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 playlists of a bunch of new releases. I also find music through Spotify, on Twitter and on music blogs. I really enjoyed a lot of the new punk/alt rock and R&B releases as well as the little stem of rereleases from HAIM, Ariana and Mariah.
You can find the songs listed here as well as my other favorites from the month in my Spotify playlist below.
10. “Hostage” by Normandie
Looking for something to thrash around and headbang in your room to? Normandie’s album Dark & Beautiful Secrets can help with that. The young Swedish rockers, dubbed as “Sweden’s best kept secret” beast it on their current single, “Hostage”, seemingly about feeling trapped, both mentally and physically, by someone; “The city sleeps. I’m wide awake and breaking expectations. My blood is cold, my eyes are red, my knees can’t stop from shaking.” Lead singer Phillip Strand has got one hell of a range, displaying his feelings of aggression, frustration, and pain with hard and heavy vocals throughout the chorus.
9. “John Hughes Movie” by Maisie Peters
A fantastic little pop droplet from the UK singer-songwriter and her first to reach the official UK singles chart. Peters relates her love life to the stories told in John Hughes films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Breakfast Club, neither of which I’ve seen, but yes, I am aware that they are both pop culture classics. Skylar Astin’s character in “Pitch Perfect” would be very disappointed in me. At least I’ve seen the “Home Alone” trilogy. That counts for something, right?
On a serious note, Peters nails the massive Echosmith/Betty Who-type pop sound and the overly-dramatic teenage fantasy of falling in love at a party and lying about the fact that she was just crying in the background; “And it’s not like I’ve been crying, no. There’s just smoke in my eyes.” She also pronounces the word “adidas” in the strangest, most “I really needed this to rhyme” way I’ve ever heard, which made me chuckle. Between Peters, Lorde and Alessia Cara, these pop girls should really stick to small gatherings instead.
8. “Loneliness” by Birdy
Raise your hand if this is the first time you’re seeing that name in a long, LONG time? Almost everyone? Ok cool. Birdy was 13 years old when she released her now-iconic cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” which has racked up 350 million plays on Spotify. I feel old and I want to ignore the fact that she’s my age.
“Loneliness” is a single from her upcoming album, Young Heart. She worked with two producers from Kacey Musgraves’ Grammy-award winning album Golden Hour and it is quite evident in all the best ways. Like with the tender moments on Musgraves’ record, the focus is on Birdy herself. That soft yet strong indie voice roaming free, all the slight breaths and cracks present throughout. Like the Normandie song, Birdy sings about being trapped within the mind, but expresses those feelings in a much more tender, emotive way; “My mind has been so loud, no way to break out with nowhere to be still. It’s time to cut these ties and watch the shadows fly, let the dark flood in.”
7. “main thing” by Ariana Grande
Who would have thought that “Positions,” an album announced mere weeks before its release, would, so far, become one of Grande’s most stable eras yet? With two tracks, “positions” and “34+35” sitting comfortably in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and AT LEAST three more potential singles at her disposal, this could prove to be quite the year for Ms. Grande.
One of the new additions on the recently-release deluxe edition of the record is “main thing”, the most perfect closer to an album that, if you look past all the satirical sex stuff, is a sweet ode to her real estate agent fiancé. All of the new songs are short, just over two minutes each, but this is the only one that feels like a complete thought. It’s not a “bop” like “test drive” and “worst behavior” are- which may be why it’s not as appreciated by “the stans,” but it’s incredibly sincere and easily has the best hook out of the new tracks. And the simplest; “You, oh you’re really different baby. You, you might be the main thing, baby.” She’s so great at taking the simplest of phrases and turning them into something so melodic and pure.
6. “She’s My Religion” by Pale Waves
Released as a single in December but included on Pale Waves’ recent record Who Am I?, the punk-rock leaning track explores lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie’s thoughts and feelings about what it means, for her at least, to love her partner unconditionally. How she has to embrace the good, the bad and everything in between; “She’s mad and she will never change. She’s no angel but she’s my religion.” While the “she”, referring to the songs subject matter, in this scenario isn’t something that is going to shake any foundations, this is Baron-Gracie’s first time addressing her sexuality through song. So props to her for doing so in a badass way, sounding like a cross between Avril Lavigne and Hayley Williams but maintaining her own identity.
