Max's Music Mondays with Kiddus and skirts
Two songs, both beautiful. A lot of words, some of them good too.
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. We’re almost at 300 likes on the playlist, my heart is about to burst (in a safe and good way)!!!!
Happy Monday to every single one of you!! I mean it! I hope it’s a happy day!!
This week, instead of mining for any wisdom myself, I wanted to share one of my favorite things I listened to. The new Charli XCX podcast and her first episode featuring Christine and the Queens.
It’s really a privilege to get to see their friendship in this context. Still growing and uncovering itself in real time. But it’s also a privilege to listen to two of my favorite artists talk about music and emotions and creating and life. Christine just overflowing with wisdom and thoughtful perspective (and also good music recommendations). I got a lot of inspiration from their conversation and thought I’d share it right up front so you could enjoy it too.
We’ve got a good one over here this week, an evergreen and TRUE statement. I hope you enjoy these two wildly wonderful 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.
Mashallah - Kiddus
Lately, as always, I’ve been looking for music that surprises. And this song does. Never quite settled, never quite comfortable. It’s beautiful, heartfelt, and unafraid. The guitar hitting imperfect chords to be sampled, some machine making noise over top (maybe a printer?). Unexpected perfect compliments to each other. Kiddus has an awesome voice, easily floating through the melody. When the background vocals add some texture and harmony, well, we know we were in for a treat. The way the song just drops off the face of the earth after that first ‘selfish’? It’s time to buckle up, strap those headphones on tight. It was all building towards something, so to go no-gravity mode - floating in space, you just know it’s going to explode. And we don’t have to wait long before it does. A devious groove from the drums. Sirens echoing way out in the distance. The entire scene filled with tiny magic. All the while, Kiddus repeats the big question. Taking a new shape each time, as layers and emotions pour out. It has the momentum to push on forever, so as that snare echoes off and the guitar finds some new chords, it takes me a moment to find my bearings. The vocals are soft and sincere, “why do you stick around / time only hurts you more”, the questioning feels so genuine, some sadness holding onto the end of each line. As the drums start to re-enter the picture, I’m preparing for that massive chorus again. But, Kiddus had other plans, opting for something new entirely. A kooky and relentless verse, rapping with three+ layers of vocals appearing and disappearing. Picking up so much energy as it closes. Ending with a light snare like someone striking a match, the flame burning as the band settles back in. Things reach a new head with gunshots piercing glass, bringing us back to the groove again, after another brief moment floating. It’s just all so beautiful, all types of sounds and textures creating something special. These ‘oooh’s are lovely, the gentle vocals on top, feedback starting crack through. Tension mounting as it feels like an end but we just can’t reach it. We get another surprise, a gust of energy that can’t be stopped. It powers us right into another chorus, snares hitting harder than ever. Just… for the chorus to stop three seconds in?? The end?? Jarring, breathtaking. But don’t get mad. Even the end isn’t the end on this one. Another incredibly honest and introspective moment spilling out over a beautiful piano sample. Ending, for real this time, with a twisted little vocal and a smile on my face. What a ride this one is.
Follow Kiddus on IG / Spotify
Easy - skirts
Well well well, a very rare sighting on MMM today. We’ve got a REPEAT ARTIST?!?! What in the world!? Yeah, I really do pride myself on finding and sharing new artists every single week but this week I’m making an exception for two reasons:
I wrote about skirts’ “Dream Girl” in May of 2019 and most of you weren’t here then.
Their new album is so stunning, it deserves more ears and I just want to write about it because I’ve been loving it.
The whole record is tender and intimate both lyrically and musically. Each song holds so much emotion and shares so many creative moments even at this point in writing I’m not 100% sure which song I want to feature. *brief pause* ok I am back and I’m going with Easy, but(!) for the record, Remember is getting a very close, photo-finish, honorable mention, silver medal etc. etc. The subtle slide of that pedal guitar with a one-of-a-kind tone sits just underneath this heavy and loose strumming. You can hear it all but you can feel there’s so much more to uncover under the surface. As the vocals replace that slide, they bring this mellow melody. I’m gonna go ahead and be completely blown away by how much skirts is able to paint a picture with such short phrases. The first verse reads as poetry, gently placed over the band. Not a single wasted word, letting you fill in the scene with the remaining space. But we’re not done being blown away yet, we’re about to hit the 50 second mark where we pick up a couple new bandmates. A warm bass bends and falls alongside the guitar. A gorgeous woodwind (clarinet, yeah?) so smooth and full of breath in such a human, alive way. And where did these drums come from? Some detective work reveals that they snuck in earlier, slowly separating themselves from the strum of the guitar. All together there’s this immensity building. A couple heavy kicks finding a new bottom of the song beneath us. 1:15 hits and we slide into a new place, saxophones fluttering, the slide guitar pushing to the edges of the track, the clarinet holding steady. A perfect ensemble. A full moment and like the writing, it doesn’t waste a sound. It’s so warm and I feel hugged and held by it all. And at this point we do have four minutes left and I’ve already said a lot… so we get to just enjoy this chorus, resting easy as instructed and invited, as the vocals and sax push on hand in hand. A minute on and some flutes join the party too - continuing to fill the song with a delicate warmth. The drums take advantage of the stability to add some color, toms breaking free, falling left and right. Another minute on and the band finds itself really cooking. Pausing for a couple last lyrics, the invitation to rest easy feeling so affirming. The final minute rolling on while I get more and more awestruck. And that’s just one song!! The rest of the album is this good too! Wish I could say more and maybe I will, who knows!? Loved this interview for more insight :)
Follow skirts 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!! WE ARE SO CLOSE TO 300 LIKES ON THE PLAYLIST PLEASE HELP HIT THE MILESTONE!!! 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!!!
I know I keep this^ here every week but I really do mean every word! A little love goes a long way, please share it with a friend (or enemy, we love drama) who might enjoy it too.
Have a great week,
Max