Max's Weekly Music Roundup
It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. And this is actually a really timely reference that everyone likes. Which I say sarcastically of course, but only on the liking it side. It is timely, Rebecca Black just dropped a Slayyyter collab and it genuinely rocks (in a like heavy pop punk/hyperpop way). I didn’t write about it below but I guess I did here, so take that, snuck another one in there, sorry!!
Ugh, what to even say. Been a weird week!! Lots going on in the world, most of it very scary and not good imo!! So when there is good to cling to, boy howdy I’m clinging. There’s new Big Thief just below, which also sent me back to one of the most moving New Yorker profiles, another great thing to cling to this week. I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend to think and read and relax and soak up my new book of Jake Longstreth paintings. All the while you can bet ur dang a$$ I’ll be filling the quiet with some great music, some of which, you’ll find below.
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:
Big Thief - Spud Infinity
Maaaaaaaaaaan who gave them the right?!?! Sounds like this one has been floating around the Big Thief universe for some time now, but I am feeling blessed as all get out to get it in this form. That damn jaw harp like a springy door stop from the gods, bouncing all around over the strings, it’s so delightful. The bass and drums lock in quick, giving it a more serious/focused feel, still it all moves so well together. Lenker’s voice is perfect as always, the delivery on the chorus from the jumps on “what’s it gonna taaAAAAAAKE” to the ever-so patient “to free the celestial body”, hard to imagine it getting any better. After a couple great verses and revisiting of the chorus, we’re hit with a fiddle & guitar solo, full of all the same emotion Lenker brings to the vocals. Less of a solo more of their own verse. It spills into the third verse, my favorite, for its structure and its content. The “When I say ___” format is charming and creative. The lyrics filled with Big Thief brilliance, I keep wanting to pick out a favorite line but it’s all too good. For reference:
When I say celestial
I mean extra-terrestrial
I mean accepting the alien you’ve rejected in your own heart
When I say heart, I mean finish
The last one there is a potato kinish
Baking too long in the sun of Spud Infinity
When I say infinity I mean now
Kiss the one you are right now
Kiss your body up and down, other than your elbows
'Cause as for your elbows they’re on their own
Wandering like a rolling stone
Rubbing up against the edges of experience
Geez it’s good!! It pushes harder than ever into one last chorus, hitting the limits of what the song can hold. The final minute is a great breakdown, a band having a good time together.
Eva B. Ross - Happy New Year
That almost-alien-esque synth floating in had me at first listen. Eerie but soft, something new but not something to run from. The rest of the band falls into place so nicely, guitar and piano that feel so alive. Eva B. Ross’s vocals… breathtaking!!! “it’s looking like I’ll see you when I see you” is a special lyric, a sense of acceptance, disappointment, and a little optimism all rolled into one. The piano picks up steam, a quiet confidence walking these chords up and up with some more stunning lyrics. I’m smiling as the chorus hits, that tambourine bringing a bit of new year’s cheer. A bit of cheer that completely disappears the moment the tambourine does, a quick 180 as my eyes tear up with Ross’ devastating delivery of that last line. One that feels all too relevant to the life we live right now. Be it in love, or otherwise. It’s hard to leave yourself vulnerable when so much is out of our hands. Grateful to get another verse, detailing the tiny tender moments and intricacies of a relationship. Breaking my heart even more knowing that chorus and that last line is on their way sometime soon. And when it hits… whew. It hits.
Swsh - Christmas With You
It is that time of year. My release radar full of xmas tunes week over week, covers and originals alike. And don’t get me wrong I love the holiday spirit, but it’s a hard nut to crack. But Swsh did, with no problem. That perfect cowbell coming straight out of Teach Me How To Dougie, with the coziest bass & keys combo. Big sitting by the fireplace vibes, but somehow in an even cooler way than usual? Their voice is so sweet and earnest asking for some love. The chorus is full, a choir rising up to make the whole thing even more loving and warm. Swsh shows off the pipes throughout, little runs here and there to impress this partner (and me). The whole next section rocks, swaying back and forth so easily, the kind of moment that feels like the night is a blur, losing track of time just being present. Very tender <3 a nice new stocking stuffer for any christmas playlist.
