Max's Music Mondays with Ramsey Thornton and my March recap
Ramsey with a HIT, and, wow, what a month it's been!!!
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, you can follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :) Your paid subscriptions go towards supporting the artists you read about here too!! That’s right(!!), the artists who made This Weeks Songs are getting paid!! <3
Live from Tuesday afternoon, it’s Max’s Music Mondays!! Fresh off a trip to the Grand Canyon (where I was absolutely shellshocked and so emotional and cried involuntarily just soaking it all in, why didn’t anyone tell me it was so special wow), I am so stoked to close out our month with a huge tune from Ramsey Thornton and the music I’ve been loving this month.
Being somewhere like that always makes me feel small and reminds me to enjoy life. To find joy and love. To let the little shit go. It shook me up good, and of course, the 8hrs driving home left a lot of room to reflect and let some songs soothe me. Idk I have a lot more to say about this and am still processing, but fresh from the scene it does remind me of what music has the power to do sometimes. Forcing you to be so present, feeling so overcome by what’s happening around you. I hope these songs can scratch that itch a little bit for you too. It helps me stay grounded and these songs have all played a part in that for me these past few weeks.
This Week’s Song
We’re verging on 750 likes on the playlist and I’m losing it. My little project getting it’s damn wings, share with a friend, help it fly!!!
Ramsey Thornton - Find Out
Ever since seeing Runnner at sxsw, I’ve been rinsing their album (more on that later) and rediscovered my love for a dang banjo done right. Ramsey Thornton delivers on that love, time and time again. I found Thornton’s music a little while back, his song Graveyard is a gnarly one that’s got me stuck in its web. I keep coming back to it. But today here with his latest single and I’m stoked to be sharing it.
Opening with that banjo rolling through beautiful chords with such crazy tone, add in those strummed guitars to close the phrase and I’m already throwing my hands up screaming “Not fair, too good!!!”. The way the banjo is mixed, with so much texture, leading on the left, with notes balancing things on the right, it’s sick! What can I say!! Thornton lets the drums carry the band into the first verse, a quick loop of the new arrangement locks in the banjo riff and shows off some acoustic guitar chops too. Once everyone is settled, he sets off singing, the first few lyrics instantly charming. Feeling sweet and earnest, but knowing there’s more emotion beneath the surface. Pain that’s gotten us to this place of acceptance and understanding. Again - there’s so much in the production here that lets the song feel so full. The two vocals coming down either side of the track, so similar but just enough variation to keep it interesting. A drum fill pushes the pace - the bass player stepping up and showing out while the cymbal seems to open up the width of the song. Thornton dropping this “read a few books” lyric, can’t help but smile as the band moves into the chorus. This parting of the clouds moment, Thornton coming back to himself, grounded and sure. What he’s realizing becoming something he knows. In my head, he ends with a half-smirk to his band mates, everyone looking around and nodding together in “ahh yes” agreement. That kind of wisdom that feels so simple and yet changes everything. Everyone makes that nodding along audible, the band picking things back up and dropping a couple big chords.
The song rolls right along, the banjo backbone strong as ever. While Thornton hits another great lyric pattern to open this verse, the acoustic guitar is going tf off. Don’t let it’s magic distract you from the writing too much. Delivered with such lightness and levity it’s easy to miss just how heavy that message could be. The whole second verse resonates, life lessons that feel universal and still land with precise specificity - each lyrics drawing memories to mind. He strikes out on a new rhythm and melody with the slick schemes line, it’s a quick change but enough to surprise me. Making the moment that much more special. The band back to nod along for another chorus, a supportive group of friends.
We shuffle into a nice instrumental break. Everyone kicking back and jamming with one another. Beautiful, calming, and just warm. Some truly delightful shit. These are the moments I love to see live and you can picture it just listening. A group of musicians so locked in, smiles all around as they hold up their ends of the bargain. Those eerie keys slowly grow and reach out further and further as the jam ends, a warm blanket over the top of it all. Letting the vocals take up more space in the third verse, Thornton shares more of the story. The melody opening up too, he doesn’t shy away from some fun runs. I love the sweater lyric. But before you know it, the band brings it all home for one last chorus. And I find out / that there’s more to this / than I see. Maybe it’s because I just cried at the Grand Canyon last weekend but that is hitting particularly close to home right now. And I hope you feel it too.
Follow Ramsey Thornton on IG / Spotify
What I’ve Been Listening To This Month
A month that’s found me in new places with new people. Music carrying me by land, by air. These songs hitting for so many reasons. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you’ve been listening to this month. Click around and listen along, I try to keep the songs I write about near the top for ya :)
Leith Ross - Guts
Holy moly. The guts it takes to make this. Brutal, vulnerable, so honest. You wanted to say sorry / but I want to see your body in a ditch. The band is electric, Ross’s voice perfect as ever. Their writing exploring the most devastating human experiences and generously sharing them out. It’s so exciting to see Ross continue to grow, their sound really sounding bigger and better with every song, but never losing an ounce of their intimacy and gentleness. Even when wishing to punch someone. They’re a star and I’m so glad the rest of the world has caught on. Please catch the tour if you can!!!!!!
Ryan Beatty - Ribbons
Another astoundingly beautiful song. The piano tone here… good lord. And Ryan’s voice too. So gorgeous. The song is warm and beautiful and sad, I really love it so much. I’m so blown away by the production in the first half - vocal layers like they’re from an empty church, the guitar tastefully rolling through, the subtlest pedal guitar shimmering here and there. A new melody around 1:25, the drums plodding on, the synth running around, the strings(!) blossoming right on time. With a minute plus left, we move on into a stunning instrumental section, every detail done so right. The credits on this thing are jaw dropping too, and they all came to play.
