WIBLT: Dog Days of May
What I've Been Listening To, 5/25/22
‘What I’ve Been Listening To’ is a bi-weekly series that highlights 8 projects, 1 song, and 1 video that have been on repeat for me. Be sure to follow the ‘What I’ve Been Listening To’ playlist that is always up to date with the eight standout tracks from all of these posts in 2022.
Back and breathing again for another batch of new music
The Hopeful Cynic - Farrah Fawx
6 tracks, 17 minutes
Released: May 13th, 2022
From: Virginia → Los Angeles, CA
Genres: R&B, Dance, Hip-Hop/Rap, Pop
Recommended For Fans Of: Bree Runway, Doechii, KAYTRANADA
Coming off a feature on Rochelle Jordan’s most recent album (one of my favorites of 2021!), Farrah Fawx arrives with her own debut EP, The Hopeful Cynic. This introductory project offers a glimpse into what a versatile and engaging artist Fawx has become. She gives you a little bit of everything, showing bouncy house tracks with a KAYTRANADA like groove, dance R&B, Missy Elliott-esque raps, and more. No matter what direction she takes the track, they always pulse with a rhythm that will have you ready to dance. Working with producers and musicians like B00ty, J Mills, and The Internet’s Patrick Paige II among others, the project creates a vibrant and fun sound that is ready to dominate the coming summer. Artists Maurice Brown, Aaria Tae, and Dave B. stop by for features that contribute to the flow and excitement of the project. The Hopeful Cynic is one of the most dynamic and compelling debuts you’ll hear this year, and immediately sets Fawx up as an artist to watch going forward.
Standout Track: SLAPS
I Love You Forever - Future Husband
7 tracks, 22 minutes
Released: May 19th, 2022
From: Amsterdam, NL
Genres: Indie Pop, Alternative
Recommended For Fans Of: Tennis, Arlo Parks, Lorde, Eliza Shaddad
Looking up ‘I love you forever future husband’ on google is going to get you nothing outside of cheesy hallmark quotes, but typing that into the search bar of your favorite streaming service will bring you to this beautiful debut EP from Dutch Nigerian singer Audra Sulaiman, a.k.a. Future Husband. Sulaiman has toured with bands like Feng Suave and Sofie Winterson in the past, but now decided to step out with solo music of her own, with the support of her bandmates/best friends. Thomas Bosveld, Ivar Otten, Kike Zwagerman, and Twan de Roo retreated to a teepee in the Dutch countryside with Sulaiman to craft this stellar EP of soulfully intimate indie pop. That tent and environment created a setting that influenced the sound of the EP more than any studio could. “A tent doesn’t reflect any sound, so it felt like we were truly alone. Being outside in nature gave a whole new dimension to the music and gave me time to truly reflect on the lyrics,” Sulaiman told Mitch Mosk for Atwood Magazine. “When I recorded the demos in my bedroom, they were still quite bitter, sad and sometimes angry. After the tipi week, they became love letters that me and my friends wrote simultaneously to each other.” You can hear all of that in the tender lyrics Sulaiman delivers so craftily, and the warm natural grooves that back it up. The tracks play out almost like diary entries as she made this an exercise in opening up. “Making this EP encouraged me to be very vocal about my inner dialogue,” Sulaiman described on Instagram. “Loving myself doesn't come to me naturally, but I've found a lot of love in making something beautiful out of the bad and sad.”
Standout Track: Ritual
It Grows On Trees - Raavi
5 tracks, 15 minutes
Released: May 13th, 2022
From: New York, NY
Genres: Indie Rock, DIY, Alternative
Recommended For Fans Of: Slow Pulp, Soccer Mommy, Palehound
Raavi is the Brooklyn based band fronted by queer-desi singer/songwriter Raavi Sita, with the triple J’s of Justin Termotto on guitar/production, James Duncan on bass, and Jason Block on drums. Here they release It Grows On Trees, their first project since 2019’s Don’t Hit Me Up. Raavi draws inspiration from 90s alt-rock while also pumping in a healthy dose of modern indie rock, emo, and math rock to compliment their sound. It’s a style that teeters between heavy and light, depending on what the moment calls for. Lyrics were inspired by Sita’s time at home during lockdown, spent shifting through her father’s large collection of English, Urdu, and Punjabi poetry. The majestic cover artwork sported by some of the books helped inspire the EP’s artwork from Somnath Bhatt as well. It’s not hard to hear the poetic influence in her vocals, like when she ends the below track AJ with, “you shape the cross of pain you’re hanging on, you take the same amount of range and sing it wrong, you’re gone you’re gone, you’re gone you’re gone.” The new project sees Sita continuing to explore an artform that she’s been exploring her whole life. “[Music] helped me connect with people in my life at a very early age and that made navigating the world a little bit easier and definitely more fun,” Sita told For The Rabbits. “I’ve always liked how dynamic of an artform it was. Enjoying music can be both a social act and something deeply personal. In that way, it’s limitless.”
