This week’s most buzz-worthiest release belonged to Frank Ocean’s Boys Don’t Cry, Blonde. And for good reason, fans had to wait a full Olympic cycle for the follow up to the phenomenal Channel Orange. And while life just isn’t fair and Spotify does not yet have the album, there’s a vending machine selection of new music to tide you over before the full meal of Blonde is available. In the mix this week is Dej Loaf in ‘Miami’, Fetty Wap rhapsodizing about his life post-massive success on ‘Different Now’, and hard rock legends Metallica show that they’re still ‘Hardwired.’
All the new tracks are available in full on New Music Friday playlist; head over to Spotify and check them all out. Busted Wallet’s New Music Friday All Stars makes it easy to catch up with all the fresh and new goodness, which keeps track of the best of week’s past new music.
9. Young Kids Old Love by Otis English
It’s not often that you’ll hear classical influences when it comes to the pop/EDM/hip hop heavily-ladened new music playlist, but Otis English comes out the gate with a Rachmaninoff -styled pounding of the keys. Showing he’s a pro at layering different styles on top of one another, he rolls the song into a synergistic blend of things that shouldn’t work together, but do, and do oh so well.
8. Do You Wanna Come Over? by Britney Spears
With so many things that seem to be synonymous with Britney in 2016- Las Vegas heat, perfume advertisements, rock hard abs – DYWTCO feels as if it perfectly suits Britney’s brand these days. Hopped up, cheeky, with a coupla zingers thrown in, swirling around under the thesis of nobody should be alone if they don’t have to be. All the keys notes seem to be minor and there’s a weird beat in the verses that sounds like a soda can being opened, but it makes for a great dance track the next time you have people over.
7. All Night by Crystal Fighters
There’s a feeling of sadness that pervades the days following the end of an Olympics; no longer broadcasting live from colorful Rio and you’re back to your normal routine. On All Night it feels like Crystal Fighters started with a Brazilian Samba beat and expanded from there, and captured the party spirit of Rio in a song. The band, which Spotify describes as “folktronic,” call Spain home are super psyched about their first single in three years; no word yet if an album is set to follow.
6. Blood In The Cut by K-Flay
When it comes to K-Flay with her expression of ‘FML’ or ‘Life as a Dog’ there’s no backing away from the dramatic and ‘everything sucks’ realist vibe. Likewise the first track off of the fittingly titlted ‘Crush Me’ EP speaks of a crush who has found someone else. This doesn’t mean that K-Flay is a huge bummer here, speaking in superlatives is just her M.O., and she makes it sounds cool, rhythmic, and completely raw and honest.
5. All of Me by Big Gigantic, Logic, ROZES
One can’t help conjuring up the most popular version when songs have the same name, and with Big Gigantic’s new one it was hard not to belt out “‘cause of alllllll of me, needs allllll of you,” and wonder if this was a majorly delayed remix. But alas,t in fact it’s all brand new and comes original. It’s a echo-y built-in-a-chamber EDM track utilizing ROZES in all her raspy R&B glory, and rhymes from Logic, who hear sounds awfully similar to G-Eazy. Awfully in a good way.
4. The Way It Was by Coast Modern
There’s a sense of healthy detachment when it comes to the lyrics on The Way It Was; mainly ‘Oh we’ll never go back to the way it was.’ A sense of ‘yeah it was a great time but that’s done now’, and there’s still summers ahead of us. Oh if only we all could be so evolved, but if not we can just soak up the vibes of the song – which feels like a Cage The Elephant, Glass Animals cocktail, with a splash of Passion Pit. Not to say that the sound comes off derivative, in fact the end result is quite unique. And modern.
3. Mixtape 2003 by The Academic
Nothing makes you sound more aged than saying ‘kids these days,’ but when it comes to sharing music with those that you love youths these day won’t know the fuzzy glow that comes from being handed a mixtape with songs specifically chosen for you. It’s that sentiment that’s touched upon here, turning back to touch upon the memories of ‘those days’ only (only!) 13 years ago. Things are most certainly done differently these days, but The Academic proves that love still is a mixtape.
2. We by Mac Miller, Cee-lo Green
Mac Miller is solely about the chill out these days, following up the staggering laid-back Dang! with an invitation of ‘You could be my-’ taking you a different astral plane while detailing why we need to change that you and me to we. The sound is 5 minutes of one easy vibe with Cee-lo vibing oozing in and out in harmony. The only time the vibe changes is at the very end of when Ceelo comes through singing ‘You got a deal with Mac Miller biiiiitch’ and then breaks out into a fit of giggles. A perfect way to let you know chill time is over.
1. The Hurt Is Gone by Yellowcard
As the third song in this week’s lineup that deals with the the past, this week Yellowcard wears the crown with their emotion-drenched ode to watching the seasons of your life go by, change coming for you, and slowly dissipating of the hurt (aka the hurt is gone). Like so many of their songs of the past in the lyrics are a delicate prose that tell a story, worth looking up over and over until you know them inside and out. Press play when you’re in need of putting the past behind you.
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