Hi friends,
There have been some exciting releases lately, most notably Hayley Williams' full Petals for Armor album.
The triple-record, 15-track collection is impossibly poetic and
worth an undisturbed listen if you're into listening to albums as albums are meant to be heard. In other news,
Jake's favorite Four Track discovery is
about to release her newest album!
Getting to this week's tracks, I want to bring you some stuff that's less "bangable" than last week, but just as thrilling.
The artists are a bit smaller to boot, two having 20,000 monthly listeners and the others with 200,000.
Let's see what you think of 'em!
Industrial dance | Freehold by Self Tape
I have no idea if I'm using the word "industrial" correctly, but it felt right at the time and I'm
going with it. When I first heard this song, I was immediately hooked on its bouncing, almost wavy vibe.
They way the sequenced synth bounces back and forth while the drum dances around leaves me unable
to sit still. And Self Tape sends it all swirling around the head in a way that I can't get enough of.
Duet | Ny Begyndelse by Bremer/McCoy
Now for something slower, yet just as exciting and complex.
Jonathan Bremer (acoustic bass) and Morten McCoy (keys and tape-delay) have been friends since
early childhood. In 2013, they started this Copenhagen-based duo with the "vision of creating an honest and deep sound"
and the aim to play "melodic and meditative music," says their Spotify profile.
At times their sound reminds me of one of my favorites in this sonic arena, Nils Frahm. In fact, can look to my right
and see an autographed copy of Frahm's absolute masterpiece, All Melody.
That being said, the live acoustic bass is such a welcomed additional flavor. The way these two play along with each other
is delightful,
one on something simpler while the other is introducing a new pattern into the track. The way they play distinctly indicates to
me that they, indeed, know each other quite well.
As with most songs without words, I find that this one tells a story. Because it's done
wordlessly, I'm sure it'll be something different for you than me and even different for me at different times.
And that's one of my favorite parts about this one.
If you like this, I recommend you check out the full album,
where most of its tracks flow seamlessly from one to the next.
It was so hard to pick just one song that Joseph had to select this one for me from all the possibilities
on the record.
Ambient indie folk | I Want by Hayfitz
On first listen it was easy to recognize that Brandon Hafetz makes some of the most beautiful and
delicate music that I've found in a while. On second listen, I recognized how emotionally powerful
his
lyrics can be.
In fact, this track, which Rachel picked from a small sampling of Hayfitz tracks,
hits a little close to home. Buckle up because Hafetz brings quite a bit of power to these quiet verses.
"Fk A Genre" | Speak to Me by Mija
Rising DJ's are commonly asked, "But can you actually make music."
After rocketing to fame in 2014, this is exactly what everyone was asking about Mija.
However, Mija's response wasn't to crank out a bunch of copy-pasted bangers. She put out what
Pitchfork summarized as
"an insular, personal record about relationships, more suited for winding down than turning up."
Mija reflected on the challenge herself,
saying,
"It’s taken a while for me to figure out my sound. It’s tough, coming from DJing, because you know how things are supposed to sound, but you also don’t want to be formulaic about it."
Some of you may already know Amber Giles' music. Cam B. sent her to Corey, who then played her at the house
and inspired me to dig into her discography, which I've now listened to several times.
This track left a lasting impression more than any other.
It's eerie, it's airy, it's harsh, but most of all it's capable of demanding your attention.
Seriously, try putting it on in the background. The strings will pull you back;
the sitar will pull you back; the big drums will pull you back; the words will pull you back.
I don't expect a lot of you to like this one as it's weird even for Mija, but if just one of you is into it, you'll be
really into it. Even if I'm the only on that likes it, though, that's enough for me.
Of course, don’t forget to reply with what you liked, didn’t like, and what you’ve been listening
to.
And, as always, this week’s tracks are added to the collectors for all weeks' tracks on
Spotify
and
Apple Music.
Cheers,
Tanner