Now Listening: This Week's Tracks
By Astrid Ortega & Isabella Vega
Conan Gray - “Wish You Were Sober”
The internet’s favorite home-grown artist, Conan Gray, is about to land. After posting covers on Youtube, Gray escaped the small Texas suburb where he resided, which later inspired his EP, Idle Town. This catapulted him to national success and made him a rising artist in the eyes of many industry icons, garnering 1.5 million new supporters on Instagram alone. In anticipation of his first full-length album, Kid Krow, Gray has released the single Wish You Were Sober. The song is reminiscent of his earlier single Manic in it’s dance-pop influences, yet there’s something slightly more melancholy in the wailing vocals. Between the drums and electronic beats, there’s a deeply personal song of one of Gray’s potential love interests who only decides to love him while he’s drunk. While Gray enjoys the attention, he tends to stay away from the partying atmosphere and just wants a meaningful connection with a partner in the right headspace to want him back. In this song, Gray continues to let us know that whether he’s singing to himself in his garage, with a microphone tied to a lamp, or to thousands of people in a crowd at his concerts, he remains one of the most personable and relatable pop artists of our time.
Hayley Williams - “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris”
Hayley Williams. It’s a timeless name that most of us grew up with. During the early 2010’s up until the start of this new decade, Williams was the front woman of the band Paramore, providing the rock-infused pop soundtrack to our adolescence. After a year of self discovery and exploration, Williams began the decade announcing that she will be releasing solo music, the amalgamation of time spent on herself. The album, Petals for Armor, is due out on May 8, 2020. Her newest song, Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris had lyrics teased on International Women’s Day, and has finally been released. With a lush central metaphor, the track combines a mellow indie style and William’s best metaphorical writing to date. The titular roses, lotuses, violets, and irises, are all meant to represent different women who can all coexist in a shared space without the stereotypical envy. On the track, Williams tweeted out that “flowers in a garden don’t compare themselves to each other. they simply grow alongside each other, despite each other, and in many cases because of each other.” It is Williams belief that women should do the same, and grow off of each other, something she hopes to see more of in this challenging industry. Through a natural sensibility that brings out the feminine energy in each of us and background vocals by legendary collaborators such as Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers, Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris shows that Williams creates music as healing, hoping to help water all of the wilted women out there.
Moontower - “Bury Me”
In the midst of a tragedy, Moontower is able to bring the flowers through the concrete. After the synagogue they attend, the place where one if supposed to feel as peaceful and divinely connected as humanly possible, was the target of a terrible mass-shooting, some of their creative icons took their own lives, and the world seem to go into retrograde in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, there was a massive influx of negative energy surrounding Moontower. So, as any artist did, they put pen to paper in order to expel the negativity. Their newest track, Bury Me, is the result of that cathartic process. As a proud bisexual Jewish person, Moontower uses Bury Me as a way to reclaim their own titles while expelling fear. The song reads as a note-to-self, set along to a catchy electronic beat, which is able to sufficiently highlight Moontower’s passionate and emotional vocals.
Paco Versailles - “Black and White”
“Black and White” is Paco Versailles newest single, a fun yet mesmerizing song to dance to. The duo, including Capital Cities’ Vahagni and Ryan Merchant, have created their sound by fusing Flamenco, Dance, and Pop, crowning it Dancemenco. Starting off with a Bossa Nova feel, the song takes you on a journey of birth to death and the repetitive phrases will be stuck in your head all day. Paco Versailles never fails to impress on the production of their songs, making them perfectly flow, and perfectly sound bouncy. Go check out “Black and White,” and dance around in your room, add it to a lively playlist, or share with friends!
Two Year Vacation - “Don’t Know Anybody Else”
Two Year Vacation are full of energy and even after putting out a new album and touring in 2019, the indie-pop quintet release “Don’t Know Anybody Else,” their new single that’ll be in their upcoming EP, Bedroom Rock. “Don’t Know Anybody Else” represents the band perfectly, optimistic with a touch of pop. Combining indie, disco, and calypso makes the song a warm push to brighter days. If this song makes you want to hug everyone around you or even makes you smile, go listen to Two Year Vacation’s music, you’ll find brightness there.
Johnny Goth - “Way Down Low”
Johnny Goth releases his new single, “Way Down Low,” his second single of 2020. The LA based mysterious artist is known for his dark-indie sound, really showing what the “goth” in his name sounds like. Johnny Goth’s music shows hints of gloom sonically, blending into bedroom pop sounds, creating his own unique style of it. “Way Down Low” starts off with a slow melody, followed with Johnny Goth’s vocals, sounding like a whisper against you. The melody mixed with the vocals feel like a dark dream, somewhere you’re lost.
UNKENNY VALLEYS - “SPRING”
Charming guitars and a sweet flow, “Spring” captures the listener with an array of instrumental elements. The artist notes, “I wrote "Spring" in a phase of my life when I was constantly commuting between work and home for an unsatisfying full-time job. Under immense time pressure I even feared giving up on music.” “Spring” serves a piece of advice to UNKENNY VALLEYS, centering around the idea to continue to push through to achieve his dream. The multi instrumentalist German artist has more singles to come, so stay tuned.
