Max's Music Mondays with Lutalo and Moreton
two rippers and new tunes from Nathan Bajar, Barrie, Leith Ross, & 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 :)
Another late night post, what can I say! I am busy!! Should I maybe think/plan ahead knowing that this is a self-imposed deadline that I face every single week? Yeah sure, probably?? But also, I’ve been busy, sorry!! My boss at substack (me) can just deal with it, I’m living life, baby!!
Anyways, last week I slipped out to northern california, visiting cousins, my aunt, my mom, and getting to catch up with some coworkers too. And boy oh boy did it feel good. I’m on a real hot streak of reconnection - chances to finally reunite with so many people close to me. And it’s been endlessly rewarding. It’s the tiny moments I’ve been missing, and I’m so grateful to have some of them back again. Just feeling people’s presence has done a world of good for me. Reminding me how real these relationships are, how real these people are, and how important they are to me. Cherishing those moments and eagerly planning more of them soon. Feeling ~sentimental~ this week because of it, and surprised myself feeling that shape the tone of the writing this week.
Speaking of this week, we’ve got a couple absolute gems for our two main picks, plus a handful fo favorites from a crazy good week of releases. We’re quickly returning to a “too much music i can’t keep up” season, but did my best to catch and share as much as I could.
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!!
Lutalo - Call It In
One of the best feelings when I get to work on MMM is finding that needle in the haystack. The draining time spent listening to so much eh, just hoping the next click opens the door, opens my ears. The light at the tunnel seeming to pull further and further away. So when this song started, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We found the dang needle. So much texture, those keys, the guitar, maybe some subtle sax to hold it all together. A beautiful composition gathering steam. Such a unique feel, you can just tell this is something special. The bass helps us tiptoe to the starting line, Lutalo waiting for us there. Their voice so calm and sure, satisfyingly smooth as they shuffle through the verse. The mix on the drums is ridiculous, so fucking good as the snare bounces from side to side, holding my attention and losing myself to its magic. But stick with it, there’s some stuff we should really check out. For one, the guitar tone is so damn good. Every creak and squeak from chord to chord, note to note, left bare. It adds so much to the feel of it all. Let’s not leave the bass out - picking its moments, making them count. It’s so warm and full and somehow feels like it sits on top, pulling the song up, not supporting from underneath. And it’s exactly what the song needs. It all boils over and releases to that stunning instrumental moment, slowly fading back for a second verse. A verse that rocks - managing to be beautiful and light while holding a sense of evil as the angels leave as quickly as they arrived. A surprising new chord shifts things entirely as this verse ends, some added optimism to the moment. It shakes up everything and allows Lutalo to step aside, holding court with their guitar over the subtlest drum machine that ever did play. It’s a simple and raw moment, their vocals truly so fantastic. “Don’t forget to put the salt on the shelf” holding me tight, that feeling so clear, getting lost in thought, losing your grip in the moment, and forgetting a task so simple. Just as I do the same here, daydreaming with this as my gorgeous soundtrack, the band hops back in, catching my attention again as the bass goes absolutely wild. The taking pictures line repeats and the moment crescendoes, releasing one last time into that instrumental bliss, all of it feeling so nostalgic and mesmerizing. A delight of a song to stumble into, and so so thrilled about it. I hope you enjoy it too.
Follow Lutalo on IG / Spotify
Moreton - Down & Out
There are the needles in the haystacks and there are the needles that I’ve been cherishing and admiring for a while now, haystacks that have come and gone but the needles still shining bright. Moreton is the latter, someone I came across via work a couple years back, that I’ve really come to love. It’s hard not to, the music is powerful and honest and visceral. Cut to me losing it to Circles when it found me in the early pandemic days -
I’ve been tracing circles with my hands
Trying to make some sense out of this
Life just comes down,
Comes and smothers everything that you have
So I was beyond stoked to see a new single come out. Down & Out does not disappoint, my goodness. A perfect band walks on in, the guitars slow waltz pulling hard on the drums rigid persistence. The two feel so sweet together, friends offering what the other needs. And then the vocals. WHAT A VOICE. Moreton with all the power and the passion you could imagine, but it still feels so intimate. Like your best friend giving it to you straight. Oh, if you could see what I see now / You would hold yourself so tight. That’s it I’m toast, I’ve melted, time of death 47 seconds into this song. Jaw-dropping songwriting that launches us on, a measured explosion coming right after. The release is massive and such a relief, but it’s done with care and control, holding that tension further. Knowing there’s more to give. The second verse is a delight too. A gorgeous line about oceans flowing into this mystifying moment - Moreton changing the delivery, playing with pace. It’s so great. Love a song that continues to evolve moment to moment. And it does again shortly after - the emotion peaking through as a gnarly chord lands, a jarring close to the verse. The chorus returns, this time the background vocals really jump out to me, the whole thing just feels so full and so intentional and so well made. The vocals nearly wobbling through this bridge, like everything is really on edge, unclear where things will shake out. It spirals and spirals, the song picking up steam until 2:50 where those chords fucking DELIVER. Setting the stage for those vocals to shine, me banging my chest screaming “All the trouble’s leaving patterns on you” as I smash my volume up key praying there’s more sound in this laptop. Craving the chance to hear this one at stadium levels one day. A last chorus arrives, and everything is maxed out, I love the ooo’s completing the picture alongside the guitars as the main vocals pick up more and more reverb, falling further, slipping out of reach. It’s a heck of a song, whew, what a ride.
