Max's Weekly Music Roundup
a week for the dang books (and our ears) ft. Dijon, Rostam, Charli, and more!!
I’ve never seen fog like the fog outside my window this morning. A claustrophobic feeling this apartment has never had. It’s ominous, and mostly, a bummer. I want to start my day with blue skies and sunshine. And usually I’m lucky enough to do just that (update: about 30 mins after I wrote this the sun did come out). But it makes these moments stand out - it changes routines, it changes rituals. I do wonder if it’s those moments that remind us what matters and what we’ve just come to live with.
I run a lot and find myself on the same paths and trails. Mainly, it’s because I love running them. But I do wonder sometimes if the repetition and habit hide some truth too. Do I really like this path or am I just used to it? Can I actually run this distance at this pace, or can I just run it here? And it’s in the separation, the times life pushes me off these (literal) paths, that I have to break from what I know and have to feel how I really feel. So much easier said than done (in life moreso than running, let me extend my metaphors in peace!!), but something I’ve been thinking and feeling a lot lately, and this damn foggy morning has me eating breakfast inside craving my little bowl of oatmeal on the porch.
Anyways, there’s so much good music this week we gotta get going…
What I’ve Been Listening To This Week
playlist #2, every song is so good, this really is what i’m listening to most hours of most days. If you like what you hear (very likely) or read (less likely, but hopefully still likely?!) please share it all with your nearest and dearest.
The New Stuff:
Dijon released an album, Absolutely
Holy shit.
The singles have blown me away, the visuals have blown me away, the Outside Lands performance blew me away too. And last night I got to see a screening of the album’s movie. A visceral 30-some minutes, that bring these songs to life in ways I never expected. And, say it with me, I! was! blown! away! I know I’ve been talking a lot about Dijon in here lately, but please, I am on my knees begggging you to listen to this album. You won’t regret it. We left the screening and immediately played the album top to bottom on the drive home. An evening of Dijon, an evening of truly truly special art. I want to keep this short if I can, because I know I’ll be talking about it for weeks to come (The Maxies, I’m looking at you). So for now we’ll return to the blessed bullet format. What I’m loving already:
The Dress is one of the ages. Timeless and devastating.
Many Times (a smash hit) transitioning into Annie, two very different offers to change your mind.
Did You See It? → Talk Down, another stunning one two punch with a perfect transition.
End of Record is so damn loving and I can’t name another song that captures real friends, real community like this.
The live version of Many Times, especially at 1:40 when Mk.gee makes a mad dash.
Friends, I don’t wanna go on too long. The sooner I’m done gushing, the sooner you can listen. The writing, the production, the creative genius. It’s all really fucking inspiring and beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rostam released remixes
What a combo of remixes. The two best two-letter initial names that start with A that I could think of. A mouthful, thank you for reading that. Both finding deeper nooks and crannies of beauty in Rostam’s already stunning music. A.K. Paul’s take on TKWK is a mellow and easy. The sound is undeniably a product of the Paul Institute, but isn’t worried about you knowing that. The guitars sit back a bit, the drums really hiding until the time is right (after the storm). Even in the rain it feels so warm. A.G. Cook’s Kinney could’ve been anything, and the path taken was a good one. That synth floating over the break beat is a perfect balance, filling the shoes of that gorgeous sax well. Sounds like deep breathes. The song bubbles up just after a minute, letting those drums through with a heavy bass and some jet engines soaring across it all. When the drums finally give out, the synths take hold, Rostam’s vocals as endearing as ever. Eventually the synth riff kicks back in, and some rumblings underground begin. Live drums!!! Come on!!! Makes for a wonderful finale. This is just pt. 1 of the remixes, can’t wait for pt. 2 (but will because patience is a virtue!!).
Charli XCX released a new single, New Shapes (feat. Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek)
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha god bless charli, god bless christine, god bless caroline. The POWER of this trio… I’m in awe at all sides of the equation: 1) how much power they really do have 2) how wild they must know releasing this song would be for so many people and 3) the immense pressure to deliver on 1 & 2. Well, they went ahead and hit a darn home run!!! One of those home runs so big they get to run around the bases twice, maybe even three times. All three running together, arm in arm. Charli’s verse is great, and this would be a hit even if she was alone. Christine comes to play as usual, poetic wisdom and spectacular performance. The generosity to part the seas for Caroline Polacheck, the perfect moment. I just… this is so FUN!!!!!
