What I've Been Listening To, 10/13/20
What I've Been Listening To, 10/13/20
Back again with another one
Velma - My Favorite Color
12 tracks, 35 minutes
Released: August 21st, 2020
From: Pittsburgh, PA -> Los Angeles, CA
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Saba, IDK
My Favorite Color is a signee to Rostrum Records, the independent Pittsburgh label that helped break Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller. Though the album was finished before the signing, that influence from the artists he shares a roster with was certainly felt by him, saying “I think about Mac Miller every time I write a word.” Bouncing around from Pittsburgh, to Compton, before settling in L.A., My Favorite Color took influence from both coasts into his sound. Velma is his first album, following up the 2018 EP Go!. And his favorite color is orange.
Standout Track: Dale
Push//Pull - Sweater Curse
4 tracks, minutes
Released: September 25th, 2020
From: Brisbane, Australia
Genres: Indie Rock, Alternative
Recommended For Fans Of: Pity Sex, Julia Jacklin, The Beths
This project is best described by the three piece band’s instagram bio: “Mon & Rei & Chris having a good time.” Full of catchy hooks backed by explosive guitars and drums, it’s hard not to like this project. Mon & Chris trade vocals throughout the 4 song tracklist which, along with the very full sound, makes them feel like a larger band than they actually are. The standout single linked below was co-written by Alex Lahey, with a zoom video featuring fellow Australian musicians Lahey, Julia Jacklin, and many more.
Standout Track: Close
Floral Prince - Field Medic
11 tracks, 33 minutes
Released: October 2nd, 2020
From: Bay Area, CA
Genres: Folk, Indie
Recommended For Fans Of: Florist, Phoebe Bridgers, Hovvdy
I had the opportunity to run sound for Field Medic a few times at Songbyrd in DC. He used to sit in the back stairwell before doors opened (and sometimes after the shows too) with his guitar and just play songs to himself. This attitude embodies Field Medic, a songwriter, performer, and folk hero at heart. It carried over to this album too, inspiration came in the form of freestyles, where Field Medic “writes and records songs on the fly with a four-track, usually with a self-imposed limit of three takes.” Floral Prince is the follow up to 2019’s fade into the dawn, an album I loved. While his music is largely folk, he provides variety under that umbrella. From traditional acoustic guitar and vocal tracks, songs with punchy drum beats, a duet that sounds like it was recorded on a tin can (in a good way), multi-layered guitar parts on many songs, everything sounds fresh from start to finish.
Standout Track: i will not mourn who i was that has gone away
0 Days & 40 Nights - Mickey Woods Jr.
14 tracks, 47 minutes
Released: March 8th, 2020
From: Port Arthur, Texas
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Mick Jenkins, Isaiah Rashad
Mickey Woods Jr. brings a hungry but confident attitude to his sound that reminds me of the type of rap I would find back in the blog days. 40 Days & 40 Nights is full of warm and vibrant production, with Woods Jr.’s deep vocals calm and collectively flowing over it all. The 23 year old rapper’s Soundcloud bio boasts that he is from the same small town as UGK and Janis Joplin. Not so sure about Joplin, but there is certainly UGK and southern rap influence all over this album.
Standout Track: For the Iso
Deep Dark South - Bendrix Littleton
10 tracks, 27 minutes
Released: September 25th, 2020
From: Dallas, TX -> Nashville, Tennessee
Genres: Country
Recommended For Fans Of: Hovvdy, Tenci
Deep Dark South is the first solo album by producer and performer Bennett Littlejohn. Perviously Littlejohn was one half of the duo Beat Denim, and has produced for Hovvdy among other bands. The name for his solo project was inspired by the main character of the 1951 novel The End of the Affair, who the Bandcamp description notes is “sometimes an unreliable narrator, for he is so consumed by jealousy, self-pity, self-hatred, and bitterness, that he measures everyone else by himself…[and] confesses that from time to time ‘a demon’ takes possession of his brain.” So if you like your country music with a side of Holden Caufield, this is the project for you.
Standout Track: Deep Dark South
Wonder - Billy Lemos
10 tracks, 21 minutes
Released: September 25th, 2020
From: Chicago, Illinois
Genres: Electronic, Pop
Recommended For Fans Of: Still Woozy, Kaytranada
Wonder is the debut album from Chicago based producer Billy Lemos (f.k.a. bemos). The production on here is so warm and seamless, that the album often feels like a vinyl DJ mix the way the songs and features flow into each other. Lemos made a name for himself producing with fellow Chicago artists like Omar Apollo, Jackie Hayes, and Victor!, but branches out here to work with some newer names. Along with that are more recognizable budding artists like Still Woozy and Danny Dwyer.
Standout Track: Different World (With Danny Dwyer)
Siren - Obscura Hail
5 tracks, 19 minutes
Released: September 18th, 2020
From: Melbourne, Australia
Genres: Alternative, Indie
Recommended For Fans Of: Hippo Campus
Obscura Hail started making music out of a fear of Alzheimer’s. In their Spotify bio, lead singer Sean Conran detailed wanting to have a way of self preserving memories so they would never get lost. Siren makes up the second half of a double EP, with the first half Zero releasing almost a year prior last September. This EP focuses on remaining optimistic in the age of information, and it’s a project you won’t want to forget.
Standout Track: Penumbra
Layer Cake - Bari
15 tracks, 38 minutes
Released: October 2nd, 2020
From: St. Louis, MS
Genres: Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Smino, SahBabii
Bari came up with Smino and Monte Booker (and also is a member of their Zero Fatigue collective), which has been very evident in his sound. But on this project, it is obvious that he’s put in a lot of work to separate his style, and I doubt you’d instantly be able to pin him as Zero Fatigue if Layer Cake is your first time hearing Bari. Really enjoyed the wide array of sounds used on the production here. Often very random beeps or high frequency sounds that made me look around to see if I was hearing something in the song or in the world around me. The song below has a high pitched whistle effect that made me think an alarm was going off in my car.
Standout Track: Fingertips
A Song
A Lesson From The Universe - Harry Teardrop
A few months ago, Harry Teardrop threw this demo track from 2018 up on his Soundcloud. The sentimental track feels like a coming of age movie, looking up at the sky on a warm summer night, and “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas all at the same time. The blunt, honest, and kind of emo lyrics are emphasized by the blatant use of autotune. This ‘lesson from the universe’ takes faults and insecurities, and pushes them to the forefront, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.
A Video
Hard To Explain - Blood Cultures
The bag faced group is back with their first new release of 2020. Hard To Explain is a Strokes cover that adds Toro y Moi like synths and electronics. All shown here with a colorful, Wes Anderson like video that is much darker than it would outwardly appear.
That’s all I’ve got. thanks for reading