MMM - The Compilation Vol. 1 + A TUNE from Dirt Buyer
a massive day for MMM fans across the globe (me)
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays. My ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I hope you love them too. If you do, you can follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :) Your paid subscriptions go towards supporting the artists you read about here too!! That’s right(!!), the artists who made This Weeks Songs are getting paid!! <3
THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
Whew, I don’t even know how to start… But the rumors are true?? (were there rumors??)
I’M RELEASING A COMPILATION!!!!
SEPTEMBER 29TH!!! A DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY! A GIFT TO MYSELF!!! AND TO Y’ALL BECAUSE THESE SONGS ARE INCREDIBLE YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE IT.
IT’S MY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY SO I’M DIGGING FOR GOLD BUT NOT ACTUAL GOLD, IN THIS CASE THE MUSIC IS THE GOLD.
wow ok i am out of breath. sorry for yelling.
I’m so excited about this I can barely get my thoughts out, but I’ve got eight artists who I really adore and believe in, trusting me with demos and covers and I’m SO beyond stoked to share it with you soon. I had no expectations for what would come of this, but oh my GOD have I been blown away. Exceptional songs, stunning performances, it’s all such a thrill!!!!!! Surely you can feel it, I’m just relieved to tell you because I NEED more people to hear these songs.
All paid subscribers can listen to the first song today:
i’m much funnier now (demo) by Purser.
They’re one of my favorite songwriters. It’s an honor to share this one with you today.
And in classic MMM fashion, $1 of each new subscription today will go straight to Purser ($12 if you go annual hint hint wink wink). What more could you want? Hearing a sick song, supporting an artist directly, and helping this little ol’ newsletter keep growing into something special.
So proud to share…
Max’s Music Mondays - The Compilation Vol. 1
All of this will be available exclusively on Bandcamp, and is all made possible by the generous paid subscribers of this dang newsletter. Thank you all so much for literally helping fund new music from some of the world’s best artists. There’s some magic on this thing, I really think you’re going to love it, and I hope we’ll have your support <3
Purser’s track ends the newsletter this week, just after the paywall, but before we get there, I still wrote about an incredible new tune this week. Sorry! Couldn’t help myself!
Dirt Buyer - Gathering Logs
man oh man I have been having a tough time thinking/writing about anything other than this compilation but when a good strong strikes, I am utterly helpless and have no choice but to write a few paragraphs about why it’s so damn good and why you need to listen to it RIGHT NOW and so here we are two-thirds of the way through paragraph one and I hope I’m winning you over because this song is so damn good. Whew.
This one is instantly captivating. The guitars hang heavy over a simple and direct drum pattern. The vocals are gorgeous, dipping to the lowest points of their range, slowly setting the scene. They’re calm, patient, and so damn warm. The simplicity in the writing is beautiful - On a hill / there is a house with a dog / in the woods / father is gathering logs. Perfect words, perfect phrases. I just love it so much. The band does too, starting to open that hi hat a little more, letting the anticipation of something new build fast while Dirt Buyer’s Joe Sutkowski starts to brave new melodies. It’s a really cool moment, the rollercoaster slowly clicking to its peak before swaying back down like a falling leaf. The tension entirely released. And repeat. Something so beautiful about the guitar joining hand in hand on the way down, wanting to be a part of a melody that nice.
The moment passes, back into another verse with tambourine (so obviously I’m stoked). There’s something so magic about that fool, stretched so wide with a hiccup in the middle. A hiccup that feels important, a moment of disbelief, unable to the finish the word. And another of acceptance, they really are the fool *shrug emoji* and following through. The emotion baked in gives the fucker that much more impact and I love it. The rest of the verse is the shot of someone in despair, racking up losses and hurting through each. Nows as good a time as any to mention the sweeping flair of the guitar at the end of these phrases. Such a gentle and light, almost playful, contrast to the heaviness of the words.
Cross my heart / make things right if I could with the devastating little sniffle that follows. It’s one of those songs where it’s unclear how much is real or fiction but Sutkowski performs it intimately and personally through out, this sniffle a candid little sprinkle of emotion in the midst of what feels like such earnest human desire for better.
The band instantly gets to work, trying to make things better (metaphorically. the song is sick and perfect throughout and there is no making that better sorry) with blunt chords and a steady kick pushing forward, it feels like they’re making real progress. Marching towards their plea. I love the vocals here, such a special tone, a one of one voice, showing off the range as these gentle words turn to declarations. Eventually erupting out to space in this final section, the band at their peak, the vocals truly SOARING. It’s really a mesmerizing end to a beautiful song. Ahh just sit back and enjoy it.
The third single of upcoming Dirt Buyer II, I can’t wait to hear more.
Follow Dirt Buyer on IG / Spotify
Ok back to the compilation!!! I am beaming, I am proud, I am so nervous tbh!!!!
Again as a token of gratitude, all paying subscribers can listen to this first release right now, just beyond the paywall :) <3 and as I mentioned before, $1 of any new subs this week will go straight to Purser too (or $12 if you go for the annual sub!!!!)
I’m still freaking out about this - how’d I get so lucky as to have artists I LOVE let me release a song of theirs…
Purser and I caught up over breakfast when I was in Nashville, lingering around town for a day after Bonnaroo to make an internet friendship real. And it rocked. I’m so excited about their music and what’s to come for them and I’m just so grateful to be a tiny part in what is going to be a big and beautiful career :)