Max's Music Mondays with Mace and Brayla
Two Absolute Smash Hits, new songs from BEL and Flo Milli, and Dijon remixing Wet??? Too good to be true!!
Ok one week in and I’m already feeling like a thousand bucks with this new format update. I got started on a new piece, something totally new for us over here. And haven’t been so inspired and excited in a minute (which is saying a lot because usually am inspired and excited when I get cooking in here).
Writing this newsletter seems to function as a perfect reminder for all of life. This time, the instant validation to trust my intuition and ditch any shame I’m holding over here. You might be saying, “Max?! Ashamed? of what?!”. And thank you, I needed to hear that. There was just a part of me that was really scared to leave the Monday/Friday programming. Some fear that change = failure? Which I have to add a ‘?’ to because I don’t even believe it while I’m typing. But it’s already offered crucial space and time to move us closer to the future vision of MMM. And really that’s all we can do right? Feel and change and move closer to our truth, not knowing if or when we’ll ever make it. But why hold on to something that was stopping us from finding out.
It’s a thought I’ve been holding close in all parts of my life recently, and one that I felt again hearing today’s songs. Emotional songs, places to process, places to build confidence. And also, aside from all that, just two beautiful works of art that I’m so thrilled to share. I hope you enjoy.
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!!
Mace - something
The number one thing I’m looking for when I’m seeking out the next MMM tune is ‘something interesting’. Which is about the vaguest way I can think to say it, because honestly, there’s no good definition for it. It’s just a special moment when I hear something that hits me in an entirely new/fresh way. It’s maybe the most difficult and frustrating thing to look for because there’s no easy way to find it other than clicking and listening and clicking and listening until the dang cows come home. Anyways, I bet everyone will be shocked to find out, but that is exactly what I found with this absolute stunner/banger/smash hit/beyond unique song. So a big tysm to Mace for making my day. The intro is already wonky enough, those guitars mirroring each other as they swim through some wild effects. Then the drums hit and I was sold. Like, paying double the asking price sold. The kick thundering and blooming underneath us. That rattling/sputtering/rough/shattering/almost-like-a-cyborg-spitting snare drum smacking and rolling on. It’s a show stopper and instant attention grabber. It’s mesmerizing to follow, so different than anything I’ve felt lately. The synth stab popping in at the end of each phrase, each piece complimenting each other so well. And then Mace starts singing and it rules!!! Their voice tender and full of emotion, a welcome balance to the band’s harsher edge. It’s this magical balance of abrasive and heartwarming that has locked my brain into this song since I found it. The first verse is short and sweet, a tasteful intro giving way to the guitars for an instrumental moment. Almost feeling the guitars come alive as the band eggs them on and holding things steady otherwise. As we hit the second verse, the drums drop out, which gives the whole song an entirely new feel. You can really hear the vocal effects and the haunting layer singing like a ghost in the distance. And in this vocal-focused moment, the it takes on a new grungy & western feel. The way Mace’s voice is hitting that vibrato/singing-into-a-fan, it’s remarkable. I just love this final build, the seeing, the crying, it’s so sweet and that confusion in emotion really hitting right. The band returns at full force, it all meshes so beautifully. Some 8-bit notes somehow adding more texture. Mace finds some feedback and the lyrics get ever hazier, until it all pulls back to just the guitar. A sick tune, and delight to explore.
