Singles Awareness Day: Songs You Should Hear
I had a pretty mellow and lovely Valentine's Day yesterday: wandered around Columbia Road Flower Market, listened to a busker perform 'No Diggity' like a 1920's jazz hit, found my way to a favorite cafe, and spent the evening chatting with one of my dearest friends and watching chick flicks. Absolutely zero complaints.
The holiday, AKA Singles Awareness Day, also reminded me of some songs I'd like to share. These individual tracks have come to my attention in various ways; in many cases, I haven't fully explored the rest of the band's repertoire (yet), but they've put the artists on my radar. So here we go.
(P.S. Some of these tracks are on my Spotify playlist, and many are standouts from Discover. Thanks, Spotify!)
Why We Love, 'Lucky One'
These guys are a bit like a really perky Ezra Furman. 'Lucky One' is an energetic piece of bubblegum pop, with elements of Belle & Sebastian and Pains of Being Pure at Heart. If you can avoid tapping your toes or bobbing your head to this, you're probably a cyborg. The band's EP comes out on March 25th via My Little Empire.
Rukhsana Merrise, 'So They Say'
A lovely little tune from her September Songs EP, 'So They Say' could easily fit on the soundtrack of a hip Sundance film. But not in a bad way; the percussive track is unique and doesn't fall neatly in any particular genre label. It's just a perfect song to listen to while sipping some tea and watching rain hit the window.
Grace Acladna, 'London'
Hard for me not to like to a song called 'London' that starts "I fell in love with a city." And, being a nerd, I like the nod to the Great Fire of London in 1666. Also, the song's just catchy.
Treetop Flyers, '31 Years'
I love Treetop Flyers, so I'm very excited about the band's new album due March 11th. '31 Years' is the album's latest single, and it just got a video. It's a departure from the band's previous brand of Laurel Canyon-esque rock, and drummer Tomer Danan says the album incorporates more of their influences, "from 70’s Nigerian psych rock/pop to jazz and a whole lot in between."
Siv Jakobsen, Martin Hviid, 'Dark'
I'll probably do a separate post on remixes at some point, but this one's just great so I have to throw it in.
Andrew Butler, 'Fiona'
And, an actual Valentine's Day single release: Andrew Butler's latest 'Fiona', from his upcoming album. It's pretty adorbs, and there are few voices as rich and lovely as Andrew's. For a blast form the past, also listen to his Folkroom Records single from forever ago (which still gets stuck in my head), 'Love Is a Record'.