MMM with Spit/Kiss & True Green
Cupid shot me with an arrow and hanging off the arrow was an ipod with these two songs on it.
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.
In an unprecedented move, one of last week’s artists, Isaiah Hull passed on the love by redirecting his payment back to the music. Rather than us pay him directly, he asked that we support life is beautiful on bandcamp. And wouldn’t you know it, the price works out almost perfectly to where I can give away two downloads!!! Let me know if you dug Isaiah’s song last week and I’ll send another your way via bandcamp, for free!! First two responses get it :)
It’s this kind of thing that really keeps me going. That this can be a place to connect with artists I love, and for them to see the vision too. More support leads to more music, and on and on.
A reminder of my own deal too lol!! From now till Valentine’s Day, you can get a discounted subscription (monthly or annual) by clicking here. Your money not only supports this newsletter, but the artists too, your money being passed on directly to the artists featured here.
Really excited about this week’s songs, so lets stop messing around. I hope you are feeling the Valentine’s Day love, because I know I am what with all y’all reading and listening every week!!! <3 <3 Be mine!!!
Spit/Kiss - BROKEBACK
A perfect title, perfect artwork, we’re off to a good start and the song hasn’t even started yet. Little bonus, you can watch the band make this song on IG here.
An old timey barkeep yelling over a fun little guitar riff. Some bullets fire and we’re off to the races. Bass and drums add to the guitar, with these two vocals singing at each other, pleading for love, pleading for a chance.
BROKEBACK is what it sounds like (in the best way possible), a brokeback mountain-inspired love song, featuring three great verses from the BK Supergroup Spit/Kiss. They each share these quick scenes, three people looking at their lover, knowing there’s more under the surface.
Verse one immediately puts a smile on my face, the wide brimmed hat such a charming detail. The vocals are rich and smooth, riding the groove all the way to the chorus. Spit/Kiss’s two other members join in, this chorus is so fun and intoxicating. The pace is quick but the rhythm of the vocals helps me settle in and keep up. Holding that first syllable to start each line has such an effect on me. It’s (and I’m sorry in advance for this) like a giant half pipe in tony hawk (or real life i guess). The urgency of every word, building speed to reach the top, a moment of bliss and nothingness as we get some air, falling back down to push on to other side, and repeat.
We slide into verse two, a beautiful moment of cowboy romance. Riding tandem on a horse, hands wrapped around each other, oh yeehaw baby. There’s such a sweetness and a sadness to those last lines, chasing those days… oof!!! Love the vocals here too, sick tone with a little love from the harmonies.
No time to rest we’re into verse three, keeping it real and asking for the same honesty in return. An intimate moment, craving even more intimacy, knowing that their love is true and important. And folks we’re going three for three on sick vocalists, light and easy as they slide around the melody.
The chorus feels beautiful this time around, the band has all shared their piece and now they’re teaming up, arm in arm, to make this real. It’s just such a joy. AND TALK ABOUT JOY ARE YOU HEARING THIS BRIDGE?!?!?! Breaking it down, just bass, hi hats, that kick creeping back in. These two vocals that feel familiar from the beginning, but this time, in this context, it hits so much harder. Plus it just makes me want to dance. A little two step, a little do-si-do, the body wants what it wants. And right now it wants to groove!!!
We saddle up for one last chorus, and now it just feels like a party. This song is so much fun and I can’t stop listening. Everyone shows off a little, some slick riffs to guide the outro, and one last yeehaw for good measure. A tune!!
Follow Spit/Kiss on IG / Spotify
True Green - My Lost Decade
My Lost Decade? More like my lost week because I have been rinsing this album so much I lost track of time… or something!!!! This thing rocks so much!!
I’ve been floating around the whole album, there’s so much to love. A record that is only getting better and better with each listen. Due to my own rules which I made and I can change but I will choose not to and instead complain about them, I’m only going to write about one song, the title track. But! If the powers at be (me) weren’t so strict (I’m not, this is just more fun now) I’d also talk about the fuzzy repetitions of Buzzerbeater, the fun story telling of Comeback Special, and the losing-my-edge made new and hilarious, DED. But again because of these darn rules, I will stick to My Lost Decade.
The drums rocking, snug and tight, a great way to usher in the record and the song. The guitar and bass feel left out, so they jump in to dance along. It’s a light breezy moment, an easy groove, it feels so nice. I could stay here all day. Yet as the base reaches up to the sky, we turn the page and somehow it gets even better. Those bells ring out, so bright and full, really holding the band together while the vocals kick in. True Green’s delivery is slick throughout, easy and laid back, in this delightful way that’s more “Ahhh isn’t this fun?” and less “I’m too cool to try”. A little smile always on his lips. Lines like Wore a suit to the beach / and a swimsuit to a funeral land with charm. These lyrics, like so many others in this song, could be devastating, and maybe they still are! But with TG’s delivery, they feel warm. Seeming to appreciate just how ridiculous this all is.
The opening section paints a clear picture - someone in early adulthood, trying to figure it all out, living from moment to moment. See the city through my nose. Again, with a smirk, and not a regretful sigh.
As we get to this chorusy bit, some new guitars come alive on the left and right. Bending, bounding, sliding around with such a shine. TG seem’s content now, looking back on what “should’ve been” his golden years, but amounted to a lost decade. Singing from, what sounds like, a place of realizing how much gold is still ahead? Out of the chorus, a synth joins, running a great arpeggio. Sparkling like a star on a VHS, fuzzy but undeniably bright never the less. The first image is a touching one, realizing what life could look like, or could have looked liked. Giving soooo much space to moments of clarity, feels like he’s considering these thoughts right in front of us.
A second chorus, guitars prancing around, as TG admits some flaws and maybe an unfortunate day outside a casino. But it still feels earnest and charming to me here. As does the next section, singing to someone(s) about what is still owed all these years later. Again, it could be a laundry list of regret and pity, but instead is offered with a sweet smile and clever delivery. Taking on the inflation and the love to make up for late payments.
Back into one last chorus, Zappa Plays Zappa getting some last spins. The drums drop out for the final moment. The whole thing sounding so beautiful. If you like this one, you’ll love the rest of the record I swear!!! Tap in!!!
Follow True Green on IG / Spotify
Can you believe it, we did it again. And folks, we’re gonna keep doing it again I swear. Subscribe and send to another friend who likes great music <3
Yours,
Max