Max's Weekly Music Roundup
ummm are we serious?? what a week.
HAHAHA 10/10 week, are we thrilled or what!?
In today’s world, new music tends to just appear. Whether a song has been added to a playlist you listen to or you catch an artist posting the artwork on IG, it’s just kind of… there? And that rocks! Could be any day of the week. There’s no wait, it’s just yours now. But every now and then, I do yearn for more of a ~moment~. Sometimes I’m just in a mood to experience these songs with other people (cringe to type but that’s the honest truth). And last Wednesday, I got this in spades. *flashback to Tuesday night* I’m scrolling through tiktok and legend Zane Lowe is listening to some unreleased Chet Faker in the Music 1 Studios and I get excited. So I tap into to Zane’s show at around 9:30 and get to hear the interview + world premiere of It’s Not You (more below). Then I refresh IG and see that the new Caroline Polachek song is being premiered on BBC Radio 1 in like ten minutes!?! What a dream come true. I check in right in time for Annie Mac to debut the song with Polachek on the line. It was beautiful to get to experience both of these songs debuts in this ‘alone but not’ context, to feel a part of a moment rather than just having the song. I don’t know how, but I’d love to share moments like that with you all too, and hope this roundup is a taste of that feeling.
What’s New This Week:
wahoo! that’s right it’s my other playlist!! my little baby, I love this one so much, it’s really good and I’m genuinely always listening to it myself. I cannot stop adding to this one, please enjoy today tomorrow and always!!
New additions to MMATOD:
Bunny is a Rider - Caroline Polachek
Well then. Looks like we’ve got our song of the summer I guess. I love Caroline Polachek’s music so much. Pang was a breathtaking album, so generous and ambitious. An approach that continues here to a similar result. That whistle is enough to hook me. The noisiness of the outside world filling out so much sound. That baby sample? One of a kind, manipulated in the perfect way to feel human and musical. Polachek’s voice is flat out, the coolest. When she drags out that long ‘riiiiiiiiider’ at 0:37, mmmmm come on!! The song has that signature Polachek elegance and mystique, but this one feels warmer and brighter than some other releases, and I’m loving it. I think I’ve already played this song 100 times since Wednesday morning, the whistle burrowing itself DEEP in my brain, and it’s welcomed. Incredible production, beautiful writing, and I am just so happy to have this one.
It’s Not You - Chet Faker
Man oh man, I just never know what to expect from Chet Faker. I think a lot of us have been riding since the Drop The Game days, and whether it’s as Faker or as Nick Murphy, he’s been so present, so heart on his sleeve. But how that music pours out could take on any shape. But this shape might be my favorite. A punchy band, clean and simple up front, some saxophones sneaking in the back as the first verse rolls on, Faker standing strong and front and center. And when it all pulls back for the titular “it’s not you” it’s hard not to join in yourself. Some human mumbles add a lot of life before we get back into things. Another great verse, another falsetto moment with the horns pushing on and on. All to get us to a very mellow but cathartic chorus. Giving way to a half-light dream of an outro that bleeds perfectly into the next song, excited to let this album run all the way through.
Other Side of the Room - Harve
This song is a stunner. Fading in from a dream to a heartbreaking first lyric. A never-the-right-time love that wasn’t meant to be, or maybe never really got it’s fair shake. The intimacy of Harve’s gentle voice shining above some heavenly sounds is enough for me. It’s just such a lovely first section. Add in some drums, a bouncy bass, and some fun additional vocals, it’s just a solid R&B song - mesmerizing, welcoming, and strong. A little haunting, a lot loving, it’s a great tune!! I could float in this one forever. Trying to process it all, trying to find themselves in this moment, it’s a vulnerable number. Then a really fun bridge, production going wild, vocals tossing and turning beneath effects, the same way the narrator seems to be dealing with these confusing feelings. Add one last line, so personal and so accepting, a great ending. Harve rules and this song is no different.