Soft Streak dropped a single, Nighttime Feeling
Oh boy. Pressing play and immediately a smile on my face. Those keys finding their grove and finding their sound, breaking through with drums and vocals in tow. The story starts late at night, specifics that just plant you in between our narrator and some kind of romantic partner. There’s a second piano layer in there, twirling from chord to chord with these mini-runs that stand out, just a unique and cool progression. The pre-chorus!!! I am so taken by that first line “City breathing in the evening”, it’s so beautiful - both in imagery and in how it feels to say. It feels sexy and mysterious and so full of life. And at the same time catches my ear like an old cliché a grandparent might drop if you asked them how they were doing. No matter the context, there’s a wink involved. Those mini-runs move to the front, sparkling in the moonlight, it really does deliver that nighttime feeling, the lights from the city all around you. That cut to a pared down band sends me flying into that restaurant, instantly intimate. A plea to slow down time comes rising out of the verse, and futile as it might be, it feels so right and earned to ask in this moment. Another chorus, we’re all singing along now!! Hard not to. And before we know it, we’re soaring through the night sky, carried by this stunning guitar solo. It could go on forever like some of these nights do, but we fade out and save some of the mystery for next time.
Saba released a new single, Fearmonger (feat. Daoud)
Drums banging, that summery/beachy guitar finding the groove too. Saba jumps in quick, his first verse adding some edge to it. All is as you’d expect, until the 30 second mark. Saba continues the verse with one-of-a-kind delivery. Funeral hearse, fearing the worst, all finding that slide whistle trajectory in the middle of syllables, I’ve never heard anything like it. The prechorus/chorus bring a bit more darkness to the song, this fear of going broke, how dangerous it could be a person and their community around them. Stretching out, almost menacingly, across the beat. Saba getting personal on verse two, showing just how real that fear stayed no matter how much he made. In a very Saba moment, the end of that verse feels like it wants to push the tempo faster and faster, barely able to wait for the beat. A real grimey bridge with Daoud tone a great fit for the moment. Things end on a sunnier note, but after this song I don’t know how much I believe it. Either way, I’m just glad there’s more Saba :)
The Less New Stuff:
Miss You - Alabama Shakes
Seeing Brittany Howard at Outside Lands sent me back to her incredible album but even deeper back into the incredible Alabama Shakes record, Sound & Color. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first time hearing this one. On the stereo at a bar in chicago (it was shoes for the real ones) waiting for my friend Ben to come back from the bathroom. Coyly shazaming this song that was blowing my mind. Ben did catch me shazaming and did know exactly what song it was (embarrassing for me, but glad I got to find out one way or another). Brittany’s voice is absolutely ON ONE on this song, and the writing is so touching in its specificity. The “tell me” section at the end of the verse reminds me of moments of Dijon (I swear, I mean it) or maybe it’s vice versa. But no time to think about it now, the moment erupts into such a fun chorus. It’s quick but it rocks. The kind of chorus that forces you to change the volume. Either crank it or turn it way down, there’s no other way, no staying neutral, the song has its way. The instrumental break before the third verse is an unforgettable moment for me too. Please enjoy a classic.
Cool - Dua Lipa
Underrated Dua smash!!! As underrated as a song with over 100 million listens on Spotify can be. This one found it’s way back to me on my run yesterday and I just love it. Somehow Dua Lipa sounds cooler than normal on this one? All this talk about cool, it’s also just one of the hottest, sexiest pop songs I can remember. That second verse?! That bridge?! And the drum fill/vocal back into the last chorus is *chef’s kiss!!*. Hard not to love this song, I reckon.
Ugh there’s so much more. Aminé, Jake Wesley Rogers, Silk Sonic, Lorde bonus track, Abba, Arca, Snail Mail! Not enough time in the day/night/week/year/earth for all this, and it’s all so good.
Have a good weekend, I’ll talk to you on Monday,
Max