Max's Music Mondays with Jasmyn and greek
rocking out? on a monday?? ok you gotta get over here
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays - a ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I hope you love them too. If you do, follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :)
I hope you all had a great thanksgiving. I know I did! Let’s go ahead and get some of these burning questions answered before we get too far into this one:
Yes! I am still in New York!
No! I don’t live here!
No! I didn’t write anything last Friday, I was tired and full!!
Yes! I’m very grateful that no one got mad at me about that!!
No! I’m not going to use the same menorah photoshop I did last year but boy howdy did I want to… (dm me if you want to see it anyways)
Now we’re back on track. In all seriousness, of course I’m deeply grateful for MMM’s. It’s been such a source of joy and growth for me personally, fulfilling as all get out to have a chance to support artists I care about in this format. Thankful for each of you and every moment you spend reading/listening to all this. It’s a dumb time to be alive and glad to have the chance to make it dumb in a way that I actually enjoy every week.
Also thankful for some incredible live music. Getting to see LCD Soundsystem last week (and also this week) and Caribou last Saturday. The chance to enjoy some special music and really special energy.
Otherwise, New York is good. It’s too cold, and yeah sure I need a bigger jacket. There’s beauty to be found in the cold, in its quiet. In the strength it demands of you. But I miss the warmth. I miss that freedom to just go for a run or walk to the store without thinking about the weather (I didn’t bring enough warm running clothes and am getting annoyed). Beads of sweat just waiting in line for my coffee. That first step into AC relieving every ounce of tension. Idk maybe I’m a little homesick or maybe I just need a pair of gloves. Either way I found some gems this week that have a little of this wintery edge.
This Week’s Songs
Please please follow along here ^^ for this week’s and every week’s songs. They’re all really good I swear!!! <3 Please like and enjoy and send to someone you like and enjoy!!
Jasmyn - Find The Light
Fuzzy, crushing, with an air of anger peaking through that “count to ten”, Jasmyn is coming out swinging. That first section ends, and perfect as it was, the song reveals it was a crumpled up piece of paper, unraveling and opening up to share so much more. The drums are the big revelation, crisp and clean, they feel so alive. There’s that synth sliding from note to note, a nice warm backdrop for the drums. But mainly, there’s Jasmyn. This voice is electric. An incredible tone, and the devil is in the details - except in this case the devil is so dang beautiful you can hardly stand it. Whether it’s the smallest voice crack across a syllable or those gasping breaths at 0:42 filling the lungs with rage, everything is in its place, and everything is so fucking good. It explodes with that rage, a big heavy chorus with the synth wailing and vocals doing much the same after they find their light. The second verse crumples the paper up again, this time with some tasteful bongo drums adding some boogie to the moment. The vocals chug along here, poetry moving with consistency. The whole moment is fun. The lyrics are still hitting hard and angry, don’t get me wrong. But now the paper crumple metaphor is making me smile. To think that we can hold the power of this song in our hands? To think we’re in control? To think it’s not going to explode in to full rockstar glory at any second? Mhm that’s going to go ahead and get a big ol’ AS IF. But while we wait for the impending finale, Jasmyn is kind enough to ease us back in. A new section at 1:53, that flat out captivating. The vocal performance is out of this world, while the lyrics are so deeply in this world, so human. Lived in, exact, and moving. The “under the stairs” to “find the light” transition feeling all the more powerful in this moment. Especially alongside the band at full force. But before that, there’s one last moment of calm. From like 2:03 to 2:07 - just the tambourine, some claps, background vocals, and Jasmyn. Repeating “light it up”, but you can hear it coming with the slightest grin, harnessing this rage and sure of its power, it is a charming last frame before the chorus blows everything out of the water. Everything pushing, everything hitting, a beautiful orchestra of rock and emotion. A true ripper, top to bottom.
Follow Jasmyn on IG / Spotify
greek - DROWN!
An action-packed two and a half minutes that is entirely unrelenting. Until it relents ever so graciously. We’ll get there, we’ll get there. So dang aggressive and yet also beautiful? greek… you are a magician. The drums are maxed out, the kick breaking through this synth, cymbals and snare ringing out between the two. Some ghostly murmurs, little synths descending on either side, it’s all so quick and punishing (and spooky!!), but still careful and considerate with each small addition. The vocals come flying in, filtered with some subtle echoes at the end of each line. But even a little obscured they’re so clearly fantastic. Cool and collected behind the wild production. The glitches and general mayhem from the bass scratch that hyperpop part of my brain. The vocals so smooth it holds everything on the Charli XCX side of the ~hp world~. The chorus ends at 0:31 and it feels like it’s been both two seconds and two minutes. Rolling side to side, these waves of ascending notes give it all a gritty anticipation, the drums still in high gear. The breakbeat hits, greek still confidently swaying in the middle of it all. More tiny moments of beauty in this verse, namely those woofs echoing out and back and the pitched vocal layer closing out the line. At 0:55, greek delivers another master stroke in Good Music Making, that new riff hit from the synth and bass and background shouts. A surprise jolt of energy in an already maxed-out-levels-of-energy song. Another familiar section repeats, now with the claps carrying us on, that pitched vocal really shining, all of it making for some delightful and interesting moments. Another chorus flying by, and just as you think the song is falling into an almost predictable pattern, at 1:39 the whole thing gets flipped inside out. Strings swelling, their orchestra-mates plucking around back there too. With the bass hanging around for some welcomed edge. It’s a magnificent moment, a completely unexpected and very very sweet switch up. It feels so warm and soft, a nice contrast to a song that has refused to take a breath until now. A soothing end to a thrilling song. Another in a string of great singles from greek, go enjoy them all :)
Follow greek on IG / Spotify
See you on Friday for real this time, I have a lot of music to scream about!!! But until then please enjoy your week <3
Time for the weekly plea - imagine all of your friends. now think of the one that is always sending you music. now think of how happy they will be when you send them this newsletter/playlist as a thank you/Hanukkah gift.
With love,
Max