Now Listening: This Week's Tracks
Lecx Stacy - “Took My Time”
Emo-folk song “Took My Time” by Lecx Stacy feels like there is an abundance of time, although it is accompanied by a video of short grainy clips of moments packed together in a way that represents how quickly everything in life goes. The acoustic sound is sweet and complex, with the beautiful chant chorus “taking time to tell you I really care.” It is a fresh perspective on how time can be for the best, rather than something to fight against. Listeners are bound to be reminded of a culmination of moments important to them fused together by the shared feeling of how strangely life moves. It is a song to listen to over and over again.
Libby Jade - “Make Boys Cry”
Libby Jade’s new single “Make Boys Cry” is a magnetizing indie pop track that brims with summer energy and well-earned confidence. It’s impressive to see how just the thought “It feels good to make boys cry,” became a catchy chorus to dance to. Although the song is fast paced and fun, there is a sense of calm as well.
A carefree feeling radiates off of Libby Jade as she enjoys herself by a swimming pool in the official music video. The visuals are fun and sweet: drawn on tears sliding down guy’s faces as Libby repeats the mantra “It feels good to make boys cry.” The Faye Webster inspired sound goes perfectly with a summer smoothie.
kid apollo - “all on me”
Smashing back out onto the music scene, “all on me” is kid apollo’s stunning return to music post their 2021 debut EP all i think about. “All on me” sits perfectly within the pocket of alternative and forward-thinking R&B, offering listeners smooth instrumentation and expressive lyricism about kid apollo’s struggles in his angsty and destructive overthinking as he talks to someone. The track is perfectly paired with a self-directed video following kid apollo on a contemplative walk as he sings directly to the camera with his emotions on full display. Offering commentary throughout of the directing process and featuring some stylistically raw and blurred transition cuts gives the video a much more personal feel, further cementing the fact that “all on me” is undeniably vulnerable in its expression of kid apollo’s self.
As for kid apollo’s own thoughts on the track, he says, ‘‘all on me’ is just me talking about how the small things can affect and influence one another when you're talking to someone. Quickly, these small things start to seem much bigger than they should be, but that’s neither person's fault. The song for us just felt like a good way of expressing this without it feeling too serious, which things way too often do." With such raw lyricism and smooth instrumentation to support, kid apollo’s sophomore EP out later this winter is sure to be a smash hit like “all on me”.
Medhanit - “Friends”
Taking a break to focus on live shows after releasing the debut single Her and follow-up single “Same Things”, Tasmanian artist Medhanit recently relocated to Brisbane and is releasing her new single “Friends” on August 18. We know that can’t be easy though, taking a step back from something you’re passionate about. However, that is a way to spark more creativity in the studio and that’s exactly what happened. Born in the African country of Ethiopia and adopted at the age of 6 months, Medhanit grew up around music. “It feels like it was inevitable; as a baby, I would nap in the sound room at my Dad’s music store, so I like to think that had something to do with my passion for music now”.
The past two years have seen Medhanit grow immensely through a handful of opportunities any young artist could only dream of. She joined Australian icons Pnau as one of their main live vocalists, resulting in her performing in front of thousands across the country at various festivals and events. After forging a relationship with Holy Holy in 2022, she joined them as a support act on some of the shows on their Australian tour and performed on their Triple J Like A Version cover of Post Malone & Swae Lee’s Sunflower.
Speaking of the whole track, Medhanit reflects, “‘Friends’ reminds me of being back in high school and being intrinsically convinced that no one has ever hurt or loved you the way you do. It’s like you have this need to suffer and soar in the most individual ways; big main character energy.”
Katie Kim - “Eraser”
Acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Katie Kim returns for her sixth full-length album Hour Of The Ox, and the hauntingly beautiful new single “Eraser”. The Dublin-based artist enters a new epoch as her new collection of music is set to be her concluding work under the Katie Kim moniker. A sonically opulent and majestic new territory, “Eraser” was written and recorded while in the process of moving to New York and subsequently mixed after returning to Ireland during the pandemic. It forms a crucial part of the album’s story of longing and desperation for something different. An incompatible, disparate but devoted view of the world, told through lush strings, an orchestra of synthesizers, and live minimalist style drums. With this arrangement it offers a different perspective of the stories that Kim will tell on her upcoming album as she pushes new boundaries with this song along with the changes that she is making in her own life.
Speaking about her new single, Kim explained - “I have a really vivid memory of writing 'Eraser' at around 2am in the morning, straight after watching All The President's Men. I'm pretty sure it's not a song directly about Watergate, but the tune and melody began tapping away at me during a scene where Robert Redford, Woodword, meets Deep Throat for the first time in a parking garage. I stayed up for a few hours fleshing it out and mostly wrote it all that night. When it came time to record it, we asked Ellie to come in and see what she thought around percussion and she really added a different dimension to the feel I think. She added an extra sneakiness and playfulness to it, which in turn adds to the feeling of covert operations in the night.”
Produced, arranged and recorded by Katie Kim and long-time collaborator John “Spud” Murphy (Black Midi / Caroline / Lankum), mood is central to the expansive musical landscape throughout Kim’s releases. Whether they be bedroom, field or studio recordings. Darkened corners, icy atmospheres and hypnotic knife edge soundscapes. Piano chords stretch to infinity through the sound waves that please the listener's ears. Cinematic in scope and tectonic in delivery, many have used her scores in documentaries, film and TV to deliver their stories, which comes to no surprise from the experienced musicality that she adds. This song, like many others, shows us the honesty in Kim’s songwriting.
Nick Wagen - “Mine”
The centerpiece of Chicago-based Indie Pop artist Nick Wagen’s new single “Mine” is a bright electric guitar accompanied by a wavy chorus that reminds of stirring summer romance. The song is an upbeat, youthful declaration of an addictive love: “You make me crazy, call you baby, call you honey, call you mine.” Wagen produces and writes all his music in his home studio, and “Mine” was completely created in his college dorm room. Following the success of his last single “Someone, Someone Real”, Wagen is preparing for the release of his second EP later this year.
Taylor Roche - “day&night”
Auckland-based Pop and R&B artist Taylor Roche describes himself as “a hopeless romantic making songs for other hopeless romantics”. His new single “day&night” is no less than heartbreak and, as the song says, “trying to find a way back” to a lost relationship. Rather than a melancholic realization of a crumbling love, “day&night” is an 80s-inspired, synth-pop track that dances through the ache; this is one for those who might similarly be coping. Roche co-wrote the song with Jake Schrodski of LA Women and it was produced by Joel Jones, a frequent collaborator.
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weekly tunes playlist has been updated! new tracks from @furtradeband, @pecqband, @garryfool & more! check it out! https://t.co/ToFU0R6YGo -
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RT @rlyblonde: @AnnieDirusso for @LunaCollective shot by me #35mm #portra800 https://t.co/0UUJSCBGcH
