Max's Weekly Music Roundup
Dijon, Hand Habits, Anjimile and more artists being way too good.
It’s been a long and busy week for me. I feel like I haven’t not been tired in days, there’s always more ahead. In these moments I get nervous about the Friday edition. Will I have enough time? Will I have enough to say?? But good music prevails time and time again. No matter how empty my brain feels, these sneeeeeaky little musicians dive right into my noggin and pull out more words than I ever expect. And it’s always well earned, each of these songs so thoughtfully made, connections to make, feelings to feel, sounds to enjoy. They make it easy.
This week we’ve been blessed yet again, so let’s get to it.
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.
The New Stuff:
Rodeo Clown - Dijon
This is the first one you’re reading, but I saved writing it for last. I think it’s because I’m scared. Dijon is creating something so special, I’m nervous to even approach it. Talk about vulnerable… this is some of the most human music imaginable. So fucking visceral, the only music that makes me instinctively grab my heart. It starts with a sad story, incredible writing, pain coming through his voice. The arrangement is stellar, bass and guitar up front, but there’s a clarinet in there too, working magic. But you can hear it in his voice from this first chorus, so full of emotion, coming apart at the cracks. That “missing out” phrasing is so powerful. So sure of what they can give, it’s really beautiful!!! But also devastating. You can feel the deep loneliness and sadness in not being able to give that love the way they so clearly want to. The second verse rocks too, of course. Intimate observations, a loving eye for the details. Then the pain returns, that last line a DEVASTATING BLOW. Dijon screaming out “I still wear the t-shirt that you gave me”. Mmmmmm let those tears flow!! I can barely even type the lyric. The second chorus slightly reframed, much more rodeo themed, pushing back on someone’s fear of love. “Rodeo could kill ya / I just want to kiss ya” that’s just genius and yeehaw am I desperate for a shirt of it. Each lyric hits so hard, a judge pounding their gavel, you slamming your thigh, fists all balled up. The emotion bubbling up, beyond boiling tbh, as Dijon’s voice fades. His tears audibly falling behind some beautiful guitar. No one could pull this off like Diijon has. It’s so earned and real and beautiful. This last section is also unreal. I’ve been absolutely speechless with the full band videos they’ve put out, and this final moment feels like that room again. The recording feels so intimate, the world outside sneaking its way in. Everything about it, the quiet hoots and hollers tucked away, those two rounds of claps, the harmonies, everything. It’s all so loving and raw and simple and complex and I just can’t seem to scoop my jaw up off the floor. And here we are way too many words later still scared that I can’t do this song any justice.
Alt writeup: put this on the loudest speaker you can, close your eyes, grab the tissues.
Just to Hear You (ft. Perfume Genius) - Hand Habits
All that no-albums-this-year talk and wow have I been blessed these past few weeks. Hand Habits joins the party, releasing Fun House this week. 4th of July is one of the best records of the year and doesn’t even make the album so you KNOW this thing is special. Obviously any song ft. Perfume Genius is going to grab me first, and this one was worth jumping to. The whole band stands out. Each element with a distinct and wonderful sound, a perfect symphony of woah-that-is-sick’s. HH’s vocals the glue for it all. The songwriting structure of these verses are beautiful too, poetry!!! And there, at 0:49, Perfume Genius appears. That signature sound, a voice strong yet trembling?? Not even needing a word to make a magical imprint on this one. As PG steps to the mic, the band reads the room, offering a slightly western/slightly alien flare to guide us on. The two voices sound incredible together. A moment that really is too brief, but quickly sends us on to another mystifying scene. That whispered bridge, band swirling like a dark snowy night, it’s a shock and yet a perfect fit. The two reunite for a certain chorus, it rules. Somehow this song feels like one I’ve known for years? So welcoming.
Bound (with Blood Orange) - Wet
There’s a real ~vibe~ to this week’s roundup, and as I listen to all of these songs together, this one feels like the heart, the center. Wet has really been up to something with their latest string of singles. On Your Side and Larabar are a couple standouts of the year in my world. The album has arrived, and this, its only feature. The sound is a perfect middle ground for both to shine. Moody and expansive chords, diligent percussion, haunting flutes, charming adlibs. I love this chorus, a great opening line, starting angry and settling back in resignation as it goes. As the chorus gets repeated later on, a bass surfaces and just rounds it out beautifully. Plus I could just live in the last 40 seconds, an instrumental loop for the ages. Stoked to explore the rest of this album.
