Play/Listed Weekly for Aug 7, 2020
I’m starting a new project! For the moment, I’m practicing sharing a few new songs and an album or two every week that have stood out to me from my New Music Friday listens. I’ll be adding the songs to an updated monthly playlist, with the newest (freshest) tracks on the top.
Here are my picks for today:
SULA (Paperback) - Jamila Woods
This lovely, intimate track inspired by Toni Morrison (Sula is the title of Toni’s 1975 novel) was released on the anniversary of the author’s death, and would fit well into Jamila’s 2019 album Legacy! Legacy!, which is full of songs inspired by Black heroes. I’m really hoping “SULA (Paperback)” is the first track of a new upcoming collection from Jamila.
U Should - CHIKA
It should be absolutely no surprise that “U Should” made this list. CHIKA is in the category of can-do-no-wrong for me. Look, CHIKA is a woman rapping (very well) about romantic love for another woman. This is not something I realized I’ve been waiting for, but it makes me happier than I can express in a short blog paragraph. But she’s also an incredible lyricist and should not be pigeonholed or underestimated as “niche.” I have no doubts she’s going to be a mega-star any minute.
AUATC - Bon Iver
Yeah, these first three tracks are all from artists that will be a bit more familiar to many of us. Whether or not you are a Bon Iver fan, “AUATC” - which stands for Ate Up All Their Cake - is worth a shot. This is my favourite kind of Bon Iver song, but I can’t explain why. I suppose it’s the mix of manipulated sounds with very acoustic instrumentation, and the way Justin can sing any melody in a way that makes my whole heart swell. Plus their politics align pretty well with mine. Along with the track, Bon Iver released an accompanying statement encouraging fans to join the fight against capitalism and donate to a list of local and global charities.
TRUMPETS - _by.ALEXANDER and 070 Shake
As far as I can see, _by.ALEXANDER has exactly two streamable songs credited to their name, so this collaboration with 070 Shake is going to do some things for familiarizing listeners with their production style. I suppose this was recommended to me because I’ve listed to 070 Shake a bit - she’s queer, so I gotta support the fam - but this was not a song I went looking for. I put my recommended new music on shuffle, and this stood out to me as jazzy and modern and interesting. I especially love the stand up bass solo around the 2-minute mark. And yes, there are trumpets on this track too.
Colors - TeaMarrr featuring Wale
Damn. This song starts out strong and does not bother to back down. So many hard-hitting and brilliant moments, I don’t know where to start. First of all, I will say that TeaMarrr and Wale compliment each other perfectly in this song. She sets the mood, and then he adds a verse where he builds colours on colours, starting with an obvious but clever note on police brutality: “the black hate the blue, cause the blue shoot whatever / which is mostly just the blacks cause the blue be acting yellow”.
Damage is Done - Y2K and JoJo
And now for something completely different, although this does have some lyrical overlap with “TRUMPETS”… “Damage is Done” is some pure catchy, synth-heavy pop, with JoJo in the lead, serving all of the powerful runs that you would expect. I think this is the pop chorus I’ve been waiting for from JoJo ever since “Leave (Get Out)” in 2004. Am I overstating this? Possibly. But upon my first 3 listens, I’m a fan.
Once again, I find myself sharing an album that is a little older than today. Zara McFarlane’s Songs From an Unknown Tongue was actually just released a few weeks ago, in mid-July of this year, but I had never heard her name until yesterday. I found myself enamoured right away, and started listening through it when I was supposed to be sifting through the new music released last night.
In case Zara McFarlane is also new to you, here’s some context: Zara is a MOBO award winning jazz vocalist from London, and this is her fourth studio album. I have no idea where I’ve been all this time. I love her voice, and I love the style of this record, although I’ve been reading that it’s a bit of a departure from her earlier work. I haven’t done that digging yet, so for now I’ll just say that this is groovy and spiritual and thought provoking. My highlights include the opener, “Everything is Connected,” “Saltwater” (if only for the way she sings the line, “you won’t let me be free”), and finally, the closer “Future Echoes”. I’ve only been listening to Unknown Tongues for not even a day, so as I give the album more time, I might find myself gravitating to different moments. Check in with me in a month, but also let me know what you think once you give this record a spin!
I was pleasantly surprised by Glass Animals’ most recent release, Dreamland! I expected a few big pop banger moments, which it does provide with “Tangerine” and “Heat Waves,” but they find their home in an incredibly personal album that’s interspersed with excerpts from frontman Dave Bayley’s old home movies. It’s incredibly well-timed as it explores the overlap between memory and dreams.
Right from the title track that opens the album, I knew this would be a more interesting listen than I thought. He weaves these moments from his past that feel like little tableaus of memories, until the end of the track, when Dave sings, “It’s 2020 so it’s time to change that, so you go make an album and call it Dreamland,” and we discover just how autobiographical the experience/song has been.
I think my only criticism is that the album sometimes drags a bit. And although I love the Denzel Curry feature on “Tokyo Drifting,” it had me expecting more rap verses that never come. Still, I would also highlight “Space Ghost Coast to Coast,” which reflects on the experience of a childhood friend who went on to attempt a school shooting. Let’s just say this isn’t your typical thematic fodder for pop music.
This is usually where I end, but I’ve decided to throw in a… BONUS VIDEO TRACK:
WAP - Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion
There are several things that are very entertaining about this vid. First of all, who among us hip hop fans has not been asking for a Cardi/Megan collaboration? I was ready to pre-order their Watch The Throne as of yesterday when I heard about this release. This song bounces, it has two fabulous rap goddesses on top of their game, and yeah it’s just as explicit as you would expect from Cardi and Megan. But then I watched the video, and the censorship choices are absolutely hilarious, so I figured I had to include it here. For example; how exactly is WAP short for Wet and Gushy? And just why on earth would anyone bother with a clean version of this song?
Watch for at least three cameos (that I recognized), and guess which one made me scream out loud. Hint: It was not the Kardashian. Oh yeah, and in case you haven’t already guessed, this vid is NSFW.