Max's Weekly Roundup
Remi Wolf, Bartees Strange, James Blake, and other friends(?) who also rock.
Happy Friday!!
Hope everyone is doing well :)
New music is just such a joy, isn’t it? You’d think with all the songs made in the history of time, we’d run out of good stuff eventually? But somehow every single day artists continue to think of and make new, different, and good stuff. And boy oh boy is it good. In fact, it’s wild!! Let’s dive in.
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:
Quiet On Set & Grumpy Old Man - Remi Wolf
Folks, you already know it’s been Remi Wolf Week over here on Echo Park Ave. Blessing us with the first two singles off the freshly-announced debut album, coming October 15th. Dropping tickets to/selling out a string of shows across the country. An episode of The Cave with Kenny Beats dropping in a few hours. It’s like Christmas over the course of a couple days August (okayyy, catchy!) I simply can’t get enough.
Quiet On Set: This song gave me chills. A perfect intro - the funky riff bouncing along, the “shh” - it’s just… perfect!! No other words apply, it’s magic and I love it. It has the organ-y nostalgia of Beck? The massive drums/incredible groove of The Neptunes?? But it’s unmistakably Remi in every possible way. The songwriting is beyond wild in the goofiest sense, and the vocal performance is out of this world. Hmm… I guess I like this song or something!?
Grumpy Old Man: A completely different side of the Remi world. The songwriting and performance stay consistent - wild and out of this world respectively. But the production leads with a summery, dialed-in band. That splash of a western vibe keeping the song so warm. It’s catchy and full of innocent love. It’s easy to jump to Remi’s twangy version of the chorus at 2:10 as the standout moment, no one can pull that off, but somehow she did. But, for me, we gotta scrub back a few seconds. That Bo Diddley section - call and response with the vocals going full guitar solo. It’s masterful and beautiful, a little treat within a bigger treat (the song).
Pool Hopping Remix & Kyoto Remix - Bartees Strange
Bartees Strange just keeps winning. 2020’s Live Forever still slaps top to bottom. And as Strange continues to grow and build an audience, it feels like one of those records that’ll only gain appreciation over time. His voice is stunning, and feels unlike anything else. And the guy likes to collaborate!! His version of Samia’s Pool is devastating and beautiful and every time I remember it, I get so excited. So imagine my dang joy to find out he’s offered new life to Kyoto (I mean, woah) and Pool Hopping (IH rules, and this song is such a blast). Kyoto opens with a more somber and simple approach, the emotion coming through the vocals so clearly. A faithful cover, the addition of chords and drums keeping a darker haze over the song. The second verse is so subtly funky, the song’s signature massive release hitting just as hard. The Pool Hopping remix embraces the IH energy and feels like an anthem. Such a natural pairing, coming together in a way that would blow 00’s pop-punk Max’s mind.
Life Is Not The Same - James Blake
There’s this thing James Blake can do to me, and I can’t wrap my head around it. No other musician packs so much energy, goes so fucking hard, with so little. Like??? How?? The song starts with winds of vocals blowing across the song. A simple beat. A simple piano. Blake’s vocals dialed in, an unmistakable tone. But explain to me why my whole body is compelled to rock with every single beat. Of course, I lost it with the ‘dive in, smiling, life is not the same’. Go off James!!! He leaves so much space and yet it feels like every single possible sound is being used, idk I really am having a hard time articulating, but I’ll tell ya what, I’m feeling it. And loving it.
HR - TEME
If you liked that James Blake song, you’ll like TEME too. A layer of mystery sits on every song they make. This piano offering signals of age with every sound. It feels like we’re playing in a dusty forgotten attic. Keys that haven’t been touched in years. But that doesn’t stop lovely vocals from pouring out. After 35 seconds, another mysterious vocal creek gives way to the next section. A kick like a heartbeat building up from deep below the song. Just after one minute TEME scraps it all, opting for big heavy synths and more aggressive, pointed melodies. It’s quite the twist!! From here, the song just grows and grows. Some incredible production throughout, good luck not wanting to move to this.
Lose Control - Francis and the Lights
Ok the kid (me, I’m the kid) is really curating over here this week!!! Now that TEME got you moving, Francis comes through to really make you dance. The guy is the boogie king. Lord of dang dance. Francis is a timeless artist, someone who has been honing and shaping his sound/vision/self for years. The Top came out 13 years ago(!!) and yet could sit side by side to Lose Control on an EP today?? But it’s not like he hasn’t changed - just continued to carve away at the best version of what he’s wanted to do. Introspective and intimate songwriting, groovy production with beautiful and tasteful vintage sounds, all of it piling together in shapes that will get you on the dance floor. Lose Control is exactly that.
8.20 - Maisyn
I was gone when Maisyn dropped Pool Party. And I’m sad I missed the chance to write about it more! It’s honest and difficult and folks it hit me deep!!! Just tremendous. Lucky for me and us and the world, Maisyn has come through big time, yet again. Starting over warm plucked guitar, Maisyn’s vocals land with rich intimacy. This first verse and chorus are mesmerizing. These specifics feeling so genuine as they capture a delicate balance of love and fear, “I’m caught between breathing and holding my breath”. It’s a fine line and such a specific sadness and pain, it’s striking. And you can feel it in the guitar and in her voice. Touching storytelling continues in verse two, now with rolling drums and some growling synths. A new urgency to the shattering delusion, feels like it’s slipping away quicker now that we’re out in the world. When the final notes of the chorus give way to a monster of a bridge? Uh huh, that’s the stuff. That aching on full display. Massive chords flooding the scene only to disappear at a moments notice, this push and pull of the personal moment and the ever-expanding future. One last chorus, with the message clear and real as ever. Another beautiful (and sad) (and sick) tune. It rocks!!
Five 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. Still trying to figure this section out but here’s a few I wish I had the time to write more about.
Leith Ross!! A legend. This song is so stunning, I can’t wait to listen more. Jake Wesley Rogers continues to impress and stun and it makes me so happy to see more and more people get on board. I adore this one. Zola Courtney really pushing their sound into new places. And it feels so natural, but I guess when the vocals are this good it’s hard to miss. Still, a dreamy number that I know you’ll like too. Amber-Simone falling into my lap thanks to the soundcloud algorithm, and what a dang blessing. A 1 of 1 voice, the perfect contrast to this beyond-smooth production. Disclosure is back with a single, and they’ve earned my trust time and time again. Nearly six minutes of hot dance music, what could be so wrong?
That’s a wrap. So much more, I know I’m missing a lot but ya gotta draw the line somewhere right?? Anyways, send me your favorites that I missed, I’m always happy to hear more.
TGIF TYFR (ty for reading).
Your friend,
Max