Max's Weekly Roundup
Kacey, Kacy, Carter, and more :)
Happy Friday, August 27th!!! I hope you’re having a nice day already!!!
This week has flown by. But lucky for us, that didn’t stop our pals over at the music factory from doing it again (where it = making some incredible music). This was one of those weeks that felt simultaneously as brief as possible and ever-extending, and in those moments where I feel stretched like that, I feel more grounded when I can lean into a song, play it until I can’t stand it (or am nervous my neighbors are getting upset), and just savor that moment. This week offered a few of those songs - the new Caribou running b2b with the most recent Kablito single was a go-to combo for me. Hope this week’s songs can do that for you too.
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:
Stay Here Instead - Carter Ace
Carter Ace just keeps getting better. This one is so dreamy - the band simple and clean, such a warmth with some subtle bird chips to fill out the sound. The first verse is aspirational Jack Johnson vibes - sitting waiting wishing to share this moment with his love. Ace’s love not-so-hidden behind his logical rationale in a charming chorus. I love the second verse, now feeling much more real. Showing off his thoughtfulness through the morning conversation, but also his goofy, delightful songwriting, ‘Got the almond milk ‘cuz I know you’ve been vegan these days’. He sells the whole moment, humble and honest. The perfect little transition right before two minutes, the band dropping out, just Ace over a couple piano chords that you can hear come to a halt. A show-stopping cue for the band to return, horns in hand. Sitting here at my desk, covered in the morning sun I can’t help but feel like this was how it was meant to be heard. A beautiful outro with some trumpet runs, the bass letting loose, and the organ bringing us home Mr. Rogers style. A wholesome delight.
Justified - Kacey Musgraves
There is nothing quite so thrilling as the moment an artist announces/releases something out of nowhere. The twitter feed starts buzzing, excited IG stories popping up left and right, my heart starts to race. The star-crossed IG announcement was exactly this. Always grateful for new Kacey and felt so exciting to receive it that way. Grateful for this second single too. Accepting waves of emotion and the lack of control we have over them over beautiful production. It’s breezy and strikes that Kacey '“I’m sad but I’m dancing anyways” balance just right. And it’s so dang catchy, just instantly stuck in my head all day long. Love the sneaky little percussion there at the end too. Can’t wait for what’s to come here.
Only You - Chartreuse
Oh my. This is dramatic and beautiful and haunting in all the best ways. Such a unique intro, I love the vocals (true for every Chartreuse tune, but especially true here) as they climb up to the melody alongside this adventurous piano. Finally reaching the top there, to be joined by strings, drums, and more vocals. Together, make for one emotional package. Just after one minute, we go flying through the edges of the song. The emotion so much more pointed, bursting at the seams. The piano just trying to hold it together and keep up. We reach the peak again here, and I almost mean it literally right before 1:30. Like we’re bellowing out from the mountain tops. It settles back, to my relief, into a swelling-string-laced groove, lovely as ever. Another complete shift lays beyond it, dark and mysterious, the tone of these lead vocals just breaking me down. We find some more momentum into a final commitment to “never / bail on you”. So sweet I love this one, a wild ride that floored me top to bottom.
Seasons Bloom - Kacy Hill
I love Kacy Hill. Her brand of pop feeling familiar, experimental, spacious, tender. Of course, this one is no different. Teaming up with a MMM-Approved dream team of producers, this one was calling my name. I could listen to those first ten seconds on loop forever (please someone make me one of those “10 Hours of Kacy Hill’s Seasons Bloom” youtube videos, thank you). Hill’s vocals always striking, here it finds moments of James Blake - sliding/floating word by word, phrase by phrase. Breaking through at 0:46 to that retro-future pop sound, vocals coming through clear, swooning for this love. And we love love!! This is so sweet I can hardly stand it. Another bare verse, percussion going wild over these perfectly twisted vocals. That release to the chorus puts a smile on my face, a lot of ‘awww’s coming through as I listen. And a tasteful FADE OUT come on. Too much fun.
Cracks in the Pavement - Mini Trees
Mini Trees is simply refusing to miss and folks I am grateful. The guitars in this intro are stellar. It sounds so full, so realized, it’s mesmerizing. Mini Trees singing out, briefly joined by those harmonies. It’s incredible. That “avoiding yr eye contact / I” a standout moment for me. That bass kicks in, fashionably late and making an entrance. Like a devilish grin, adding a whole new attitude to the song. The second verse is just as great, the harmonies not holding back. Transitioning into a swaying chorus that seems to appear out of nowhere. What a treat. It has a drive underneath the swaying, persistence from the guitar and drums really pushing on underneath that full sound. So it’s a breathtaking contrast when the third verse breathes the way it does - expanding and contracting around the beat. This whole song just rocks, and I can’t wait for the album coming in a few weeks.
You Can Do It - Caribou
Caribou can absolutely do it. Not much to say, plus I can’t reach my keyboard from over here where I am dancing to this song for hours on end. Rinse and repeat baby!!!! I love Caribou <3 Also woof woof enjoy the music vid
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.
Kim Petras back with an instant add to my running playlist. Big, bright, and groovy. Rounding out a string of releases, TSHA, hits again. A mellow cut that sparkles in the sun even if the lyrics suggest otherwise. So excited about this project. MUNYA with a funky number, a spacey groove. thomTide continues his prolific release schedule, adding another gem to the catalog. It’s uniquely his sound, balancing moments of like, My Way Usher and indie rock? Hand Habits is also on a hot streak, this one’s ba-ba-ba’s are really winning me over (didn’t have to try hard, I love HH) and are a perfect one two punch with that Chartreuse song.
Wow, would you look at that 11 new favorite songs that we all have now. NMF is like weekly christmas and man oh man do I love to open presents (clicking play on spotify? idk, hard to tie this one together). One last reminder that all these songs live on the MMATOD playlist -
An every growing and evolving collection of music I love. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!!! I certainly do.
Have a great weekend, I hope every single one of you finds $100 on the ground or something equally as (or more???) surprising and good.
Max