Monochrome - Runnner
Runnner just released Always Repeating a collection of ten songs, some familiar favorites of the band’s catalog, given new life. Monochrome is one of those and boy was I thrilled to see it. One of the first Runnner songs I fell in love with, it’s a masterful bit of storytelling and songwriting, even now this song gives me chills. This new arrangement leans into the guitars and banjo, leaving space early on for these lyrics to drift down, the story and emotions pulling me in deeper too. Off the back of a vulnerable fear (I was scared to let you cut me open / cuz your not gonna like what you find) he slides into a memory, the band moving like a dream underneath. To quickly push from that cut me open lyric into the unforgettable ‘Talking shit about our friends and eating chicken’ and make it feel natural is an impressive feat. The song builds and builds, our narrator just going through it. It reaches its climax at 2:35, the band taking one breath before soaring out. It’s a beauty and I love it!!
Letters - Slayyyter
What a song, wow. This is not what I think of when I think of Slayyyter but it’s that expectation completely destroyed that makes it so fun. Powerful vocals ringing out, layered with the perfect touch of autotune, fitting so well over that acoustic guitar. Its simplicity offers a sense of truth to the description of this relationship. The 44 second mark shifts into the next gear (yes i am watching the british gp qualifying this morning while i write), flooding the track with layered vocals and plenty of reverb. It makes everything feel so much more expansive, this “you can have my heart / here for you to hold on to” feel so genuine. The way everything pulls back to hear that ‘for you’ so clean and plain is chilling. The second verse feels a little darker, getting some added energy from those strings, but mmm this is so lovely. The strings at full strength for this second chorus, it’s massive and cinematic I love. Post-chorus the production explodes out, paused by a massive kick, before building back up again. With vocals pushing to the limits, both layers playing with that autotune, it’s such a moving contrast to the production. It all peels back again, another shock to the system but a good shock. I can’t get enough of this one, its peaks and valleys, pushing and pulling, offering so much beauty.
Area Code - Paris, Texas
This is just fun. The vocals not taking themselves too seriously over the loose guitar intro, even sharing a laugh to prove the point. The drum and bass kick this one off in earnest, with a chanting/singing chorus that’s hard to resist singing along with from the very first listen. It’s a moment that feels vintage in some way (the drums doing some heavy lifting there), so to hand it off at 0:55 is a sick move. Covered in these modern and heavy drums, the guitar feels less a part of the band and reads more like a sample. They’re the same chords the same guitar but shine a little differently there. The singing is smooth and understated, some background vocals pushing for more. When it hops back to all of us screaming 310, it’s a delight. We sing along arm in arm and then stand in awe of this fuzzy little guitar solo. Got me smiling.
Nine songs that just dropped that I already know will be good but I haven’t listened to enough to actually write about.
All of these gems living on the playlist now.
HAIM alert, even if it’s for a soundtrack I promise to listen to this until the file stops working. I love that sliding bass deep down there. When the harmonica cuts through?OK!! Clairo album, Clairo album, Clairo album!!! First listens have been jaw-dropping and can’t wait to live in this record. Unusual Demont continues to deliver time and time again (remember when he was on MMM last October, sorry I couldn’t resist). This one feels like a big step forward, still inventive, still Unusual Demont, but just… bigger? beaux shining on this one, and it’s been everywhere this week, feels like something special is happening here. Meekasia with a gorgeous R&B song, shifting mid-lyric from Spanish to English, it’s beautiful and smooth. Kiimi’s debut single is a dance delight, heavy and consistent and stunning in its subtleties. Igwe Aka making himself hard to ignore, iCarly is a smash. Quick but undeniable. No this Becca Mancari song isn’t new, but it’s fucking good and I like to listen to it when I’m sad!!! What do you want from me!! That little little ‘woo’ at 42 seconds never gets old. Tatiana Hazel dropping the EP, and this one is a massive pop number, with searing songwriting, and that guitar keeping it dancey throughout.
Like the dang playlist, share the dang substack, listen to the dang music!!! I sincerely love this stuff and hope you dig at least one song (maybe two, if I can be a bit greedy). Tune in Monday, last one for a minute :) I promise to make it good.
Have a great weekend,
Max