Hello! Lisa here. Every month, I'll be digging through the best new submissions on Musosoup, picking out a handful of tracks that have pricked up my ears and piqued my interest. Hopefully you’ll like some of them too!
It’s funny how, unwittingly, patterns start to emerge when you trawl through a lot of music. Sometimes, there’ll be a moment in time when every band in the music press seems to have a variation on the same name (see: the ‘00s deer movement of Deerhunter, Deerhoof, The Dears, Deer Tick etc). Sometimes, as with my Musosoup listening this month, everything has the same track title. Two of my picks are called ‘Honey’; two begin with ‘Desert’. If only someone had written ‘Desert Honey’, surely we would have had an out and out frontrunner.
Coincidence or proof or a secret songwriting formula? Well… it’s the former. But hey, journalists love a trend, so sue me. Listen to the full playlist of picks below and read on for a bit more digging on my top five.
Listen to all the tracks on Lisa's Musosoup playlist:
Blossom Aloe - ‘Honey’
Formed during lockdown, Houston indie-rock quartet Blossom Aloe may have since been released from their Covid confines but there’s something pleasingly bedroomy that remains on ‘Honey’. The production still sounds like a bunch of mates jamming in a small space (in a good way), but they’ve got an unexpected way with a melody - particularly in a standout midsong guitar solo - that shows they’ve used their many hours of house arrest well.
Vijia - ‘The Yi Sun’
The story of ‘The Yi Sun’, from London-based musician Yijia, is a poignant one. Having been shown a field recording of music created by the Yi ethnic minority group from southwest China, Vijia felt an innate pull to the sounds; later, she discovered she herself was a quarter Yi. It makes sense, then, that there’s a cosmic, tactile air that runs through the track - a combination of ancient tradition, modern electronic beats, layered hypnotic vocals and a gentle etherealness. The result is simultaneously meditative and pulsing: a track that could be played on a healing retreat or remixed at the Hacienda.
Prince of Sweden - ‘James, I Can’t Stay’
As a title, ‘James, I Can’t Stay’ has a sort of weird simplicity that appeals. It sounds a bit like a Bill Ryder-Jones title; like you know by its syntax that there’s a wistfulness locked just beneath the surface. And sure enough, this turns out to be true, however there’s also a sort of sad seaside Britishness to the waltzing keys of Prince of Sweden’s offering that brings to mind a little of the Divine Comedy; the sort of song that could soundtrack a rainy scene in a sentimental regional sitcom. A compliment!
Tara Beier - ‘Desert Soul’
As previously mentioned, there might be a fair few Desert-based offerings happening this month, but Tara Beier - hailing from Los Angeles’ storied Joshua Tree - arguably has more claim to the dusty terrain than most. Filled with a sultry, Doorsy magnetism, ‘Desert Soul’ comes good on both parts of its name; Beier’s resonant tones are full of feeling, while there’s a swagger to the whole operation that feels particularly born of its locale. It reminds me a bit of underrated ‘00s outfit Howling Bells, who you should also listen to if you like this sort of thing.
Shanny & The East Men - ‘Lost In Time’
A little bit of propulsive swagger to finish you off with, then. ‘Lost In Time’ is built around the sort of motorik beat that feels familiar, but Nashville quartet have fashioned it in their own image - primarily thanks to the juxtaposition between the feather-lite, spectral vocals of singer Shannon Eastman (see what she did there) and the gnarlier rock backing of her band. File next to early Wolf Alice, and turn up loud.
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