Waves of panic and fear washed over the Twitter-verse and splashed into Spotify subscribers EarPods this week, as the New Music Friday was slow out the gates, debuting many hours after its typical schedule. Never fear, things took off quickly soon thereafter, with a release from the ever popular band, Daughter, the ultra-talented Raury landed his own Spotify Sessions, and for those who missed it the first time, former king of the countdown Lewis Del Mar is back with his banger Loud(y).
The hard part of assembling this week’s latest tracks is already done; all you need to do now is head over to Spotify, or just peruse the condensed version by reading on. New Music Friday All-Stars has got you covered for this week’s top 9 in playlist form, as well as the best of week’s past.
9. Gold Dust by Banners
We’re big fans of songs that match the vibes of the weather in which the song debuts here at FNM, after all it helps capture the feel of the time and gets you by when the weather is not so great. Banners brings forth the winter spirit through his pristine falsetto voice and lyrics, which declare “turn this darkness into sparks like blazing hearts….when the nights grow cold & it’s all gone to rust, we can turn it into gold dust.” The perfect combination for warming cold hands and cold hearts.
8. Pawn Shop by Brothers Osbourne
Pawn shops have long been an American institution, to which Brothers Osbourne put it bluntly “Buy anything you want, sold everything you got” in such a catchy way, you’d be surprised if you don’t here the song on the next pawn shop reality tv (because you can never have too many tv shows about pawn shops). Adding to the art form is the beat on the track, which has the essence of Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked. Prior to making the album by the same name, the brothers of country told Rolling Stone that people are sick of the BS and are ready for substance. A solid case for substance has been made here.
7. Riverbank by Bolier, Mingue
Soundly winning the award for best compilation by a pair most like to auto correct to the incorrect name (Bolier to boiler, Mingue to Minogue, as in Kylie), Riverbanks is one of those songs that is simply easy to enjoy. Mingue hits the mark with the vocals, while Bolier takes care of the beat. It’s equally as easy to feel like you’re stuck in a dream, the lyrics describing a love blinding like light, “you’re so damn beautiful I love the love we make, but most of all you touch my soul.” An early favorite for your Valentine’s Day playlist of non-schmaltzy songs.
6. Roller by Quilt
As hardworking as psych rock band out there, the four members that make up Quilt are gearing up for their album drop of Plaza that will hit on February 26th, also coinciding with the kickoff of their North American tour. Guitarist Anna Fox Rochinski told The Fader that Roller was written just this winter as the freezing temperatures hit. Curious as to what a “roller” is? She describes it something that acts as “a sensation that lies somewhere between claiming the strength for yourself and hiding to protect yourself from the human bullshit of the world. Ultimately it’s a rumination on seeking peace through isolation.” Can think of nothing more fitting to capitalize on the bleakness of the remaining winter months.
5. Every Night You’ve Got To Save Me by Mass Gothic
Solo projects for musicians seem to bring out the most authentic spirit in artists, and it’s a clear case with Noel Heroux, who came up with tracks for Mass Gothic after his former band Hooray for Earth broke up. Every Night…starts out with a spirited kick drum and builds from there, the chorus chanting the song title while promoting feelings of musical salvation from depression and alienation, as the singer told The Village Voice. The video is journey of karaoke through the streets of New York City, its bathtubs and long cab rides, but mostly its bathtubs.
4. Three Packs A Day by Courtney Barnett
For Courtney Barnett the proof has always been in the pudding, and by that I mean her lyrics, which can make even the most mundane human activities intriguing. On Three Packs the pudding comes with ramen noodle sauce packets, as she sings about being down to three packs a day, not of cigarettes, but of those small packets of flavoring that comes with ramen noodles. Thumbing your nose at her choice? Well she’s not about to care, as she muses, “This MSG tastes good to me, I disagree with all your warnings.” A song to celebrate the simpler things cuisine in life.
3. King of the World by Weezer
This week’s record breaking Powerball of $1.5 billion dollars had most of us dreaming about living a life where anything is possible and holding unlimited power. While I doubt you’re one of the lucky three winners reading this, for the rest of us dreamers there’s songs like King of the World. The track envisions such wild imaginings as riding a Greyhound to the Galapagos Islands, and staying there for the rest of your life. It’s that song of superlatives that Weezer has built their name on, perfect for belting your daydreaming heart out.
2. Come Down by Anderson Paak
On Come Down Anderson Paak sings about doing what you’re really made for, and a high that makes you feel like you might never, ever come down. His rhymes mirror a brand of jazz rap enjoying popularity after the massive success of To Pimp A Butterfly. Paaak spits it fast and slow, proving himself as to why he has been labeled Dr. Dre’s golden child by the media. You may recall that the Doctor doesn’t go around unofficially adopting just anybody, and that the last artist to hold such a title goes by the name of Marshall Mathers (and one other name I suppose). An indication of great things here and certainly more to come.
1. Over and Over Again by Nathan Skyes, Ariana Grande
It’s been awhile since there’s been a strong duet by a male and female, and it seems we’ve forgotten just how powerful that type of duet can be. And while neither duettist is a day over 22, the song showcases powerful range and growth from both. What Grande is to Mariah Carey, Skyes is certainly that to John Legend in a positive sense, nothing here reeks of wannabe. That piano, the command from Nathan Skyes, the harmonizing from Ariana, all build up to a track that most definitely is easy to listen to, over and over again.
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