Follow Mace on IG / Spotify
Brayla - Thru It All
Oh my goodness this thing is so damn smooth and soothing. Just that bass line, filtered with DJ scratches alongside, it’s enough to know when you open the door, it’s going to be a beautiful sight. And it is. From 10-20sec it’s pure perfection, I could listen to this on loop for hours on end. The drums finding unique sounds and mixed to perfection landing all over the place, everything just right. Brayla’s voice, simple ahh’s and mhmm’s that shine. It’s in this warm, cozy groove that the verse really pops. Even these first few lyrics, “show you you’re the reason for all my pain”… roping you in and then smashing you with this?? Delivered so gentle and assured, it just feels like we’re instantly on Brayla’s side, smirking as they go off, even if they’re singing at us(?). Obviously, the background vocals are notable here too. VERY notable. Taking on incredible harmonies, pulling the melody in such interesting directions. It’s an exciting listen, they really could go anywhere. The “all about, yo-ooh-uuhh” a perfect example. Each moment of you getting pulled like taffy, draped over the perfect note, bending into shape. It’s so unexpected, and works so well. The beat is almost meditative in its groove, and these moments of a brave vocal performance keeps the whole song on its toes. But let’s not forget the lead vocals either, Brayla showing off with every chance she gets. And I’m very glad!! It’s a showing off that lands as confident and incredibly skilled, not forcing a thing at all. You can really hear it in the chorus. Swapping positions, the background vocals step up front, the lead taking a beat to have some fun in the back. Leave your focus with them for the second verse too, I honestly don’t know what else to say. Just stunning stuff here, such a rich and consistent tone, distinct and gorgeous as it moves across her range. The song is reckoning with love gone wrong, moving on and not taking excuses any more. You can feel the power in the performance and the lyrics, and I can’t help but smile, rooting for Brayla as they make it through this. One final moment of awe-inspiring work - the way the background vocals hit these chords from 2:46 on, descending in a way that’s just shaking-my-head-in-disbelief-good. It’s fresh off Brayla’s EP2, a really exciting project, filled with bold production and just such a variety of amazing songs.
Follow Brayla on IG / Spotify
Here’s what else I’ve been listening to.
(click this ^^ for the full playlist lol)
Wet - Larabar (Remembering Something Heavy in the Car Going Wherever Remix). Dijon can do no wrong. The original Larabar is one of my favorites off Wet’s Letter Blue. A mesmerizing, spacey, beautiful ballad. Layered with addicting waves of so many sounds and just a brilliant performance. It’s hard to imagine a remix to it, so I was kind of shocked to see this release. Dijon does what he does best, breaking free of any expectation and taking this into an entirely new world. Expanding on its specialness and making it entirely new at the same time. The first minute is elegant and complex - the familiar vocal riding on new chords, new sounds. Plenty of swirling chaos and some fascinating harmonies from Dijon. Reminds me of a Jockstrap song in its heartwarming mayhem. At 0:55 that synth drops, still imperfect but fitting so well. Dijon joins here too, a one-of-a-kind tone, emotion pouring out as always. So many fun stabs and sounds throughout, it lives in a sonic world of its own, but a complete world. And at 2:10 we drop into a gnarly clarinet solo. What’s not to love?
BEL - Big City. I’ve been waiting for this one. BEL teasing this monster of a chorus online for too long (not really, I’m just impatient). Like so many of her recent releases, it feels so warm and breezy. But that’s just the band. BEL standing strong in the middle of it all, not afraid to share the moment-to-moment sights and feelings. All of them so familiar, so easy to connect to, all making the chorus hit that much harder. The story telling is this perfect mix of cheeky smirks and heartbreaking memories just waiting to be rediscovered. Pain around the corner but almost choosing to laugh our way through it, just appreciating the small world when there’s no avoiding it. The chorus just begs to be sang along with, and as we approach 2mins it gets its wish. A room full of friends layering on and a communal shrug and sigh. It all fades back to BEL on the acoustic, an intimate and charming end to a fun song.
Flo Milli - PBC. Very few people can turn up the energy like Flo Milli does. The beat is absolutely out of control. Reckless!!! An 808 bursting through, taking up as much space as the mix will allow. The start and stops in these first few moments “pretty for what? pretty for who?” are so fun, and the “who are you?” devastatingly delivered. The song pushes on, simple and so catchy, even in its repetition it has me by the dang throat. Fun and wild and mean and bouncy and harsh and full of heart all at the same time. It’s a beauty and it’s over well before I’m ready. Like all Flo Milli songs, effortlessly distinct and begging to be played as loud as you can manage.
That’ll do it for this week. If you liked what you heard (and read, I hope) please subscribe. It guarantees you’ll make my day and also get more great songs next week. If you have a friend who might like this too? Oh man oh man what I would do for a dang share. Send it their way, no gatekeeping over here!!!
Otherwise, have a great week. I’m off to New York again this week, and will be back to horrible photoshops with dumb ny references, so look forward to that I guess…
Until then,
Max