Swedish Water - Chartreuse
The rain coming down outside, the warmest piano to ever exist, those passionate yells, the whole thing settling into quite the groove. Gonna go ahead and be a pretty jaw-dropping opening. When the vocals hit… good gracious. It’s such a personal moment, conversational, confessional. It’s touching. There’s a wave of emotion here that is undeniable. A wave just relentlessly cresting on you. A song that makes you tear up before you even realize. It’s the same way I feel listening to Phoebe Bridgers (yes i did bang I Know The End at 7am this morning you know the vibe!!!), emotion successfully captured and generously shared. The song reaches the end of the second verse, the band falling back, the delivery trending towards conversation again. The final line earning goosebumps from me. “Wherever you find your feet to be, I will love you there”. Another chorus and then outro to savor it all and reflect.
Stranger - Anjimile
Anjimile is fucking incredible and not enough people are talking about it!!! This one is a trip, blossoming into something beautiful moment after moment. The start is sparse and I’m glad we get a clear view.
I said hey man, don’t you be a stranger
I’m the same man, just a little stranger
I’m not a monster
Anymore
The way that anymore is late to arrive, it’s heaviness felt, a past shame rising again. Things take a warmer turn, that shaker doing some incredible work. Beyond the minute mark, the drums dip their toes in the water, soon followed by background vocals and distant horns. Keys twinkling lighthouse-style, you just feel something swirling beneath the surface. It all hits around 2mins, sunny as could be. That last little guitar riff a genius touch to cap it off.
Underwater Dance - Blue Wilson
Maaaaannnnn this shit is so sweet. Both in the *heart eyes emoji* way and in the this-is-cool way. A timeless voice yearning to share, gentle percussion and a smooth guitar offering him the place to do just that. Those strings!!! The chorus arrives, band all showing up too, and it’s a joy. A moment of honesty, slightly sad but only because of the love it holds. Another great verse, everyone a little less shy this time around. A special moment just past 2mins, the percussion fading, strings shimmering, vocals floating up into the sky, that snare hitting like the popcorn bag filling up. The bag bursts into that charming chorus, hold your breath and hold my hands come on!! Flipping into new territory for the bridge, marching on before one last chorus. The band starts to fade until it’s just Blue Wilson and a guitar, the perfect personal touch to send us off. This one is a breeze and have had no trouble spinning it back time after time already.
The Less New Stuff:
Buzz Me In - Remi Wolf
Wtf!! Max is writing about Dijon and Remi again??? Who would’ve thought!?!?! Anyways, this album is so special and is clearly one of those where I will find and get stuck on a new song every week (a la WIMPIII, Pang, Fine Line, etc.). This week it’s Buzz Me In. Elevator vibes in the intro make that first line even more jarring. Remi’s voice and writing just out of this world. “My tears taste like you / Taste like salt and wine / Like wasted time” no one is doing it like Remi!!!! The chorus is so good and so damn catchy, it’s hard to say good bye to it. But what we get is well worth it. One whole verse of Remi living in the clouds vocally. The music is so fun it’s easy to miss the pain in this section too. We slide back into the chorus to dance it away. A nice guitar solo to spice things up, layered with fantastic percussion - subtle as it may be. The moment injects some western funk into the next chorus too, one last burst of energy to power us home. That little synthy flute the perfect final touch :) so playful and good and fun and so good actually. Just a song I can’t let go of right now, got me spinning and dancing and smiling in my room.
I Couldn’t Wait - Kacy Hill
I couldn’t wait to write this one HA HA ha ha. ha. Well. It’s true at least. Spent a lot of time taking in Kacy’s album last weekend, her sound forming into something really special. This one has been a favorite (alongside Simple, Sweet, and Smiling, of course). The opening track to the album, it is quite the invitation in. Hill’s voice is one of one, I can’t get enough. “Oh, I try to give you all my love / So it's too much, so I'm giving it slow” wow. Her voice gets thrown into the clouds for a dreamy insistence. The chorus eases its way, band members appearing out of the fog, you can feel it all coming together when the bass kicks in. Brewing up something over here... But before we get too carried away, it all falls back just keys and Kacy for verse two. The production on her vocals are creative and sick as hell and I love every moment. The sax holds us through to the next chorus, more saxophones creating a little groove and a lot of excitement. The sun has literally just come out as I write this, and it just feels like this song. Slowly rising and showering you with warmth.
Under the Sun - Jake Wesley Rogers
JWR is a dang star and after getting to see him live last Friday, I am more sure than ever. An absolute performer, costume changes left and right, he was in complete control from the very first moment to the last. The last, which was leading the whole crowd in a rendition of Under the Sun. It felt so good to be in such a loving space, and the back and forth of the “under the sun” from side to side felt like a little magic. The kind I haven’t gotten to feel in so long, the kind I forgot how much I loved. It was a special moment and happy to have this song as the reason for it and a reminder of it.
y’all hear that dijon song? holy shit.
See you on Monday, got a couple GEMS lined up :)
Max