Los Angeles – Summer is winding down, but we still have something to look forward to—and that’s 5 new songs from some of our favorite artists. With new releases from Mac Demarco and one of many of Chance The Rapper’s recent collaborations making web presences, we’ve been absolutely spoiled. Whether it’s acid rap, R&B or the grimmest of synth pop, there is something for everyone. So, even if you’re still reeling about the thought of winter and hand-me-down parkas (Heyo at my fellow Los Angelenos who don’t even know what that means), while the sun is still shining, let these tracks remind you of perpetual summer.
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Soda Shop – “Keep Swimming”
New York duo Soda Shop had mastered surf rock even in their earliest demos. The duo, Maria Usbeck and Drew Driver, began recording after an instantaneous creative connection in 2011. Their upbeat airy pop overlays consistently shield an often more poignant message, which ultimately helps Soda Shop to establish a surprisingly staggering depth. “Keep Swimming”, however, is blatantly a track that aims for the self—repeating the importance of pressing on, while keeping the listener at a safe and happy distance.
Night Beds – “Corner”
Winston Yellen’s transformative project Night Beds, which started as indie folk and has since morphed into electronic R&B, continues to make use of his beginnings wisely. “Corner” is the first single off “Ivywild,” an album that is rife with break-up songs. “Corner” uses a bit of ambiguity instead, as Yellen sings, “why do you take it so far?” The track is relatable and simple lyrically, but the production utilizes electronic and instrumental elements to create an atmosphere bathed in fantasy but remains overwhelmingly real.
Chance The Rapper – “Israel (Sparring)”
Chance The Rapper (top photo), one of the most prolific acid rappers in the game, dropped a new jazz-centric freestyle featuring Noname Gypsy in the midst of his Family Matters tour. There are no frills needed on the track, because Chance has never seemed to need them. Instead, “Israel (Sparring)” plays like a freestyle or even spoken word, a simple drumbeat and twinkly synth being the only backdrop. As the song ends, both rappers hype up their words, growing louder as Noname Gypsy’s laughter takes the listener into the fade out.
Mac Demarco – “The Way You’d Love Her”
Fresh off his mini LP, Mac Demarco’s “The Way You’d Love Her” is one of many love songs included on Another One. The track is already the second most popular of his on Spotify, which has quickly gained over two million listens in the week since it premiered. In true Mac Demarco fashion, his versions of love songs are not the sappy ballads you might be thinking of. In an interview with NPR, Demarco says “The Way You’d Love Her” isn’t necessarily about a relationship but an almost one: “It’s like an innocent feeling—an innocent outlook on love and excitement.”
Melanie Martinez – “Sippy Cup”
Melanie Martinez delivers grim pop dripping in an eerie cuteness. Cry Baby is the 19-year-old’s first full-length album released via Atlantic Records. Martinez was discovered while competing on The Voice in 2012. Since being eliminated, she dropped her first EP Dollhouse and has had her songs featured on American Horror Story. The horror series is the perfect fit for Martinez’s sparse pop, “Sippy Cup” doesn’t hesitate to highlight the grotesque aspects of society: “pill diet / pill diet / if they give you a new pill then you will buy it / if they say to kill yourself then you will try it.” With her two-toned hair, delicate features and deadly black lipstick, Martinez might be the new goth pop princess.
Photo credit: Chance The Rapper by Sarah Hess – For BestNewBands.com
Dakota Smith
Follow her on twitter in case she says something funny: @LikeTheStates
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