This week’s list is overflowing with a fresh SPRING sound, as Spring thematics are becoming more and more prevalent in new music, now in this first week of April. Some honorable mentions you’ll want to check out come from Matt & Kim, We Are Scientists, Jason Derulo and Josh Rouse.
The New Music Tuesday Spotify playlist will be reset when the clock strikes midnight next Tuesday (give or take a few hours depending your time zone), so be sure to check out this week’s list before it’s too late. Since Spring is in full effect, each song on our Top 10 list this week is connected to a topic related to Spring. Enjoy.
10. Things Happen by Dawes
In accordance with a mindset that is ‘Spring Cleaning’ bad attitudes, this track is a smooth concoction of poetry and a “that’s life” mantra. This is one you’ll want to listen to a couple times through to get the full idea. The chorus gives you the gist: Let’s make a list of all the things the world has put you through/ let’s raise a glass to all the people you’re not speaking to/ I don’t know what else you wanted me to say to you/ Things happen, that’s all they ever do…a full listens will make you more likely to have the same emotionally evolved “it is what it is” attitude.
9. Sparks by Hilary Duff
Even in 2015 it’s still hard not to equate Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire, but on Sparks we see Hilary bringing her best stuff: the beat has been updated, the single album cover is instaworthy, and the sound is bouncy, fresh, crispy & clean. Also starring on TVLand’s new show “Younger” it appears that Duff is in the middle of a full on comeback. It is reminiscent of when Robyn released “Body Talk” in 2010; at first it was hard not to think past the 90s anthem Show Me Love, but soon you realized the new sound had made significant progress, and stood on its own. File this one under it will put an extra ‘Spring’ in your step.
8. Get Out The Way by Mother Mother
Spring marks the time of leaving the isolation of winter and re-joining the land of the living, and on this journey one needs a hearty dose of assertiveness for the season. Get Out The Way has it in spades, with it’s sound that’s one part Muse’s guitars, and two parts the vocal arrangements of The White Stripes. If such a genre existed, it would fit perfectly under “electro grunge.”
7. Movin’ Bass – GTA Remix by Rick Ross, Jay Z
With enough added beats to ensure your chain will keep swinging, the electric GTA remix of Movin’ Bass will have you doubling up on the ‘Springs’ in your step. The original version is slow and cocky, while this one is crazy fast in your face; both cuts giving you a glimpse in the fluctuating visions of two of rap’s biggest kingpins.
6. Teenage Talk by St. Vincent
A huge part of Spring is the marking of festival season, and this weekend St. Vincent will be playing at Coachella, still riding high on the massive success of last year’s self titled album (which included a Grammy for Best Alternative album). Just in time for the big show the official version of Teenage Talks is released, a gentle and easy song that comes off both sad (‘that was before we had made any terrible mistakes’) and at times blissfully nostalgic (oh we laughed so hard, threw up in your mother’s azaleas.) Can’t wait to see what it will sound like live.
5. Where You At by The Bohicas
Who gets to Summer without a small dose of Spring fever? For those who have a hard time sitting still, allow me to recommend The Bohicas. Lyrics come at you at a hyperspeed, creating big time energy that lasts the whole song through, creating a ton of appeal for the band themselves. Although it’s unconfirmed if the band’s name comes from the Urban Dictionary acronym definition, from the sounds of the band’s method it seems like the band’s hypothetical tongue is planted firmly in cheek.
4. I Just Can’t by Crookers, Jeremih
Who better to exemplify a ‘Spring fling’ than R&B’s most mischievous and velvety (yeah I said it), Jeremih, assisting Crookers on his latest track? While the song has been out since mid February, it perfectly exemplifies the burst of energy the extra bit of sunlight and warmth will you give you. From the beginning the song doesn’t seem to be too much of either type of genre each artist brings to the table, but just enough for a balanced effect. Clocking in at just over 2 & a half minutes, the high tempo will have you burnt out on dancing by the time the track is over.
3. Yesterdays by Only Real
One may question how a certain song can just ‘sound’ like Spring, but I challenge you to listen to Yesterdays without feeling as if you’re listening to Spring personified (musicifed?). As the band sings its Awwwwwwws you can almost feel the breeze with the windows down for the first time. While the message of the song’s lyrics is more sardonic than its carefree sound would imply, one only has to take a peak at the band’s Instagram to know the thing they’re most serious about is having fun.
2. Often – Kygo Remix by The Weeknd
What better time than Spring to update a sound, making it sound fresher and new? No easy task in reconstructing Often, one of The Weeknd’s top songs with over 38 million plays on Spotify alone. With the help of pops, snaps, and what can only be described as a ‘sparkle sound,’ the Kygo remix manages to make the song sound brand new and not nearly as cumbersome as the original. Out of all the songs chosen this week, this one will be the one most likely to be on repeat.
1. Girl by Jukebox the Ghost
Spotify likens the band’s sound to that of Ben Folds, and they are right on the money – the music is bright, and the lyrics follow. Perhaps what one can look forward to the most at the start of Spring is readying yourself for new, fun experiences. Open Your Heart, Open Your Mind as the band encourages, and who knows what great things Spring can bring. Already at over 226,000 plays on Spotify, many have already discovered that this song that will give you an energy boost and make you want to memorize the lyrics.
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