5. “Remiss Of Me” by Luca Brasi
Loving this tune off of Everything Is Tenuous, the new record from the Australian rockers named after a character from The Godfather. Lead singer Tyler Richardson sounds like what Louis Tomlinson from One Direction will, hopefully, grow into in the next ten years or so. Heavy accent, but a gorgeous tone.
The alt-rock track, which has slight similarities, musically, to that of “Best Of You” by The Foo Fighters, focuses on the sense of connection that we all crave; “We all need to be wanted and needed. It’s the reason we’re breathing.”
4. “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey (Mimi’s Late-Night Valentines Mix)
Honestly, I feel bad putting this here in place of an actual new song, but I couldn’t help myself. She probably isn’t even done counting her checks from the holiday season after yet another big run with “All I Want For Christmas Is You” but Ms. Carey had another little gift for us this year in the form of a reimagined version of what is, possibly, her biggest song yet.
It seems like there are always questions surrounding Carey’s vocal health. They are justified on some occasions (I think we all remember them), but certainly not here. Carey takes the 15-year-old track and breathes new life into it with a minimalistic arrangement musically and extended outro complete with scats, whistles and other forms of superb ad-libbing. She adds new flavors to the standard section of the song, showcasing slick melodic changes on lines throughout the track, like on the Bobby Womack line in the second verse and during the iconic repeated chorus near the end as she belts out “Come back baby pleaseeeeeee cause, we belong, togethaaaaa” while flipping in and out of her signature head voice. Absolute gem of a song all these years later.
3. “Hitman” by Kelly Rowland
(Ignoring the fact that this song actually came out in November as part of the NFL’s Songs Of The Season initiative and I literally had no idea even though I watch football regularly) “Hitman” is an upbeat dance cut from Rowland’s new EP, K. Ok but seriously though. An NFL song?? Really?? I’d listen to this any day over “The Champion,” Carrie Underwood’s NFL theme from a few years ago that they probably paid her seven figures for.
We all know where Rowland came from and who she is associated with, but you can’t sleep on her. “Hitman” sounds like something Janelle Monae would have done a decade or so ago with all those horns, but Rowland absolutely slaughters this one. So suave, so commanding in her delivery. She easily glides in and out of rap-singing and actual singing, shifting the style to match that infectious big band/afrobeat’s-type dance production. That vocal cadence in the chorus? It’s sick. Get it on your gym playlist stat.
2. “Chasing After You” by Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris
A gorgeous due between Hurd, a lesser-known name in the mainstream country world who has penned hits for Blake Shelton and Tim McGraw, and his wife Maren Morris, who, you know, has done pretty well for herself with hits like “The Middle” and “The Bones.” On the former, she beat out a who’s-who of pop stars to score the coveted spot but had difficulties performing it live. It’s a big song, and very different for her. The latter was way more her speed- as is this track. Just a straightforward midtempo country duet with poignant lyrics, effective harmonies and a really nice vocal cadence in the chorus; “Every time, every time you say we’re done you come back to the love you’ve been running from.”
- “GLAM!” by Allie X
Well, this was quite the surprise. This track, apparently cut from X’s 2015 EP CollXtion 1 but released on a repackaged vinyl edition of that project this year, gives off some SERIOUS Carly Rae Jepsen-circa EMOTION vibes as well as some Robyn and Kylie Minogue. While the rest of the world still struggles with COVID, clubs in Australia need to pick up on this one immediately if they haven’t already. A fantastic dance song about X’s journey to the big city of LA to make it in music, she shows no sign of fear; “I left the suburbs, I left my mother into neon light. I’m not alone though, my alter ego keeps me warm at night”.
Dua Lipa may be the reigning queen of 80’s/disco inspired pop right now, but Allie X may soon be hot on her trail. Her vocals are sublime here, assisted by all the production tropes that make this style of music so euphoric. Pulsating synths, effective vocal layering and an instantly memorable hook, this song is the real deal.
You can stream all of the above tracks, as well as the rest of my favorite tracks of the month via the playlist below.
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