Dijon - Coogie
Uncontrollably moving my body in ways I didn’t know it could move the second this one starts. Dijon and friends are dialed in right now, holy moly. It’s chaotic and messy in ways that make it feel like a demo, but so perfectly arranged and layered, you know it isn’t. Dijon’s vocals are gritty as all hell, like the 1000th take at the end of a long session - barely enough left to get it out, and he still delivers. His trademark vulnerability, emotions boiling up within as he explores the feelings and his actions. This one rocks so much. The ooo’s are beautiful, the guitar tones everywhere are wild. That MONSTER feedback sending shockwaves through the song at 1:51 is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. The whole thing erupting for a moment before collapsing back into a sweet sweet groove. The back half gets dreamier and floatier, soothing Dijon and his big heart.
Bartees Strange - Daily News
One of my favorite voices in music right now. Bartees Strange’s delivery always unique and recognizable. He flows out so effortlessly over this shining guitar riff, those background ooo’s descending down from the heavens. It’s a gorgeous first minute. Things push on, a drummer bringing things together and giving the song some aggression and pace. The clouds part as Strange sings “Rain”, there at 2mins. His falsetto balanced by grumbling low layers, giving the moment this fully human & bon iver feel. It’s so alive. The saxophones start sliding in too, the song rebuilding and rebuilding and EXPLODING. Fully anthemic as we pass through 2:50, Strange going rockstar mode and bellllllting out these final lyrics as the band continues to swell. Such a marvelous bit of music.
Jae Luna - Cyanide
Jae just always comes to play. This acoustic intro is gorgeous, multiple takes on either side of the mix feeling so full, it’s imperfections giving it life. His voice sounds smooth and loving as always. A first verse that is so sensitive, so aware of one’s needs to cope and survive, and the bravery to face the world beyond it. That little synth reaching up and stuttering out at 0:32, the vocal layers, the bold melodies, it all mixes so perfectly. And when we hit the chorus, goodness gracious. So damn catchy and such a nice culmination of the song to this point. The noise is getting loud Luna sings, and the band hops on the opportunity, that guitar growling underneath. The beauty of Jae Luna’s music on full display here - magic intimate moments, with passionate and emotional complex webs of sounds and textures, all full of great writing. Another winner here.
Hana Stretton - Soon
I gave it a little shout in last week’s MMM, but this record has won my heart. She calls it Farm Music, these folk songs full of beautiful vocals, western instrumentation both gorgeous and humble, and the sounds of the world around us. Boots walking down a gravel path, rain fall, wildlife, Stretton lets it all in and lets it all build. Letting the music be a part of this world, and lets the world elevate and fill these songs with so much soul. It’s an album to get lost in. To walk outside to. To sit under a tree to. To cry to during a flight (speaking from experience). There’s so much space for us all in this record. Moments of quiet to fill with your own thoughts and feelings. Moments of community and movement to let yourself fall into. I can’t say enough about this one. It’s thirty one minutes, and I hope you’ll give yourself the joy of spinning through sometime this week.
Runnner - a map for your birthday
We’re now moving into the SXSW recap portion. My god does Runnner rock. Got to catch two sets in Austin and the band was electric. On their headline tour now and I can’t recommend enough. Their show Friday night blew me away. A special chance to share the set with my friend Adam. The set really came to life, and a crowd full of folks shouting the lyrics right back made it all the more beautiful. To cling to the memory, I’ve been rinsing this track, the closing track to Runnner’s album which dropped last month. It’s a quick song, two short verses and an ever-expanding bridge where the same lyric gets repeated and starts to evolve as it does. So much I can’t say, but you nodded anyway gives me goosebumps every time. That pain where no word really works, and the recognition of exactly what you meant. Someone who knows you, making the pain harder. </3 anyways, it’s a haunting song and I love it dearly.
Medium Build - Especially Me
Aw hell… What could I possibly say. I’ve written about it before and I’ll write about it again, this one rocks. A tribute to beautiful friendships, it’s got me tearing up as I write this. Medium Build shares scenes from different relationships, ending each with impassioned pleas that this person knows just how important they are, just how loved they are, by him. This one hits deep. Sometimes it’s hard, vulnerable, to tell the people you love just how much they mean to you. Seeing this one live, with two dear friends Grace and Adam (shoutout!!!!) from NY and London… my god it did something to me. And even though I know they know… as we stood there at the bear bar in Austin, man I had a thought…
Barrie - Races
I saw Barrie five times at sxsw lol. The set is mesmerizing, Barrie and three bandmates hitting unforgettable choreo. Simple in its movements, immense in impact. It was one of the first sets we saw, and the dancing really cracked something open for me. Reminding me how much I love live music. Reminding me how beautiful it can be to share an experience like that with the people around you. I really admire how seriously they take the movements, and yet are still clearly having such a blast up there. Races remains a fav for me, lush and bright and full of great lyrics like “Stop buying plastic, go to practice / Start giving a shit”. Full of wisdom and smiles and all sang with love. New one drops this Friday too and can’t wait to hear it.
As always, the artists in the This Week’s Picks section also get a bit of cash thanks to our paid supporters.
!!! Over the course of our three posts this March, we’ve paid out over $102 to the artists across the four MMM picks and our sick performance from Mei Semones!!!
So much love to all of you for making this possible - and hope more of you help us keep building an exciting future over here.
It means so much to earn your trust and your money. Getting to use it by supporting musicians directly is such a damn blessing. If you see the vision and want to help support, I’d be so grateful. Just $5 per month will get you an exclusive post in collaboration with an artist I love, and will get the artists that much more money every week.
Whew. That’s a lot but hope you found something special to enjoy. We’re off next week, back beyond that with more music to share.
Yours,
Max