buried itself deep in my brain from the very first listen… my goodness, strap tf in.
I lose myself flying out, the entire band stomping down on ‘self’, and we’re off to the fucking races. That massive moment fizzles out forever while the piano powers on, Timmy Skelly’s voice bouncing with a little echo, it’s really magic. Another moment of brilliance already as we twist towards that unexpected chord after ‘garden’. It gives this instant tension, begging for that resolution to land as soon as it can. I almost feel like I’m pulling a rope trying to pull this next chord out of the well. And as soon as we do feel the progression land on it’s feet, another wave begins to rise. The whole band about to stomp again, this time the piano and Skelly come out the other side a little stronger. Both pushing a little more than before. And with that extra energy, we break through into the verse. It’s a lot to say for twenty-some seconds of music, but it’s so jam-packed with beauty I needed to savor every second.
Plenty to savor as we keep trucking too. Skelly kicking off this verse with a nasty little cello, more strings joining soon after, the momentum of the whole section building and building. As Skelly starts to list the things he’s missing, looking back at all the little things that made a relationship so sweet, we get this second layer of vocals offering some slight harmonies and way more emotion, subtle as they are. It really is cinematic from here, more drums, more urgency, the melody slowly creeping up and up, the whole thing moving from a patient stroll to an all out sprint. A kick drum like a heart beat, that tambourine bringing even more life.
But before it bursts, the band clears out to leave Skelly alone with this acoustic guitar. Heart on his sleeve, hoping to go back to the beginning, emotions just pouring out. Whew I love it. You can feel it, there’s no two ways about it. Haunting background vocals here too.
1:42 hits, the band coming back to life on truth, banjo, kick drum, bass, the train leaving the station again. A second verse still hypothetical but more present, trying to imagine where this other person is, what they’re going through now. The way his voice so perfectly crumbles around late night crowd. It’s so good. The banquet lyric I love too, a gorgeous balance of specifics and relatability. As we turn to the cornfields, there’s this ghostly noise that I can’t describe in any other way. Like strings reverbed out to hell and back, amping up the emotions even more. The background vocals screaming, it’s all making my heart race, ah!!!!
2:26 gives us just one piano note, one enormous stomp, the whole song coming to a halt. A surprise and beautiful one.
Out of that gasp, we land in swirling acoustic guitar, piano, strings, just a magic cloud to catch us and get us back on our feet. And this is where things start to get crazy. The drums are relentless, piano is ROCKING, Skelly giving it everything he has, that ghost sound grinding around back there too, it’s wild!!! The strings shining here too. And then the group chant, come on! The group treking on, Skelly going off, a tasteful little guitar solo as the whole thing fades to black. What a fucking ride are you serious?! Obsessed with this one.
Follow Timmy Skelly on Instagram // on Spotify
Last Week on All The Other Days:
Medium Build - Triple Marathon
He’s done it again. An opening riff that grips my raised-on-Blink-182 heart. Heartfelt writing, vulnerable and honest and sweet. Background vocals feeling emo in the best ways imaginable. I can’t stop listening to this one. Continuing to evolve and hone in on “a sound” at the same time, I love it.
Bartees Strange - Sober
We’re getting closer and closer to the album and I can’t wait. Charming start, spectacular chorus. So when you know, when you know it’s right / when a day becomes your whole life is a genius lyric. Sick riff to connect each moment. Things go wild in the back half. This is gonna be one hell of a live show.
mer marcum - Starting Over
mer marcum rocks!!! The first of many songs to come, this one is a beauty. A mf’ing intro!!! 45+ beautiful seconds that’s what I’m talking about!! Her vocals are amazing, the production making exciting moves at every turn. Why am I always starting over that lyric circling my head endlessly. The group vocals at the end, oof. Special stuff happening over here!!
Sampha - Dancing Circles 2.0
God damn, get on your feet and dance!! This one has me sliding back and forth across my bedroom all day. His little ‘mm’s are perfect, his tone, obviously one-of-one, I love it. Amazing 2.0.
Maddie Jay - Chemical
Whew, another heater from Maddie Jay’s new project. The synths are always such a delight, her vocals stunning, and the drums really land perfectly. I love her writing, no one really articulating these solitary/online thoughts the same way. i read it in an article that i found online / don’t know if it’s right but it makes me feel a little better at night. Come on now! But lock in because the back half gets jazzy and crazy and you GOTTA go listen.
Caribou - Got To Change
Made me cry during the final mile of my run yesterday. Simple, beautiful, Caribou never misses.
D.A. Crimson - Barrel to Heaven
My goodness. Starting out in this cowboy western, Crimson’s voice cutting through as it slowly walks down the melody. The If there’s a way out section is so damn sick. It builds and gets heavy and dark towards the end, amazing production, it’s all so good. Amazing writing, a truly creative and excellent performance, no one is making anything like this. If you’re in NY please go see them on the 24th with Allie and Torri Weidinger and send me videos. I’m begging you.
PLEASE COME TO THE SHOW NEXT WEEK!!!
Max