Max's Music Mondays with LUCI and Meiki
And new hits from Medium Build, Soft Streak, Carly Rae Jepsen 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, follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :)
Folks, we’re in for a treat this week. Not only are our two picks ABSOLUTE GOLD, but so many of my favorite artists are blessing us with hit after hit after hit. The kind of music week I really needed to shake things up and stay incredibly excited about it all. I hope you enjoy as much as I have :) <3
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!!
LUCI - Gnarly
We start with three seconds that just scream “THIS IS ABOUT TO BE SICK YOU BETTER BUCKLE TF UP”. The alarm, that synth phasing in, the first glimpse of the vocals, it’s all so menacing and exciting. And LUCI (loo•chē) delivers!!! Immediately landing in this maximum-energy-maximum-sound-full-throttle scene. It’ll wake you right up. The 808 kick firing off with more strength than the whole damn world’s strongest man competition combined and you’ve got no choice but to be along for the ride. and LUCI’s vocals match them step for step. Practically screaming line after line, punctuated with those stunning la-la-la-la’s. It feels like screams, it feels raw, but still able to deliver remarkable tone. It’s gorgeous.
The switch up from la la to sound effect is done so well, and keeps me curious about what else LUCI has in store. We slide over into the chorus so effortlessly, those new chords making this one shine. It feels easier and mellower even as the drums continue to push at all-out effort. The vocals more patient and gentle too. The cartoon sound effect really a special touch. Everything is just so expertly done, top to bottom, on this one. We break from the peace, pulling back to just drums and LUCI. A good clean look at these one-of-one vocals, and I’m head over heals. The song moves forward, never complacent, with more drums and a subtle synth as the vocals continue to bend from rapping to singing and every stage in between. Geez, I nearly lost it the first time I heard the drums here. The fill at 1:22 that sends this rocket ship into Drum and Bass world, tiny samples injecting even more energy and texture into a song that’s already spoiled with both. It’s a brave move and a smash success. We find a familiar section next, and even though it’s barely a minute later, feels like so long since we’ve heard it. Full of so many quick (and sick) changes it’s hard to keep up. The la-la’s threatening to slow that tempo at 1:47, ready to linger if LUCI let it, but instead we push on.
I love the make your head bang/shake your damn brain combo. The writing, the same as every other element, is wonderful. Another verse, LUCI really going wild, so much passion and life pouring through. It’s a Rico Nasty x Missy Elliot x MIA x even more edge moment and I can’t stop listening and smiling and moving. I love the creativity here in this final scene, letting that HUHHH fly, before riding the drum fill right back into the groove. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone pull that off so well. We move on to the more leisurely singing, to close it out, a final moment of relief to sit back and enjoy all the fun we’ve just had. I’d never heard LUCI until this song, but I am SO excited to see what comes next, if the other singles are any suggestion - it’s going to be cool as hell and it’s going to sound sick, and that’s about all I can possibly know. Until then, I’ll be running this one back a lot.
Follow LUCI on IG / Spotify
Meiki - Romanticize
A gentle arpeggio rolling through, this recorded conversation playing back like a memory. It’s such an ear-catching and welcoming intro, twenty seconds roll by and these two voices finish their conversation and while I didn’t understand a single word whatsoever, I couldn’t be happier and feel more held by the music. Meiki steps to the mic, that first line sitting so intimately against the synth and nothing else. It’s really all I need, or at least, all I thought I needed. That bass bounces across a couple notes, the echoed out guitar strums pulsing in. And it’s clear that this song is capable of a lot more and also clear that I want every last drop, Meiki teasing us all with this stunning arrangement. A new synth starts taking shape, finding a new rhythm, shifting the energy entirely as more chords and instruments rally around the core pattern. It’s here in this new scene that Meiki starts pushing on too - a strong performance, and such cool layers really elevating this whole song. It feels so elegant and full in this moment.
The swirling beauty pares back again at 1:11, some synths in their own worlds, bouncing against one another. This romanticization repeating in the lyrics holds the two contrasting moments against each other so well. That gorgeous elevated moment the true romanticization, this moment now feeling emptier and darker, the heavy thoughts coming back as Meiki makes sense of reality too. It rocks, each moment so well produced. The darkness in this moment peaks at 1:28 and on, as that massive bass synth plummets to the bottom of the ocean, sucking us all down with it. This thing feels so wild, such a unique texture for a bass, and in this context has the perfect grit to spice up the song. On the other side, another verse, this one adding new elements left and right. More vocal layers, using that breath as percussion, deep in the mix, a guitar picks its moments to run off some riffs too. It’s got a gorgeous groove and plenty of complexity to savor.
Things start to shift back to the romanticizing, and just as it starts to feel familiar, and I’m expecting that torrential downpour of a bass, things shift unexpectedly right there at 2:45. Soaring upward, the hi-hats eager to keep up. It’s the brightest moment we’ve felt in some time, it feels really nice, which just makes that twist at 3:00 even more powerful. The bass coming back with a damn vengeance, pulling this relentless kick drum with it. It’s gnarly, it’s nasty, it’s a fucking delightful reveal. A dance-y climax that just scratches every possible itch. Such a wonderful finale as the the song powers on for that instrumental outro, the conversation slowly returning as that guitar keeps poking around. The song is so so sick, and felt like every moment spent with it revealed more and more tiny details to admire. I hope you enjoy it too :)
Follow Meiki on IG / Spotify
Here’s what else I’ve been listening to.