Follow Moreton on IG / Spotify
Here’s what else I’ve been listening to.
(click this ^^ for the full playlist lol)
A crazy week!!! Too much to love and write about this week, I hope you enjoy.
Nathan Bajar - Four Eyes
Nathan Bajar is one of my favs. A warm, inviting, voice that always feels so good to hear. He just released his EP, and Four Eyes is a standout for me. Swirling and shining, a dreamy number coated in gorgeous strings. Plus, if you write about a crowded bus ride and you know I’m sold. The anticipation of seeing their love boils up, the optimism so tender and beautiful. “What a couple of days we have in store” making for a charming and powerful climax halfway through. Love this one so much, and do yourself a favor and enjoy the whole EP - I can’t get enough.
Leith Ross - We’ll Never Have Sex
LEITH ROSS ARE YOU KIDDING. I’ve been a diehard Leith fan for a bit, I’ve talked about them plenty already, but we finally got this gem and I couldn’t be happier about it. An awe-inspiring minute thirty nine, a special special song. Leith’s voice is as loving as they come, such a compassionate tone. You hear it and you immediately feel their love. This one went ahead and went viral on tiktok but there’s a fine line between ‘viral’ and ‘everyone loving something because it’s so fucking devastatingly good and we have no choice but to listen to it over and over again’. Finding new love so good, it makes all the old love feel a little more like old “love”. Opening a window to a new world, new possibilities of how good this life could feel.
BEL - PBR (with girlhouse)
I ride for BEL always, we know this!! But it’s an easy ride with songs this sick. A tremendous first verse: cheeky specifics, deeply relatable (even if niche) feelings, infectious production. Love it already. But it all builds and builds into a massive chorus, the full band knocking while BEL comes to terms with her discomfort in the moment. She passes things to girlhouse for a verse, one that really nails that lonely feeling. Painfully so. So I’m grateful for BEL’s harmonies to keep us company and keep us whole. And back to an unforgettable chorus, we’re all singing along now, and we’re all leaving the parties we don’t want to be at too!! Blasting this the whole ride home.
Barrie - Basketball
I fucking love Barrie!!! The album is here and I am foaming at the mouth to savor it all. This one called my name quick - both for its title (basketball, famously, my favorite sport) and its unshakably entrancing feel. This thing is so weird and dark and devious, Barrie’s vocals gently dancing over this breathtaking production. Breathtaking in its uniqueness and its constant motion. And when the drums hit for the second chorus I just about lose my dang mind. THEN THE SYNTH SOLO GOOD LORD. She posted this taste of the live show and I can’t wait.
Sister - In Bloom
Wow what a treat. The intro alone is an absolute vibe, just has me swooning. Like we’re in the desert, dancing in the moonlight. Her voice is gorgeous as ever, such a rich texture, I am blown away every time. Special in the lowest notes and the highest moments. This one is hot and tender, romantic but also supportive and sweet. It’s all so easy and falls into one heck of a groove, such a joy to bask in its warmth for a few minutes. And yes she did play it during her Sofar set nearly two(!!!) years ago and I love this version so much too.
Tai Verdes - 3 Outfits
Produced by Solomonophonic, a mastermind, a funky genius. The two are quite the duo. Put it on and dance!!! I mean do whatever you want to do, but if you press play, good luck sitting still.
It’s past midnight on the east coast, SORRY. One of these days we’ll get ahead of schedule. But not this time. I hope you enjoyed, and as always, if you did, a share goes a long long way to making my day and my dreams.
Enjoy the songs, enjoy your week,
Max
This Monday Mix made my Wednesday. Thx ✨ & I think "Down & Out" by Moreton resonated with me the most