Max's Music Mondays with Qhairo and Wilby
Happy New Year! Two tunes & the debut of Dr. Max?!
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays, thanks for stopping by. Please follow the playlist on Spotify! And if you dig the songs or the words, it’d mean the world if you shared it with a friend who might enjoy it too <3 xoxo -Max
Happy New Year!!
Everyone see that ball drop? My goodness, so bright (is that the point??)! Between the Planet Fitness hats and the Kia ad rolling on the big screens, it all felt very dystopian and frankly that felt right! But I guess things can only get better from here...(please)? It’s 2021, so I’m kicking off the year the only way I see fit, listening to this lovely bootleg from VW’s 6/21/19 set in North Carolina *chef’s KISS* let it simmer, right around 2mins we get a tasty tasty jam.
Alright now that we’ve got that out of the way… Anyone got any good resolutions? Of course mine are 1). find more great music and 2). write better words about them. So I guess you can let me know how that goes. To be earnest, I find the year to be a bit daunting for personal goals, too much time, too many variables. However, it does feel like a moment to reset intentions. In that respect I’ve got plenty on my mind. I think the one that’s most relevant here is this idea that imagination feeds on action. Simple enough but I’ve found it an inspiring thought to explore. That the more we mess about in here, the weirder/better it’ll all become. The creative momentum off the Maxies feels great I’m excited to see where MMM goes this year. I don’t really know where that will be, so I’m also committed to trying out some new formats and new ideas - starting this week :) - and letting them guide this crazy ship wherever it’s meant to go. But for now, on to the tunes.
God - Qhairo.
Making Max’s Music Mondays is kind of a funny process. I really don’t feel any pressure to “write well”, I think we’ve all agreed that I’m mostly just letting my brain pop out words like those old machines that pulled ping pong ball lottery numbers before Wheel of Fortune started. Does that still happen? In reality, the pressure I feel, is pressure to pick good music. If the music hits, the words are only icing on the cake - and if the cake is good enough, we can always scrape off the icing. So some days I find myself just hopelessly digging and digging and digging. It can be frustrating, but usually just makes the search more worthwhile. It makes songs like this pop that much more.
Qhairo delivered this exact relief and euphoria. What a song. This initial loop, lulls you in, this dreaminess only amplified as his voice carries us with care. Percussion at a distance, alien bloops popping through for added life, a meditative first 30 seconds. He picks up the pace, matching the narrator’s moment. There’s an urgency bubbling, an intensity brought to life with some engines revving, tire screeches, and wow what a difference 15 seconds can make. It’s another world over here, Qhairo leaning into this gruff vocal, all sorts of layers piled around really add to this thoughtful chaos. Obviously the drums carry the moment, but those… lightning bolt synth stabs(?) jolt back and forth and manage to make balance through such imbalance. Shoving the track side to side but keeping it upright. It’s all wiped away as Qhairo shows off these pipes, come on, what a tone!!! You can feel the pain in the cries to god, the cries to understand. But as these angelic waves demand we be our full selves, there’s a lingering darkness. We know where this is headed. And as “don’t hold back” starts to bend upward and tear at the seams, the song obeys. I love the structure here, Qhairo choosing to reintroduce each element over time, a chance to feel their power and beauty one by one. The piano starts to creep back in here at the end, reminiscent of the initial sample, but now more human. Packs an absolute punch for just 2:30, so rich and well made. Also please go look at Qhairo’s spotify pics. The banner photo with perfect sunglasses over perfect glasses is inspiring me to start scrolling through depop.
Bad - Wilby.
Yeah yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Some textbook max-on-his-bullshit here, but hey, I like what I like! And this song rocks. Sometimes it just feels good to feel good, even if only for a moment. And boy oh boy does this song offer that feeling. The intro offers a breezy balance. The jangly guitar, the warm bass, the drum machine spitting out perfect sounds. It’s a vibe! And one that gets me moving every time. In her own words, it’s “a song about depression that i hope you can dance to”. The verse’s lyrics stay true to that mission, a genuine desire to not feel bad today. We’ve all been there. Wilby’s vocals add so much here too - in the verses they are so intimate, so in-your-head. That little layer on the left giving it texture and life. The simplicity around the vocals let them shine, making them feel very present, like Wilby is singing this from your bed. An honest yearning that makes even that subtle ‘k’ sound at the end of ‘make’ feel like acceptance. The chorus blooms from that moment, everything opening up. These lush guitar chords, some live drums adding a punch, expansive reverb on the vocals. Singing about this happiness feels transportive, like Wilby is singing of a dream or form a memory. It’s some other place, some other time, it’s aspirational. A completely different take on the two-world-dynamic Qhairo managed to build in the last song. When it all contracts back to the second verse, the intimacy feels even more present, and almost more claustrophobic. We’ve felt how free and easy we can be in this song, setting us up to want that feeling again. So when Wilby bends that ‘niiIIIiice to feEEEeel’? Well, it really is nice to feel. The chorus launches us beyond, Wilby extending these notes with beauty, you can hear the genuine want for this feeling springing out of ‘not take myself so serious this time-’ at 2:12, each note pushing out, from the chest, from the heart. If you weren’t paying attention it could even sound like sobbing. The emotions shared and spaces created are lead the way here, but gonna go ahead and call out some of my favorite little moments too, because that’s what we do here. A sneakily adventurous bass line in the verse, that eerie synth below the second verse, the lyrics repetition acting as a moving mantra, a perfect sprinkle of twang throughout. It’s a delightful tune to get lost in, and an impressive first single.
That’s right!! Dr. Max is here!!!
What’s that?!? You’re sick?!? Sick of listening to the same music over and over? Well you’ve come to the right place, reply back and tell me your symptoms (artists/songs/hobbies/favorite movies/astrological sign/anything) and I will happily prescribe some the best medicine (more music) for you. I’m sorry this is all such an embarrassing stretch but hey I’m having fun over here lol.
Do I have a medical degree? No! Buuuuut, do I have a music degree? Also no! But do I listen to enough music to recommend you something? Yes! Most definitely that one! And was this idea mostly driven by my bad photoshop, oh baby you know me too well! Yeah, that’s pretty much the whole bit *shrug emoji*.
I loved these personalized recommendations in Lit Hub last year and figured I’d try my hand at the same but for music. This is completely judgement free (I promise), and like a real doctor, famously there is reader/writer confidentiality. I’ll include a one of them next week (name redacted, of course!) so everyone can enjoy the recs if they’re suffering from any of the same symptoms. Does any of this make sense??
In case you missed it - Well, it’s a new year, that seems like the big thing. But also there’s a new Celeste song that is so so beautiful as always. Hahahaha I can’t help but laugh at just how perfect Harry Styles continues to be, this time ft. Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Otherwise, things are quiet over here. Maybe check out The Maxies if you missed em, was a blast :)
Auld lang syne,
Max