Magdalena Bay, the budding Los Angeles indie pop duo, make music that feels both timeless and time-less. Timeless because bandmates Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin have a keen knack for songcraft, and time-less because, in a world where temporality’s been smashed by the internet, Magdalena Bay are there picking up …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Elissa Mielke, 'Kind of Thing'
Los Angeles-via-Canada singer-songwriter Elissa Mielke hardly shies away from alluding to her deeply religious upbringing on “Kind of Thing,” the first single from her gorgeous Finally EP. Her lyrics more oblique than autobiographical, though, taking on a character who’s “the kind of thing I used to sing about.” “Here I …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Uproot Andy and Nino Augustine, 'La Montamos'
New York DJ-producer Uproot Andy and singer Nino Augustine meld buzzing reggaeton and urgent afrobeats in “La Montamos.” It’s one of two Uproot Andy productions included on the compilation SMS for Location, Vol. 4, released earlier this month, which also features Sango, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Pierre Kwenders. “La Montamos” …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Niia, 'Not Up for Discussion'
On Niia’s “Not Up for Discussion,” the singer and her band seem to have set themselves an interesting challenge: how to conjure slithering funk with the minimum of effort. The drum programming is mostly unchanging, just two kicks and a splat to keep time; the pianist is only slightly less …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: MonoNeon, 'Invisible'
When Flea refers to you as “the greatest fucking electric bass player,” you know you’ve done something right. Just ask MonoNeon, who appeared in a video on the Red Hot Chili Peppers member’s Instagram this summer. The artist, born Dywane Thomas Jr., likely realized he was headed in a fruitful …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Dawes, 'Between the Zero and the One'
If you’re a diehard Dawes fan, you’ll notice something instantly familiar in the first verse of new song “Between the Zero and the One”: Its melody is incredibly similar to that of “Most People,” a beloved highlight from 2013’s Stories Don’t End. “Between the Zero and the One” — which …
Read More »Future Sounds Like He Finally Found a Good Therapist
For years, Future’s music has been about chasing highs. In Nayvadius Wilburn’s world, the addictions may change, but everything else stays the same. Sometimes the drugs are the work of Big Pharma: Comethazine, Codeine, Xanax, Percocet, Adderall. Other times the substance is universal: conquering heartbreak, purging childhood scars, escaping poverty. …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Phoebe Bridgers, 'Garden Song'
Towards the end of Phoebe Bridgers‘ new track, “Garden Song,” she captures her songwriting prowess in just two lines: “Everything’s growing in our garden/You don’t have to know that it’s haunted.” Since her 2017 debut, Stranger in the Alps, Bridgers has garnered fans by skillfully blending beauty with darkness, and …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Eladio Carrión and Jhay Cortez, 'Hielo'
The drip determines everything nowadays in trap. Iced-out watches, bracelets, rings, and other bejeweled accessories signal success in line with the most braggadocious of a given rapper’s bars. But the coldness goes deeper than swag on “Hielo,” the latest single by Puerto Rican urbano artist Eladio Carrión and hit-making songwriter …
Read More »Roddy Ricch's 'The Box' Sounds Like a Squeaky Windshield Wiper — It's Also a Hit
“The Box” isn’t the best song on Roddy Ricch‘s (great) debut album, Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial (that would be “God’s Eye”). It’s also not the most ambitious (“War Baby”), or the obvious hit single single (“High Fashion”). It is, however, the album’s biggest hit since its release in …
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