Max's Music Mondays with John Glacier and boywithahalo
Last one for a few weeks, ENJOY!!!
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 respectfully smash that subscribe button. Let me know if you do, I’ll send you a thank you playlist or something.
Listen, it’s happened again. I leave tomorrow on a big ‘ol family vacation, and have been running around stressed with too much to do and not enough time. And so, we had to prioritize, and funny photoshop got the cut yet again. My apologies!! The good news is there’s still two incredible songs.
But, yes, going to be offline for a bit. I’ll be back with a nice month-long(?) recap on Friday, August 13th (ok, unlucky!!). That’s the longest stretch we’ve ever gone dark over here at MMM HQ, and I will miss each and every one of you dearly. Looking forward to sharing more music soon. Until then, please join me in being obsessed with these two songs.
This Week’s Songs
Please please follow along here ^^ for this week’s and every week’s songs. Each song is perfect and that is an objective fact and in no way my biased opinion i promise.
Icing - John Glacier
John Glacier just sort of appeared in my world, can’t figure out where or when I came across their music, but it’s quickly becoming a staple for me. Someone making bold and different music. Icing is a quick but stunning song, at 1:44 still manages to pack an entire world inside. That opening synth riff, feels mysterious and like the night, but like it’s under a full moon, still bright somehow. Glacier’s vocals are a dang delight - everything delivered so matter of fact. They way the vocals stay so calm and reserved seem to make the statements hit that much harder. The kind of cool that is so cool they don’t even need to mention it. There’s a second layer here giving them even more texture. Piece of cake thats my ting!! That rocks. As Glacier pushes on into the verse, the vocals are pushed all the way up front. Right in our faces, the only thing separating them from us is a soft layer of fuzz. And they have to move forward to the front of the stage, there’s a big ol bass drum filling that space behind, a powerful addition for the moment. Fits well, as lyrically, Glacier refuses to spare anyone - If you didn’t copy me then you lying. The song’s momentum is never ending. The verse wastes no time before spilling back into the chorus, and as the vocals shift back, the bass drum disappearing, you can almost see the shapes of this song twisting around each other, sliding back against themselves. And now back in the chorus, that line ‘they don’t see me as human’ really hits. Such an isolating and alienating feeling full stop, but off the back of such self-assurance it’s also striking how frustrating that must be. Another wonderful verse, Glacier’s tone just perfect here, and there’s no questioning their work. The synth is still rolling here, carrying us from start to finish, a welcomed guide. On the other side of one last chorus, we get to ride out on the outro - somehow squeezing an outro on such a short song??? Magic, I’ll tell ya what. But we’re in good hands, incredible production from Holly and Vegyn, a solid team. Just love this song, unafraid to push limits, to sound unique, but able to do it in a short and accessible smash.
Follow John Glacier on IG / Spotify
story - boywithahalo
Those first few strums, feedback building, it’s a hazy vision off on the horizon. The bass booming down there, so much emotion drifting back and forth. It’s all so big. Even as the drums enter, there’s a lot of space. So it’s a bit of a shock when boywithahalo kicks this off so intimately. You can feel them pressed right up against the mic, words barely coming out. The contrast making the moment fascinating to me, and one I haven’t been able to forget about since hearing for the first time. But just because it feels small doesn’t mean the vocal isn’t coming to play!! Both in performance (unbelievable tone, remarkably one-of-one) and in content (but I think I’ve lost the plot to my story, I mean… poetry!!) boywithahalo delivers early. But there’s clearly more to see and more to hear. The bass is back at 0:49, bringing out a little something extra from everyone. The vocals still shine here, cutting through the heaviness and using that reverb to grow beyond themselves. The band settles back into the verse and I’m still mesmerized by it all. The drums sound timeless, ringing out from the stage at the saloon. The whole thing fitting perfectly together, haunting and beautiful at the same time. This chorus hits again, withholding that kick drum for just one measure, and it is enough to pull me completely in. The tiniest choices still able to make this one feel fresh and unexpected at every turn!! Color me impressed. Left with just vocals and a guitar, one last line that sounds so certain it’s almost intimidating. I can’t wait for boywithahalo to make it and I can’t wait to hear more of their story. Short and sweet just like the song, I’ve just gotten lost in this one time and time again, even now as I write I find myself caught up in the song, day dreaming the music video in my head. It’s so beautiful and so heartfelt and also entirely itself.
Follow boywithahalo on IG / Spotify
Business time: Please follow the playlist and please please pass it along to anyone you know who might be in need of new music!! The more people here, the more people hearing these amazing songs. We got a bunch of new faces this week, I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed seeing you all here, this shit really does make my day!!!
Ok vacation time!! Please stick around!!! I’ll see you soon.
Until next time, yours,
Max