We’ve said it before. With the Summer kicking, new songs are also flowing all the way through us. And with great songs come great responsibility: the TGIF. From more than five hundred submissions in one week we feel our task to choose the best releases is getting more and more to the subjective side of standing out not only great tracks but just the ones we truly fall in love with. So here it is, for the matter of our hearts, these are the best releases of the week that we got the honour to put our listening on.
Alex & Drew feat. Riah Knight – As They Fade
Alex & Drew are the creative partnership of Alex Over and Andrew Shobeiri, two multitalented British artists that have been working on music collectively for several years. For their newest single they team up with British singer-songwriter Riah Knight on “As They Fade” a stunningly evocative slice of mid-tempo deep house meets electronica. About the track, they say: “The inspiration behind As They Fade are vast, as collectively we all brought our own experiences to the table. Hopefully, we’ve created something that will really resonate with people: I can’t wait for everyone to hear it“.
“As They Fade” is a vibe, pure and simple. Incorporating elements of soul, jazz, house and downtempo electronica, it draws you in with a warm, full bassline and subdued percussion, with Riah’s rich, evocative vocal casting a hypnotic spell. Unpredictable yet deeply comforting, it is a wonderful introduction to Alex & Drew’s musical world.
Conal Kelly – Keep Me Satisfied
Conal Kelly is an artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Bristol, priding himself in his ability to produce and record entire songs independently from the comfort of a bedroom studio. Crafting a genre-crossing brand of Alt-Pop that is unmistakably his own, Conal combines driving grooves with smooth vocals, catchy melodies and dreamy guitars, resulting in a refreshing yet accessible strain of modern pop music. His latest track “Keep Me Satisfied” is a beautiful combination of those genres that immediately recalled us of Tame Impala, with huge bumps of pop.
Sonically, “Keep Me Satisfied” feels more authentic to Conal Kelly’s own tastes, “without being watered down by current trends or creative insecurities“. It was written around the theme of unrequited love/romance, with a real indulgence in shoegaze and wall-of-sound style production. He wanted to explore his love of heavier music whilst keeping some dreamy, glittery elements at the fore.
Francis On My Mind – Functional Kind Of Love
It seems that Francis On My Mind releases great tracks every Summer. We highlighted that two years ago and are highlighting it now too. Fastest growing new artist on the international market for Universal Music Romania, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter, just released her new track. “Functional Kind of Love” is an uptempo sunny melodic pop dance release. The track makes for an enchantingly delighting listen, thanks to its harmonious and unpredictable alt-pop sound, coupled with honey-sweet vocals by Francis. The amount of pop, dance, chillout and even disco elements in it makes it a perfect modern Summer track. Flawless production and a Dua Lipa kind of pop sonority help make this a stream-winner in the next days.
godz – kids
“kids” is the focus track from godz upcoming EP. The song goes in tandem with their new NFT drop being released through nifty gateway later this evening. godz is a project that ties music, visual art, and web 3.0 all together under one umbrella. Their story begins, where another has ended. a masked figure, bound to the monotonous, abysmal rituals for a life that was never demanded if asked for at all. They are the representation of life with an upbringing damned by the intricacies of morale and beliefs that a knowledge-driven life feels pertinent. But where they are, there is life and there is light. there is pain, and there is darkness. godz is an idea conveyed through music and artistry, in a way anybody could relate to.
The track is so good, that we (WtMM) feature it in our best-of-new indie playlist here.
Marco DeLiso – Frozen Rind
Marco DeLiso’s music is somewhat of an anomaly – unique to him and entirely rooted in the shared cultural experiences of his generation. The 11 tracks that make up the “Ambassador of Good Intentions” span a wide range of styles and sentiments, from dreaming big, to love and friendship, and identity and attention struggles.
Over the years, DeLiso has slowly worked out a process of self-recording to destress the experience, promote experimentation, and avoid the costs of conventional recording studios. As a result, the album was a collaborative effort of love that was slowly assembled within small windows over a long period of time. Featuring collaborations with acts such as Adam Soucy, Chris Bavaro, Colin Gordon, and Martin Merenyi, these external touches are like finding the music between the collaborators.
Today we feature “Frozen Rind” as an example of what this powerful experimental/alternative album does for dream pop (or breakbeat). Paused, relaxed, groovy, melancholic, dreamy-high, everything about it defies us and easily gets us positively lost in it.
The track is so good, that we (WtMM) feature it in our best-of-new indie playlist here.
Sisteria – Wade My Way
Sisteria is a thunderous new psychedelic band from Norman, OK, spearheaded by folk-singer-turned-rock- goddess Katie Williams. With an alliance of accomplished players at her side, she spelunks into deep, primal consciousness to reclaim buried treasures of the self. If it is taboo to fraternize with raw mineral deposits of untempered life force, Sisteria wears its adultery with the purest scarlet.
“Wade My Way“, their latest single, is about breaking free from a situation or anything that binds you, be it a situation, a person, etc. “I’ll bide my time til the river goes down then I’ll wade my way on through” reminds us that we are capable of navigating our personal challenges and that this too shall pass“. This powerful indie rock track will keep you on your toes for the entire duration and will conquer you to bang your head like crazy from about the first 15 seconds in.
Space Case – Beefcake
Space Case the band is managed by a member, and also Orchard employee, Ian McFarland. Ryan Melone oversees production including making sure the mastering is completed and that he has stems on hand for any potential sync opportunities that require customization.
“Beefcake” is the first in a series of five singles culminating in an EP titled “Got Em’” due out September 30th, 2022 by Space Case. This is a hot song with a funky slapped bass line, slow smooth tight groove and fun memorable concept based lyrics. If you’re into quirky lyrics and succulent minimalist pop grooves this song will live rent-free in your headphones.
Zach Tabori – Where We Start
Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and composer Zach Tabori debuted the first single “Where We Start” off his new album “Hard Boiled“. The track features vocals by former Playboy model Kayslee Don Collins and original bass player for The Regrettes‘ Sage Chavis. The single speaks to the notion of the fear that comes with showing vulnerability toward the ones that you love.
“Where We Start centres around a reclusive, introverted character that fears the idea of expressing any sort of vulnerability. Upon falling in love (something that has NEVER BEFORE been the subject of a pop song…), he’s suddenly faced with a conflict between his desire to embrace this new type of connection and the potential for the repercussions that could leave him with emotional battle scars. This uncertainty quickly transforms into an incessant paranoia that shapes the protagonist’s pleas and cries throughout the course of the song.“
The track is so good, that we (WtMM) feature it in our best-of-new indie playlist here.