Each week, I go through Genius’ album lists and listen to anything I find interesting. Then, at least twice a month, I’ll go through their singles list, updated daily, and make a playlist of a bunch of new releases. I also find music through Spotify, on Twitter and on music blogs
August was jam-packed. We got new albums from Lorde, Billie Eilish, The Killers, Prince, Halsey, Nas, Bleachers, Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine project, Anderson East and, finally, Kanye. Justin Bieber, who is having what is arguably his best year yet, put out two high profile collaborations while still topping the Billboard Hot 100 with “Stay” (and just headlined Philly’s Made In America festival to boot). While it was definitely a month of the big guns coming out to play, we also got great music from artists you might not know as well like KABBA with “Rather Be Single,” Rosemarie with “Catch 22” and Loud Luxury and Thutmose with “Red Handed.” You can check out all of my favorites in the Spotify playlist included at the bottom of this post.
Top 10
10. “Happier Than Ever”- Billie Eilish
The rollout of Happier Than Ever, the album, was far from the hype machine preceding Eilish’s debut record, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go. She needed something big, or she was going to falter. She, accompanied as always by her brother, Finneas, did not disappoint.
“Happier Than Ever,” the song, begins in the same acoustic fashion as others on the record, but halfway through, there’s a shift. Suddenly, her vocals change, and you can feel something building. Before you know it, with guitars wailing behind her, Billie Eilish, known for her lilty, tender vocals, is screaming, condemning her ex-lover for all the pain he caused her; “You ruined everything good, always said you were misunderstood. Made all my moments your own, just f***in leave me alone.” This song alone could easily earn Eilish her third big Grammy night moment in a row and, honestly, who could say she didn’t earn it? It’s impeccable.
9. “Tender Mercies”- Glen Hansard and Eddie Vedder
A gorgeous duet between Glen Hansard, best known for the Oscar-winning song “Falling Slowly” from the musical Once, and legendary Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder. Easily the standout from the soundtrack for the new film, “Flag Day,” Hansard and Vedder encourage the listener to not lose sight of what is and isn’t real despite everything happening in the world around us; “Oh, what I said, it’s taken us so long to learn. The world is coming down around us while we wait our turn.” Vedder, normally the most aggressive vocalist in the room, almost plays second fiddle to Hansard, who’s just singing his face off on the latter half of the song. Very cool to hear two male voices with such power on one song.
8. “Stand In Faith”- Danny Gokey
Who would have ever thought that Danny Gokey, the guy known for his slightly disastrous performance of “Dream On” by Aerosmith during season eight of American Idol, would go onto become one of the most consistent voices in contemporary Christian music? His new record, Jesus People, is a great blend of pop, rock and country into the Christian/gospel umbrella, with the standout track being one of its lead singles, “Stand In Faith.”
In the anthemic, choir-tinged track, Gokey expresses his own deep desire to showcase his love for God, as well as encourages others, who have not yet seen the light, to see the miracles that can happen; “This is how blind men get their sight, this is how dead men start to rise. This is how small things multiply, nothing’s impossible.”
7. “Off My Neck”- Carlie Hanson
How Carlie Hanson hasn’t had the same success as some of her contemporaries, like Bea Miller and Tate McRae, is beyond me. Both Miller and Hanson have the grit and edge to pull off a great pop/trap-leaning track with a blurry rock tinge to it, but Hanson leans into it much more. The verses here are mostly just standard pop/trap fare, but the instrumentation in the chorus sounds like something Avril Lavigne would have crushed. Hanson sings of a lover who up and left, seemingly lying about their intentions. However, she can’t seem to let go and move on, singing; “I’m living with your ghost now. Everywhere I go you follow me.” She’s emotional, angry and willing to do anything to put it behind her; “Cut my head off my neck just to forget. Can’t get you off my mind, they said the truth hurts but you f***in lied.”
6. “Can’t Let Go”- Robert Plant and Allison Krauss
14 years after their legendary, Grammy-award winning “Raising Sand” record, country legend Allison Krauss and Led Zeppelin-front man Robert Plant are back with the first duet of a new collaborative project. It dropped almost out of nowhere and, I’ll admit, had me screaming in the waiting room of a doctor’s office.
“Can’t Let Go” is a cover of a Lucinda Williams track and is funkier and more jam band-y than anything on “Raising Sand,” which stayed in the slow, sensual bluegrass lane. Vocally, Plant sounds, at 73 years old, better than he has in years, while Krauss, who is such a chameleon while, at the same time, being such a recognizable presence behind the mic, sounds stellar as usual. Even if you’re too young to know who either of these people are, I really recommend you check this out.
