Now Listening: This Week's Tracks
The Foons - “Mind Me”
Out of Chicago, Illinois, synth indie-rock band The Foons release their brand new song, “Mind Me”. A song about being aware that a relationship can quickly turn sour, but still falling in love wholeheartedly with that person, despite it all. “Mind Me” truthfully pushes on to its listener the idea of living in the present and allowing yourself to fall in love. Through their lively bright melody, honestly candid lyrics, and list of influences, The Foons are able to draw out a universal emotion to their listeners that love is inevitable. However, so are the hurtful experiences that come with it, but it is all about taking risks.
Tai Verdes - “Bad Bad News”
Tai Verdes, singer of the hit song “Stuck in the middle”, ranked one of New York Times’ Best Songs of 2020, releases his second single “Bad Bad News”, off of his debut EP. Following “drugs” his EP’s first single, “Bad bad news” has a soft longing vibe accompanied by acoustic guitar and heavy bass. Verdes sings about not being able to get over someone he’s in love with, saying he longs to be with them. The heartfelt song and music video were released on February 4 with a lyric video premiering on Verdes’s YouTube. Since the slow song’s release, the animated lyric video has received over 90,000 views on YouTube. Verdes made the point that he is here to stay, “I love everything that’s happening but this is not a one-song thing, this is a 10 album thing.”
The singer’s debut EP is set to be released this spring and fans can surely expect more playlist-worthy music from Tai Verdes.
Dolly Ave x Tim Atlas “Occupied”
Dolly Ave’s intimate yet personal touch on pop, R&B, soul and electronic music creates a dreamy sound you just cling to. With Tim Atlas on her new single, “Occupied,” we get the best of both worlds. “Occupied” is a special song with the fact that Tim Atlas is part of it. Dolly Ave remembers 11 years ago covering one of Atlas’ songs as a teenager and now years later, they met and worked on this song together. With a balance of both their styles, “Occupied” brings out sweet synths and wistful guitar melodies. The song is about relationships, but all the good of it. All the little things, the affection and the desires that come with being in a romantic relationship. Atlas and Ave’s vocals blend together seamlessly that you just feel this sense of euphoria listening to them sing. “Occupied” will get you up and dancing, thinking of a certain someone and you’ll be on cloud nine here.
Maude Latour- “Walk Backwards”
A voice that cultivates on the ideals of honesty, openness, and a spokesperson for social change—you’re given Maude Latour. Latour is an outspoken twenty-one-year-old New Yorker who drenches herself in indie-pop from head to toe. Since the beginning of Latour’s career, she has strived to nurture a safe space where fans can discuss moments that can be deemed to the outside world as, well, embarrassing. With the highly anticipated new track “Walk Backwards”, Latour shares her radical honesty and vulnerability messages with the masses; this track executes that exactly.
The track takes the form of lo-fi pop qualities, almost a similar pulse you would hear in Lorde’s first record, Pure Heroine. Oozing with emotions circulating on those perfect summer evenings that turn the sky into a sweet clementine color.
Latour mentions her thoughts on the track: “This song specifically tackles the blurry line between love and romance that has always entered my relationships with my best friends," Maude shares. "We place such a strict structure on our relationships, trying to put them into boxes. Love is fluid, liberated. It comes in friendship, strangers we smile at, romance, family, and little conversations throughout our days.”
Tara Bridget - “Eighteen Again”
“Eighteen Again” is the highly executed track by rising star tara-bridget. The track is a coming of age theme that explores the emotions of love, loss, and finding yourself through it all. Creating the track just moments shy of her 19th birthday, Bridget has already garnered recognition from V Magazine and Quadio Media on her usage of expanding not only sound but lyricism in her new sophomore project, Eighteen Again. Combining indie-pop, shoegaze, and lo-fi rock elements, Bridget brings something utterly irresistible to the table: a unique sound and a new form of intimacy.
Montrell - “Simpler In The Dark”
On “Simpler In The Dark”, which is the second track off their Angel EP, Montrell introduces an unconventional song. Said best by a member of the band, “I can’t escape the fact that it’s about the desire to sleep with other people when you’re in a relationship, and the moral dilemma that follows that urge”. Despite the song appearing unrelatable to some, as a listener you can’t help but appreciate the authentic and raw lyrics. It’s more than a song about infidelity, but about acknowledging the dark thoughts in your mind. With the soft acoustic guitar that gradually builds, Montrell creates a release towards the end of the song where you get a feeling of letting yourself come to terms with the darkness within you.
Dad Hat - “Tahoe”
This dreamy late-night synth track will have you slow dancing with the desire to hold onto the past and the need to let it go. The indie pop duo Dad Hat, consisting of Steven Gudino and Maddie Barrett, released their first song of 2021. “Tahoe” is the first of a handful of tracks being released within the next few months in anticipation for their new EP.
The duo are graduate music students from USC and UCLA, who sing about dealing with anguish and loss; Longing to hold on to the past while knowing they need to let it go. The smooth vocals and calming synth draw you in and leave you wanting more. “Tahoe” captivates the late-night energy that listeners will want to put on their nighttime playlist and fan should look out for more as Dat Hat prepares for more music releases.
Gentle Organisms - “Take 2”
Gentle Organisms is a name you haven’t heard yet, with only two singles out, but once you listen you’ll remember his name. “Take 2” is like stepping into a world of nostalgia, but that can come in many forms. Some of us experience nostalgia with joy and some experience it with longing. With “Take 2,” Gentle Organisms seeks out a mix of both, telling us that he can’t stop listening to old Radiohead and Bjork, wishing he could’ve been born before 1994 and been able to experience the 90s, with all it’s quirks. Inspired by nostalgia, Gentle Organisms’ forthcoming, self titled EP is about reflecting, through the past and through the new, even with the anxiety that comes with it and all the feelings in between. For now, take a peek into what to expect with this upcoming artist, Gentle Organisms, by listening to “Take 2,” which includes an acoustic version if you want a more mellow vibe to it.
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From Pavietra 🕊️ https://t.co/BXVgWlZud8 -
slowthai by Rosie Matheson 🤩 https://t.co/z7SDfFQ5iF
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RT @i_D: Ian Kenneth Bird photographs young punks on Polaroid: https://t.co/MKT0tMUqO9 https://t.co/a0tTl12ML5
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RT @AnOtherMagazine: #DreamHome – this isolated idyll in the mountains of Lanzarote 🌵 📸 via Nowness, photography by Clemence Blr 🔁 https://t.co/GUusdxD0cg