We are feeling it. This pandemic thing? We are feeling it. It’s now officially one year since we’ve been consciously closed at home. We’ve been working from home for a year. It’s not even strange to say out loud anymore. We’ve been far away from our daily lives for so long, that now we reckon that even the people we were used to seeing every day (and that we almost did not notice) played an important role in our lives. Or at least in balancing our lives. We just want this to end. But we still have to conscient of everything that is around us. We have to focus on our future, without being able to properly live in the present. This might be the biggest challenge we were ever given. Thank God there is new music being released every week:
Adam Douglas feat. Beady Belle– Where I Wanna Be
Groovy, with a lot of Country, built to the mix, a big voice that screams to the heavens, and a huge musical posture, we find Adam Douglas and his third album of originals entitled Better Angels. An album with 45 minutes of duration, separated by 11 songs. Among these 11 pearls, we highlight Where I Wanna Be, a track that grows with the collaboration of Beady Belle. The greatest thing about it are the full vibes in the track: groovy voices, old-sounding (but powerful) instruments, and a mood that always sounds positive. Adam Douglas is doing his thing, and it is impossible to remain indifferent to these songs and to not take our foot off the floor.
Beck Pete – Future Lovers (Soft)
Beck Pete’s latest track entitled Future Loves (Soft) is a heartbreaker. A strong song that finds in the vocalist’s gentle, passionate, and powerful way of expressing herself the greatest highlight. Almost like a bass whisper, but also filled with traces of sensibility where the voice always seems to break, the track resonates in the most inner traces of the listener. This is a song that tells the story of two people where love is not mutual or genuine. A story where one loses everything while the other is not in it for the romance. And the fact is that the lyrics further enhance the feeling of heartbreak that the voice inspires and transpires. Written and sung from a personal point of view, maybe that’s why we can feel it in every single bit of our spine. A song that really reflects on the listener the vulnerability of the singer, writer, and maker.
Caiine – Conscience
We are probably biased about Caiine’s songs. We’ve written about them several times and they were one of the bands that played one of our own AtYourHome series. But we’ve not written about every single track they released. However, with Conscience, we have no way of not writing about it, as one of the most impressive new songs that passed through our hands in 2021. The track starts with some very unusual male vocals, in a very mysterious note, with a simple instrumental background, but soon evolves. If there is one word we can use to describe it is exactly “evolution”. Conscience never stays still (almost like our own conscience), and when her vocals come in, the track is already showcasing its full potential. Halfway between RnB, post-punk, and pop, this is a beautiful blend of genres and a song that truly defies us as listeners. If the melodic evolution is incredible what to say about the song’s meaning: “The chorus is written from the perspective of a not-so-distant future where innocent people caught in the mess are forced to flee as a result of the fascism enabled by those who closed off their conscience“. Do we need to say more?
Elena – Bonnie and Clyde
More commercial than the average WtMM song, Elena’s latest track Bonnie and Clyde (released yesterday) is a clear example of the type of pop production that is getting more and more common in today’s music. Infused with electro elements – and even with some noticeable auto-tune – the track opens with the line “if you bury the bodies, I’ll find a way out” as a modern version of the Bonnie and Clyde story. It sounds young – and will eventually make a success with the younger generations – but also mature in the way it aggregates difficult feelings to a positive melody. One that is very easy to stick inside our heads, like a popper and more commercial version of Lana Del Rey.
FROOTS – Angola
We typically don’t highlight new releases focused on electronica in the TGIF series, but there are exceptions that should be treated like they are. FROOTS’ debut in 2021 is with an incredible track entitled Angola. The song was created in the two first months of the year, and from a distinct start that features some intentionally glitchy pads, this track evolution and power are beyond usual. Mostly electronic, there are some ambient-drone elements in it. These are intercalated with cultural and African and Asian elements of sound, that transports us to an alternate reality. The voice elements are minimal but spot on with the “hey hey hey” sounding like elements of nature the track builds for itself, and when we are really hooked into it, it ends, leaving us no alternative to press play again. The first time we heard it, we listened to it three times. Now, we lost count.
🌹girl in red🥀 – Serotonin
Marie Ulven Ringheim, better known as girl in red, is one of the greatest gems in today’s global indie-pop world. From her bedroom in Norway to the world, she has two extraordinary EPs to her name (Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) – and a song that hasn’t left our heads since 2019 (bad idea!). This year she will release her first studio album entitled If I Could Make It Go Quiet on the 30th of April. Until then, and true to herself, and her incredible capacity of making new songs, she released Serotonin 3 days ago. This is the first song from the upcoming album and a pure anthem to multiculturalism and multi-genre. We bet it won’t be out of your head for some time to come. And because girl in red always speaks for herself, we are not even introducing this with more words: (just hit play).
JMES – Porcelain
This is a song about love and caution. Entitled Porcelain, and vibing on indie pop with bits of alternative rock, this is the latest from JMES. This is the solo project of Caroline Baker, a 21-year-old artist based in Dallas, Texas. The hooks in the track are evident, be it with the high-toned vocals in the chorus – that contribute to a very catchy experience – but also the instrumental elements that not sounding overly plastic, do sound well polished, and radio-ready. There is an 80’s kick to it, that gives the song that familiar feeling for any 90s or 80s born kid. Porcelain was written from her bedroom (during these difficult times for every artist) and tells about her personal experiences about trying to compromise in order to try to keep a relationship.
Mobile Steam Unit – Store
With its video created with stock footage, and with a bold perspective on the music scene, Mobile Steam Unit’s latest track entitled Store is, first of all, a cry for attention about a problem that still increased with the Pandemic – shopping. “Of course, we’re not talking about the kind of shopping that entails stocking up on water or essential goods to weather a global pandemic“. They are talking about the compulsive shopping we all need to contain. The track is the sitcom equivalent in music, with some vocal and melodic hooks being purposely theatrical, but with an evolution that surprised us as listeners. As it goes on, it evolves to the point, we feel we are listening to one Elton John classic track around the 4-minute mark. It’s like they abandon a song that was meant to tackle a situation by sounding shallow and happy (a portrayal also), and as they have fun with it, the track goes into a pretty impressive song.
Matt Sahadi – Light Of Hope
Nashville natural, Matt Sahadi tracks are filled with noticeable energy that floats between the indie-folk, Americana, and indie rock. Surely making Springsteen proud, his latest track Light Of Hope, is a very energetic effort that sounds easily right. There are a lot of elements that sound exactly like a Springsteen touch, but there are also other elements that remind us of acts like The Killers. One thing for certain, this is a super track that won’t leave you indifferent once you push the play button. It’s not only impossible to stay still while listening to this, but also a beautiful and soul-filling experience when noticing the lyrical significance of the track. Singing powerfully about anxieties, and in a time where most of the World is feeling it like never before, this shines like a proper hearing medicine, that goes right to the veins and the heart of the listener.