Hira - Need 2 ‘19
Any HIRA release is worth celebrating, even if the song is a couple years old. It’s impressive that it still feels novel, still feels like the future. The drums hit SO hard, some of those claps exploding like arcade game punches. It all feels huge, that massive synth a roof over it all, HIRA’s vocals sitting comfortable and cozy underneath. The vocal layers are really warm, that subtle support becoming much more noticeable when they disappear for the verse. The shape changes almost entirely, that little synth buried deep, HIRA in the spotlight. I can’t get over how big that kick at 0:49 feels, a bubble popping. The next section is what I love from HIRA songs, the whole band pausing to seamlessly let the guitar poke its head up, weaving in that sick little riff, a landmark moment in the song for me. But it doesn’t end there, it’s full of surprises, the next instrumental break filled with sounds/lasers fluttering out to space and all over the mix. Eye opening production across the board. A perfect performance at 1:41, HIRA refusing to let you forget the vocals are STRONG. Some small moments of spice on our way home, this one never settling too comfortably.
Tierra Whack - Cutting Onions
The production on this song is amazing. That sample is indecipherable to me but is so perfect - ear-catching and unique, able to lend itself well, no matter the pace the song takes. Whack is always exceptional, always up to something exciting. The chorus is sincere and caring, as the drums power in you can feel those emotions welling up again. Such a moving sadness in this first verse. It’s so vulnerable, a diary entry of some of life’s toughest thoughts, Whack just trying to get by after deep loss. The chorus comes back abruptly, almost like we’re slamming the diary shut, that “i don’t wanna talk about nothing” coming in like a direct response to the last verse. The sample keeps pushing, the drums knocking, the gentle flute/synth adding some shine to the edges. I love this next section - Whack’s delivery letting all these thoughts and words blur and meld together, the way they do when you sob and can’t quite get your words out. Beautiful and sad and yet still somehow fun?
The Less New Stuff:
Sam Wilkes - One Theme
Sometimes a live performance changes my whole understanding of a song, and that’s what happened to me last Sunday. Sam Wilkes performing alongside four other incredible musicians, bringing to life his latest release “One Theme & Subsequent Improvisation”. The performance was perfect in every way. The venue is the oldest built synagogue in LA taking on new uses and meanings over its 110+ year life. But any room built for that purpose just changes the way people are while they’re there. An energy only bolstered by the performers - having the time of their lives, two drummers pushing and challenging each other moment to moment, Wilkes bringing the bass to life in ways I’ve never seen/heard live. And to top it all off, there was free fruit?? You’re gonna give me an apple and great music?? Marry me!! Anyways, the night left a great taste in my mouth (regardless of the apple, which was great, for the record) and the titular, One Theme, feels like a treat to me now - so soothing and instantly transporting me back into that moment.
Hyd - Skin 2 Skin
This song… it’s been on my radar - be it from Caroline Polachek posting about it, or making the ~interesting~ playlist here and there. One you just get the sense is cool based on who’s talking about it (cool people). But when I finally strapped in, I was blown away still. The whisper intro is haunting and hot, percussion lurking and building. A transition from dark to light that’ll leave you breathless, it shoots into this warm and massive pop song, colored with gasps and metal clanks to remind you of the darker side. We dive back into that dark, more whispers delivering another urgent verse. On the other side of another chorus, the verse is back, Hyd now right in front of us just talking. Intense and intimate. A bridge that twinkles in the moonlight, it really sounds like they’re singing from the inside of an ice cube? All black, the cube slowly turning in the spotlight. Dramatic and moody, pulling the chorus into this new sound too. It erupts from there, an outro/breakdown that is big and loud and bangs.
Okay big news! No MMM next week!! Taking the next week to focus and finish the Maxies, and I’ll see you on December 27th for The Big Day.
Wishing a healthy and happy holiday season to you all, grateful as always.
With love,
Max