June was an insane month for music discovery. In fact, a lot of my favorites of the year were found during this month. Summer came, I stopped writing, but I never stopped listening.
Humid hums like a blanket
The sound of your breath
In an empty room
Ok so I originally had this on my Listen Later playlist, and on one of my impulse playlist purging sprees, I removed it. About a month later, I swear I woke up and the melody was stuck in my head, went straight to Spotify in search of it and luckily, thank GOD, found it. Joe Vann conjures the imagery of a barren, wispy summer yet one filled with acute emotions. The lyrics create the feeling of a summer I've once experienced before somewhere in the past. The pull almost goes between wanting someone for company, to genuinely wanting them. Found In The Smoke is definitely one of my favorite albums released this year. It's so ethereal and distant yet feels like, I'm going to use the my forbidden (more like strictly used) music description word, nostalgic.
This song will always stand out to me besides how largely the lyrics speak to me, but specifically due to how I found it. I'm not on Youtube a lot, but I use it occasionally for background Lo-Fi or to sometimes watch a live performance of a song. I had a spur of the moment idea to choose a song from the side recommendations, add it to my listen later playlist and do just that. The title, in particular, caught my eye. From the first play, oh my. The outpour of emotions towards the end of the song, it's really a raw, vulnerable track that presents many questions of regret and a bunch of "what-ifs" that I relate to so much.
3. You Won't - TOLEDO
My absolute favorite EP of 2021 right here without a doubt. It's the perfect balance & edge of indie rock, folk, and bedroom pop. It's a really heartfelt, sentimental feeling EP that'll leave your jaw dropping and feeling like your heart got ripped out and stepped on and handed back over to you. Jockeys of Love has come to hold like a snow globe for me. The masterpiece addresses things like lack of communication in the most candid way possible, leaving common mistakes/habits exposed without excuse. Credit to Michael for introducing me to TOLEDO, I will never forget.
Most unexpected collab of 2021?? I did not see this one coming at all. Nevertheless, a spectacular collab that just works. I love Briston & Manchester Orchestra, if I didn't know who either of them was and just watched this video, I'd assume they were one band. I'd really love to see more collaborations with these two in the future. . Also, can I just mention how Briston manages to rock so many looks ??
I don't know where these two songs from Flyte were hiding, but all that matters is that I found them. I'm truly a Spotify cratedigger. A notable mention, Nick Hill and his bass guitar. I was There's something he does that just makes me want to play bass. Moon Unit conjures this classic novel vibe with its rich lyrics,
"I was waiting through the roses
Through the corners of your eyes
When you swept the constellations
The cobwebs from the sky
Like all the boys that came before me
You made spheres of dying light
And then scattered across your orbit
Like abandoned satellites"
Like, hello??? You might as well write the book while you're at it...
Motel 6 is a grasp at something that's slipping away/you already know is loss and being in that unfamiliar territory of a fresh ending or a new beginning. Songs like this give me so much comfort, in a way it's like backseating on someone else's tough experience, and most definitely not in a pedestal-placing way but more of a solitary presence. The universal feeling of fear of loneliness. 11/10 summer road trip song.
Among Horses III is an all-around great EP, Max Conover has the voice of a storyteller, along with Haley Hendrickx. the whole I found the whole Among Horses concept really interesting, definitely adds character to the EPs.
“Among Horses” is a collaborative writing and recording project. We put two musicians who barely know each other on a farm and give them seven days. Seven days to get to know each other, write an EP together, record it and maybe look after the old horses while they’re at it.
(https://soncanciones.com/en/records/among-horses/)
Revived my alternative rock phase, thanks Rhys. I've been familiar with one CSH album & a couple of songs sprinkled here and there, but I fully delved into Teens of Denial, Teens of Style, and Twin Fantasy this month and now I can wholeheartedly say, I am a Car Seat Headrest fan. I love the openness about not being open, it's the classic alt rock juxtaposition.
"I didn't want you to hear
That shake in my voice
My pain is my own"
How poetic?
I love the foreignness & dystopian feel of this song, the first line being,
The apocalypse is incoming
The palm mutes matching the franticness throughout the song.
"An empty hallway a phone ringing It goes on forever no one’s answering"
The verses mirroring liminality. The bridge & outro is crafted so well, counterattacking every other part of the song.
I know you're feeling
Like you're overmatched
Like the world's against you
Like the deck is stacked
But don't get started
You're smarter than that
You and I know we both know that
It's so visible how well thought out these lines were.
Ok, I've listened to Wolf Alice in the past, but man, Blue Weekend just made me fall in love with the band. Lead singer Ellie Roswell's voice is incomparable, she is built for the songs she writes which would obviously make sense...but still.
Moment In The Sun just screams a summer anthem right here, the vibrancy and carefreeness, not to mention the title...
I have a confession to make, before Harmony House I'd never listened to Dayglow... Now of course I've heard of them & Can I Call You Tonight (who hasn't at this point), but I never got around to listening to them on my own. Like Ivy is a chill, reflection, wind-down type of track strategically placed at the end of the album.
With so many new releases yet a ton of music from the past to discover, it can be somewhat hard to keep a good balance between what's playing. During the month of June, I felt like I did just that, kept a good balance.