Standout Track: AJ
Kinnfolk - Chloe Hotline
13 tracks, 40 minutes
Released: May 13th, 2022
From: Cincinnati, OH
Genres: R&B, Hip-Hop/Rap, Alternative
Recommended For Fans Of: Kid Cudi, Kevin Abstract, 070 Shake
Cincinnati Ohio’s Chloe Hotline is a seasoned vocalist and producer, even with this likely being many people’s introduction to her music. She’s been dabbling in music and working on her sound for the past decade, with her first full length album coming in 2020, and she’s released a project in every year since. Billed as, “an audio experience inspired by friendship and tragedy,” Kinnfolk is as unique a project as you’ll find in 2022. Chloe Hotline crafts dark and synth heavy tales of love, heartbreak, drugs, and more over production that blends pop ideas with hip-hop and R&B sonics. With thick synth lines and heavy low-end, these tracks are ready to blanket you in an ethereal sensation with the little worlds they build. And letting fans have those special experiences with the songs is a big part of why Chloe makes music. “Once it’s out it’s for the world it’s not for me anymore. It’s for the world, and that’s perfectly fine,” she told Jamie for 108 Mics. “I love that people could listen to my music and share it and it’s everywhere, that’s the goal with making music besides making myself happy. I love music. Just making other people feel comfortable with themselves or giving them someone to relate to – especially with this record.” On twitter she’s been advertising an upcoming ‘Kinnfolk DLC pack,’ so stay tuned for more.
Standout Track: La Loba
Stay tuned for more from DBA!
Radiator - Sadurn
10 tracks, 35 minutes
Released: May 6th, 2022
From: Philadelphia, PA
Genres: Folk, Indie, Americana
Recommended For Fans Of: Adrianne Lenker, Tomberlin, Deer Scout
I originally published this write-up with incorrect pronouns. The post has been updated to reflect DeGroot’s correct they/them pronouns
Genevieve DeGroot, Sadurn’s frontperson, sings tenderly about delicate moments on the band’s debut LP, Radiator. Originally a solo project for DeGroot, Sadurn has now evolved into a full four person band adding guitarist Jon Cox, drummer Amelia Swain, and bassist Tabitha Ahnert. To make the record, their first foray recording as a full band, the group threw together a makeshift studio at a cheap airbnb in the Poconos and got to work over the course of a couple weeks. The feeling of being isolated among nature in a cabin is reflected in the sound of the project, as the full band setup doesn’t stray too far from Sadurn’s singer/songwriter origins. These indie folk tracks are largely built around the vocals and acoustic guitar, with bandmates adding just enough to get the point across with their individual parts on each song. DeGroot’s lyrics feel like they’re read your thoughts, and felt your feelings for you. Their vocals reflect that too as they twist and contort to fit whatever feeling they’re trying to convey with each line. These songs aren’t necessarily sad so much as they’re reflective of change and the passing of time. Which can often go along with feelings of sadness. A perfect example being the penultimate track icepick where DeGroot sings on a rocky relationship, “your mind is like a fish net, and mine is like an icepick … sometimes it’s not enough and sometimes I think it’s perfect.” The track is followed by the official closer “←” which plays a small snippet of the instrumental from icepick in reverse, as if expressing a desire to go back. Drummer Swain mentioned to Get Alternative that, “there are a lot of comments on our music videos of people saying the songs made them cry. So that’s awesome, I love crying.”
Standout Track: icepick
Ama Gogela - Phelimuncasi
11 tracks, 54 minutes
Released: May 13th, 2022
From: Durban, South Africa
Genres: Gqom, Electronic, Dance, Hip-Hop/Rap
Recommended For Fans Of: Ecko Bazz, DJ Travella
Ama Gogela is the sophomore album from South African trio Phelimuncasi, made up of vocalists Malathon and twins Makan Nana and Khera. This project was named after a large bee known for its strength and ferociousness in their region. "We believe our music is irresistible, you can't sleep or chill while it's playing," the group said. "The same thing happens when that bee hits you hard. Once it stings you, you can't manage it, it's painful. It's like our songs - once you listen, you can't stop." The songs here do smack you in the face right out of the gate, and while I wouldn’t call it painful, there is (intentionally) clashing sound selection that can put a strain on the ears. Yet still, the tracks mesmerize the listener with a unique style that I’d never heard before this project. That style is called ‘gqom’ - a type of electronic dance music that originated from Durban in the early 2010s. Phelimuncasi are pushing themselves to the forefront as essential artists of the young genre. Their previous album released in 2020 explored all eras of qgom from its origins to its (at the time) present day sound, aptly titled 2013 - 2019. Now with Ama Gogela, they look ahead to where the genre is going. The trio delivers often filtered lyrics as they alternate between English and their local language of isiZulu, over disruptive sounds like sirens, airhorns, whistles, saw bass, and jittering samples. Production comes courtesy of a sampling of local DJs, along with South Korean producer NET GALA. Like nothing you’ve heard before, this album is intense, political, experimental, and still a party at the same time.