5. “We’re So In Tune”- Kississippi
One of the standout tracks off Kississippi’s “Mood Ring” record, which is one of the most delightful pop albums of the year so far. “We’re So In Tune” sounds like a cross between Betty Who and Carly Rae Jepsen. Kississippi, a pop singer/songwriter from Philly, sings of getting butterflies and wanting more from someone who has her in her feels; “I wanna do the things we’re not supposed to. I’ve got an inclination, I’ve got a bad desire.” The chorus is easily the most infectious part of the track, with a funky guitar line and synths setting the mood for her flirtations; “Hard not to fall in love when we’re so in tune.”
4. “Ain’t No Way- Jennifer Hudson
I’m always pleasantly surprised at how often this song is covered, being a relatively underrated hit for Aretha back in the 60’s. It got a prominent spot in Jennifer Hudson’s “Respect” film and was one of the promo singles released ahead of the film’s opening, and for good reason. So many of Aretha’s songs were vocally demanding (even in the male octave. Trust me…ANW has been my shower song since I was 14), but almost none as much as this. That bridge, with eight consecutive high notes, six of them with descending riffs, is nearly impossible to get right.
Hudson sings the crap out of it, but my one caveat is how little she appeared to try and mimic Aretha’s sound, particularly the more whiny, nasal sound of her upper register. Hudson’s best attempt is, funnily enough, the bridge, in which she lifts up into her head voice whereas normally she’d take that you-know-what to church with that insane belt/mix range. However, the rest of it sounds like a slightly restrained Jennifer Hudson trying to remember the project at hand. Despite all this, Jennifer Hudson is the queen of covering people who should never be covered, i.e., Aretha, Prince, and Whitney, so it’s still quite the feat.
3. “Kids”- Sam Williams ft. Keith Urban
Williams should be one of the most prominent voices in country within the next year or so. His voice is more pop than country, but his music, overall, maintains everything you want from the genre. Williams, who sounds so much like Jonathan Capeci from Nightly, even down to the inflections on certain words, that it’s not even funny, sings about the eternal sameness of small-town living; “There’s a lot of cold money in this town. A lot of pretty girls still heartbroken over boys who go to college cause there’s nothin to do but sleep, drink and cheat and wear boat shoes.” Forever stuck with the same 50 people you’ve known your whole life, never leaving to see what else the world has to offer, Williams acknowledges the mentality: “We’re just kids. Too cool to grow up, too dumb to stay young.”
Keith Urban, who has to be the nicest guy in country music, never takes the lead here, instead opting to provide background vocals and musical texture. He adds so much to the track without ever announcing his arrival.
2. “Easier than lying”- Halsey
For the record, I could add “Bells In Santa Fe” to this too, since that track serves as, quite, literally, a 3 minute and 38 second precursor to “Easier than lying” (that “Jesus needed a three-day weekend” line is almost entirely deserving in in of itself). Halsey’s latest release comes without the typical fanfare, monstrous lead singles that dominate radio for a year plus or any of what we’ve come to expect from them. Instead, we get what is arguably a dream project, pairing Halsey with, *gulp*, the legendary duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from Nine Inch Nails. Those guys do not work with pop stars, but Halsey has been building to his moment since “Badlands” and it is well-deserved.
“Easier than lying” is an absolute torpedo, a firecracker of a track coming off the heels of the resistant, brooding “Bells….” The song is a both a snarling, vicious assault as those who try to change them for their personal benefit then unceremoniously dropping them, as well as a cry for the attention and love they crave so badly; “My heart is massive, but it’s empty. A permanent part of me, that innocent artery is gaspin for some real attention. Some undivided hypertension.”
In the bridge, Halsey repeats the line, “Losing you is easier than lying to myself,” over and over gaining ground vocally, until they sit right in their sweet spot, just before their vocal break. It’s perfect, and just as you’re processing that, they unleash their fury with that chorus one more time; “I sleep with one eye open and one eye closed, cause I’ll hang myself if you give me rope.”
- “Finished Work”- Tamela Mann ft. Todd Dulaney
At this point, y’all can see I’m a sucker for a great gospel track. I know there’s a lot of music out there, coming from artists and genres more commercially viable than this or whatever the case may be, but I’m all about a feeling. I love to be moved, physically and emotionally, by music and performances like Tamela Mann, and Todd Dulaney near the end of the track, give here. Stuff like this just takes me to another place.
Clocking in at over six minutes, Mann, Dulaney and the choir behind them just sing from their toes, simply worshipping God, acknowledging his heavy involvement in our lives; “As I bow on my knees, I see your plan for me. It’s finished.”
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