(click this ^^ for the full playlist lol)
Medium Build - Rage
….. what. how. EVERY single Medium Build release hitting harder and closer to home it’s unbelievable. In the same way I wrote about Maggie Rogers feeling like this neat parallel in terms of themes and emotions, Medium Build is taking my diary or maybe even tapped into my brain?? Is that possible/legal?? Incredibly modest of me, I know.
Regardless, I was STOKED to see this one coming - this nasty little tease on TikTok
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To go Vulnerable Mode, I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about rage lately, about love, about fears, and how so many of mine are fueled by those two feelings wanting or being expressed. So for one of my favorite artists to drop this emotional and moving and sonically special tune felt like fate. Don’t know how I found you, when you die better bring me too!! There aren’t enough sobbing emojis in the world to express how this one moves me.
Soft Streak - Disappear
Soft Streak on a tear this year. This, another gem. Full of such beautiful textures and tones, I’m mesmerized instantly. Those keys, moving gracefully and gently through each chord progression. The drums, holding it together with a cool assurance that feels leisurely but still so powerful. This first moment feels dreamy, a contrast that makes the dark writing feel lighthearted. Those vocals pull the band forward at the 0:26 mark, a fuller sound giving more credence to the pain in the lyrics. That chord hammered at 0:50 launches the song into an entirely different mode, I’m gonna grow so big you won’t see me at all ringing out. And you can feel the growth, as if the song is becoming massive in front of our ears, the whole thing blowing up like a city-sized balloon. Hulking out, but like, elegantly?? The chorus rocks so much, an abundance of power with this newfound edge. We slide back to the verse and even though we’ve come back to the ground, it doesn’t feel small or empty in anyway, more a change of scenery each moment just as beautiful as the last. And it’s nice to feel some warmth again. When we launch into the chorus again, I’m grateful it gets repeated, so massive, so fun, so undeniably great.
Carly Rae Jepsen - Talking to Yourself
MY KING. CRJ is a hit machine no matter where she turns, how she appears. This one is a pop smash - asking the unaskable but unshakable questions to an ex-lover. It’s infectious and feels fresh. I really love the verse’s rhythm guitar, a great little touch. Also can’t get over the pre-chorus, such a fun shape that really breaks up what could become a stagnant song in the wrong hands. The breakdown from the chorus to verse is sick, another surprise and another well-executed moment. But at the end of the day, it’s just fun shit!!! Has me dancing and smiling and loving life!!!! Through in a brief but wild little 80s guitar solo, cherry on top! An exclamation point of a song :)
A.O. Gerber - Only Mystery
We stan A.O. Gerber over at MMM HQ (don’t have an office sry to disappoint). And this is another beautiful entry on the “Reasons Why” list. It’s the last track off her upcoming album (Meet Me At The Gloaming coming 10/14) and feels like a such a stunning finale.
Chords washing across the track, this acoustic guitar is magic as it walks along the intro. The chords fade, making room for Gerber’s wonderful voice. A voice so full of life and emotion, I cannot get enough. In this context, Gerber truly sounds like one of the folk greats - timeless, genuine, and just so right. These subtle strings rising, synths popping in, you can feel the song building as we move. Just before a minute in, those stellar harmonies propel this forward, really ushering the song to a new level and never looking back. As the next verse continues, this ethereal sax starts to swirl (a sick performance from the legend himself, Sam Gendel). And with it, Gerber reaches out with a the remarkable Weep for the woman I’ve become / it’s the only the good i’ve done / by you. The final section starts with Was I good enough and continues with the exact tension and intensity you’d expect. It’s such a wonderful song and one that I feel further in the world of with each listen.
Jean Dawson - PIRATE RADIO*
I’m always excited to hear more from Jean Dawson. Consistently one of the most unique and adventurous and unpindownable artists since his debut (and subsequent MMM feature) back in 2018. This one is really something special, and has me absolutely foaming for his album.
This charming melody painting over guitars, fiddles, keys. It’s feels like the barn is full of Dawson and his bandmates, all smiling at one another as they lock in. The big scene change, the cheeky use of a bending cello launching us into the chorus, it’s sick. A new vocal rhythm and sick melody, there’s so much movement and juice even without the percussion. You can hear the whole band stomping along!!! So of course when the drums do hit, they HIT. Bringing a new feel to a classic band arrangement. Those angelic ooh’s help us float back down to earth. A natural transition back to a simpler sound. It’s a moving verse, Dawson recognizing just how unsure things are, how close something can feel how far it can be. The band disappearing, leaving Dawson alone to note how he was drowning in the open. This quiet moment making the full band chorus sound even bigger than before. His layered vocals so so good. The strings take off and go absolutely wild, soaring on, it’s cinematic and then some. This thing is epic in the most literal ways. The band cools off and winds thing down, but I’m left with my jaw on the dang ground. Sheesh.
Another week of great music, what more could you ask for?!?!?! Well!! I can think of something - it’s you sharing this playlist and/or substack with someone else who likes music. But I swear that’s it!! The more the merrier over here, thank you for your support.
Thank you as always, see you soon,
Max