🎶MMM with D.A. Crimson and Daniel Mudliar
some monday magic with these two special songs.
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.
Welcome back, happy Monday, I hope you’re ready for some incredible music. ICYMI - last Thursday, Kyle Stockman gave a wild rendition of his new single Sweet (which you can find on the playlist now!!). So special to get to share that, and hope it’s just the first of many for the newsletter :) My dreams coming more true with every week and every post.
That said, this week, I’m feeling down. Trapped in my usual circles of anxieties and insecurities. Overwhelmed by the world and by life and my brain is going wild!! What a treat! But seriously a reminder to myself what a blessing this newsletter is for me. A chance to bury myself in songs I love. To find solace and support within them, to marvel at their dang beauty too!! This week’s songs really have done a number on me, and I hope you love them just as much.
Sending love to everyone reading this week. Oh also!!! CA Voters - hit me up if you need a voters guide for today/tomorrow, I love local politics <3 <3 few things cooler than voting to make our communities better places.
Talk soon, but for now just buckle up and enjoy these two perfect songs.
D.A. Crimson - Olly Olly Oxen Free
This is flat out my favorite song I’ve discovered in a while. Everything about it works so perfectly for me, from the writing, the production, the performance, it all is SICK as hell and fun and creative and unique and I could go on and I will…
From the very start, I knew this was a winner (by which I of course mean winner of the important award “song I write about”).
The guitars saunter in, feeling light and easy for a couple chords before their dark descent. It hits you from all around the mix, the layers of guitars all poking through just right. D.A. Crimson joins the next repetition, their voice is one of a kind, this loving but haunting tone. There’s something beyond-human about it, how they get that vibrato even as they reach up for these higher notes. It’s wild and stunning and unforgettable.
Crimson rides the guitar through the same emotions - bright at first, falling into darkness. I love the effortless octave jump on deEEmons. Can feel already how great this one is. These first moments of the song don’t fall into an instantly recognizable form. The songwriting structure falls into place, but it’s hard to make out the bigger shape of it all. That holds true until we cross that 0:30 mark, using the titular lyric to drop in to deeper depths and fuller sounds. The heaviness of the bass and drums giving the new scene such gravity.
Now, when we return to the next verse - bass and drums in tow - it all feels easier, the tension released, the shape revealed. D.A. Crimson connects with whomever they sing to. Such a softness to the recognition in their voice - You grew up like me / with an angry god / in the family.
We reach the end of the moment, starting to find our bearings, and Crimson goes ahead and rips the rug out. The song shooting out to space. A true showcase in skill, they reach both their softest and their most aggressive in this new moment. Talk to me / Call out my mistakes / I’m a heavy weight champ. Three lines showing so much range and so much mastery. I also love the writing - charming and cheeky.
As we break through 2 min we get one of the best lyrics I’ve heard - Fuck around and you find out / how to kick your own ass. A moment of learning from the past, trying to grow in this difficult life. Again the song adds a new dynamic, these breathy ah ah ah’s offering some whimsy and bounce through these heavy thoughts. Some soloing picks up with a thrilling little melody, pulling me in further with every choice.
One last verse, ending on a bold note, leaving you hanging, the lyrics conducting the band. everyone in the world needs to hear this song!!! I hope you’re as taken by it as I have been.
Follow D.A. Crimson on IG / Spotify
Daniel Mudliar - Know About You
Press play and be transported. Through time, through space, the song just takes me away. It’s western feel is so warm and tender. The soft room tone, the bold bass, the shy little banjo poking it’s head out. Daniel Mudliar so gentle with his first few words, I almost think I’m imagining things, that it might just be the guitar. But he’s there, and he’s crushing.
It feels intimate, Mudliar singing right to you, right to us, never breaking eye-contact in the most loving and present way imaginable.
I don’t know about much / but I know about you.
Opening and closing this first section with this remarkably heartfelt line. The second repetition calls in the band, a steady drummer and two dueling guitars, exploring the song in their own ways on the left and right.
Mudliar steps back in, with the help of the drums and some added color around the sides, this time things feel brighter and more optimistic. Repeating the entire section, lyrically, letting it transition from conversation to meditation. Letting the truth of the writing take hold in each of us. Another break to let those guitars out to play, it’s all so breezy and warm. Sun setting over the patio of the neighborhood bar vibe, so familiar and welcoming with its easy groove.
The bluesy chords bring us to a little bridge. The band tight and efficient as ever, while Mudliar reaches out to this other person. Offering new lyrics, sharing their feelings hoping for the best for them both. Ends with some cheering on - pushing forward towards something better.
We come back to the refrain for a third time - now with a tasteful little slide guitar underneath it all, and the soft ring of some keys front and center. It gives the song so much character and sophistication. Of course my ears want to say this last section gives it a Vampire Weekend flair, but it’s all it’s own thing. And a terrific one at that. Love this song.
A second killer single off the back of Mudliar’s Indecisive which I also adore. Rubberneck guitar, spacey flutes, light drums ripping, and a beautiful story laid across it all. All I can do is my best right now. <3 One to watch for sure.
Follow Daniel Mudliar on IG / Spotify
So much love for you all. Thanks for reading.
Yours,
Max