Now Listening: This Week's Tracks

Music

Oct 17

By STEPH DUNLOP, SAHAR GHADIRIAN, & JOEY POVINELLI

MARTIN LUKE BROWN - “grateful”

English singer-songwriter and producer Martin Luke Brown returns with his latest track “grateful,” a breezy and infectious tribute to living. With a West Coast inspired sound, the vibrant indie pop song comes as the sophomore single from his upcoming debut album.

Confessional and cathartic, Brown is introspective in his lyrics as he reveals, “the more that i know, the less i think i know.” The singer creates a world that is both relatable and completely unique to him and the people in his life as he shares the complexities of everyday life. The cheerful beat is both calming and exciting as he reassures listeners “it doesn't have to be painful, I wanna tell you I'm grateful.” Despite hardships, Brown wants us to know that we should always give life another go.

j.paul - “summerforever”

Cling on to the final whispers of the sunshine and summer days through j.paul’s latest track “summerforever.” There’s nothing better than a song that feels like daylight but explores the darkness with its lyrics. The glistening guitar intro doesn’t prepare you for the piercing first lyrics “I’ll die someday I hope it’s summer when I fade away.”

On the cover artwork of his single, j.paul presents “in Kodak Color Film and stereo sound: summerforever.” The track is full of melancholic musings that reflect an era of indie pop that we often forget about, with sounds that defined an era, such as Swim Deep. The vocals have their own edge with what feels like pop punk. “summerforever” is a sweet and wistful escape.

Cosmic Crooner - “Tema di Filippo”

Cosmic Crooner’s “Tema di Filippo” is music for staring into shadowed eyes over melting ice in a windowless lounge. True to his name, vocals croon like he’s under a spotlight when the bartender just offered last call. His lyrics have witty juxtapositions like “funeral parade/twilight serenade.” The sound and sensibility recall Arctic Monkey’s Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino and the burnt-out lounge records that influenced it. The video is fittingly minimal, finding the Crooner lost in a monochrome midcentury hallway. He breaks out as strings and a spaghetti western-esque organ waltz the song to its conclusion.

Monad - “Intuition (at Whitewood)”

Monad, the dream-pop project of Tel-Aviv based artist/producer, Eschar Nachmany, creates a psychedelic/shoegaze trip on “Intuition (at Whitewood).” A definitive headphone listen with dueling guitars on both sides that builds in complexity through its runtime. A timeless sound incorporating shoegaze and the reliable fuzz of 60s experimental freakouts like Vanilla Fudge.

As witch his other upcoming singles, Nachmany recorded and filmed live as part of a studio session in Whitewood Studios, Liverpool, while on Monad’s tour in the UK for his debut. Nachmany comments on the song, “Recording and releasing these songs as a batch of live studio versions is us trying to walk the line between the tight studio environment and the visceral live motion that is being on stage, trying to balance noise and melody, the analog and the digital.”

Ricky Gourmet - “t9urline”

On “t9urline”, Ricky Gourmet, a project from Ratt (the guitarist of DAISY WORLD, who’s featured), creates a sunny R&B throwback with modern touches. Clean keys reminiscent of The Neptunes exist side by side with up-pitched backing vocals and funky bass. Sounds like it came out of LA studio in the 90s. “t9urline” has an intro and interlude featuring an applauding audience, and the atmosphere feels famous and sleek. Daisy gets her own shoutout intro before launching into a soulful verse. Her vocals play off of Gourmet’s in an instantly memorable chorus. The perfect song to fall in love with the top down as the sun sets on the 101.

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