Standout Track: I Don’t Feel My Legs
Sincere - Hater
9 tracks, 36 minutes
Released: April 6th, 2022
From: Malmö, Sweden
Genres: Alternative, Dream Pop, Shoegaze
Recommended For Fans Of: Lunar Vacation, Slowdive, Wolf Alice
Sincere is the first new project from Swedish band Hater in three and a half years, and also their first since swapping two new members into the four-piece band. The result has been billed by the group as, “a gorgeous and dazzling piece of aching romanticism.” Hard agree. The songs on this one have a darker, heavier, and more shoegaze inspired sound than 2018’s Siesta did. It’s a sound that fits the moody vocals of lead singer Caroline Landahl like a glove. Those vocals are never aggressive, but can still cut like a knife as they clash with fuzz and reverb from the surrounding ensemble across the record. The sound is obviously indebted to 90s rock, but adds some sweet and more modern dream pop melodies to brighten things up against dark instrumentals. Though other times it’s the guitars providing the brightness with the lyrics and vocals making things darker. The music is shrouded in juxtapositions like that, just look at how the album’s title contrasts with the band’s name. Landahl touched on this idea with Nathan Whittle for Louder Than War. “I would say there’s always a push and pull between states! That’s amazing if that can be heard on the album,” she said, speaking on the record’s juxtaposition of strength and fragility. “I’m definitely a person that mixes them two quite a bit, maybe losing what’s strength and what’s fragility on the way. And listening to songs I think I like exactly that, feeling that there is more to it. Not only one state of mind.” The group has been called both, “one of the best bands in the world” (by Gorilla vs Bear) and, “your next Scandinavian indie pop obsession” (by Flood). Take a listen and hear for yourself.
Standout Track: Renew, Reject
You Of Now Pt. 1 - Léa Sen
5 tracks, 19 minutes
Released: May 20th, 2022
From: Cergy, France → London, UK
Genres: Alternative, Bedroom Pop, Indie Folk
Recommended For Fans Of: duendita, Tirzah, Erika De Casier
After some dates opening for Nilüfer Yanya’s recent UK tour, Léa Sen comes out with the first part of her debut, You Of Now Pt. 1. Sen’s played/written music since the age of 15, but only started sharing music online in 2019. Her voice and songwriting prowess quickly earned the attention of fans and London producers like Joy Orbison, Vegyn, Wu-Lu and Kwake Bass. The production of these tracks is quaint, with guitar, drum machine, and reverb filling up most of the space behind the vocals, but it’s more than enough to create the captivating atmosphere of her sound. It emphasizes the importance of every word Sen sings. The project title, and encompassing songs, refers to being present and putting major changes and pieces of the past behind. “I needed to let go of a lot of people and things,” Sen told April Clare Welsh for Crack Magazine. “I made a lot of mistakes before I moved to London and now I need to learn from them with the new people I’m meeting and the new situations I’m in.” The below track I Feel Like I’m Blue lets the beat of the electronic drums swallow the guitar a bit more than other songs on the project, and the pitched/filtered backing vocals almost give it a trip-hop feel. Sen described it to Line Of Best Fit as, “the first production I made that I felt proud of.” Keep up with Léa Sen as she prepares to release Pt. 2.
Standout Track: I Feel Like I’m Blue
A Song
Father Time (Feat. Sampha) - Kendrick Lamar
How about it? The album we waited five years for. It’s definitely a flawed album, in some ways that I wish he would have changed, but in many others that add to the project. I like what Lorde said about it in her latest newsletter: “I cannot get over the most popular and influential artist in modern music displaying a working nervous system, admitting mistakes, trying to process intergenerational trauma and prejudice.” Already given this a few listens, can’t wait to sit with it more. This has been my favorite song so far.
Side Note: mentioning an event in pop culture saying it had you “slightly confused” is just a really funny line to me. I keep imagining Kendrick describing other minor pop culture news like that.
“When T-Pain was on The Masked Singer I was slightly confused”
“When Doja Cat tweeted ‘Mike Penis’ I was slightly confused”
“When Pete Davidson got with Kim I was slightly confused”
“When Joe Gatto left Impractical Jokers I was slightly confused”
Guess I’m not mature as I think.
A Video
Unconditional I (Lookout Kid) - Arcade Fire
Between this music video, and the trailer for Jordan Peele’s new movie Nope, wacky waving inflatable tube people are having a huge moment in 2022.
I think these newsletters are going to get a bit less timely going forward, apologies in advance.