dear listeners,
Whenever I put together one of these monthly compilations of “songs you need to hear now,” culled from their weekly new music playlists, my mind jumps to… “Now that’s what I call music!” Line. Do you remember those groups? I suspect you do, because a quick scan of the series’ impressively long Wikipedia page tells me that they were released worldwide, and that they started in the UK in 1983. 1983! The “Now” albums didn’t hit the US until 1998, but to my surprise they were still being released, even if the evolution towards airplay meant they dropped off the album charts. However, they insist. “Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 86” was released just a few months ago.
Is today’s playlist a kind of “Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 87”? Well, no. I don’t think I can call it that law, and most of these artists – like an indie rock band BalihoundCanadian country singer Coulter Wall and the Detroit Hard Rock Association gunman – They are too few to make a compilation like this. But it also means that you’re probably about to get stuck in the least One artist you’ve never heard of. Now that’s what I call sexy.
Listen on Spotify as you read.
1. Palehound: “Independence Day”
I almost put this song on my Fourth of July barbecue playlist, but decided it wasn’t festive enough to fit in the canon: I wasn’t sure anyone would want to hear a heartbreaking indie-rock song about an Independence Day breakup while grilling burgers, No matter how wonderfully written it is. But, sure enough, this song was excellently written by Palehound leader, El Kempner. “Sparkler in my throat, can we get it all back,” Kempner sings over a guitar that sways like loose change. “Join the neighbors and go dancing with a rocket and a six-piece?” (Listen on YouTube)
2. Faye Webster: “But Not a Kiss”
I’ll admit I didn’t give Atlanta singer-songwriter Fay Webster’s 2021 album, “I Know I’m Funny Haha,” a fair shake for a pretty trivial reason: The first song I heard from him, “A Dream With a Baseball Player,” is an ode to Braves player Ronald Acuna Jr. and as a team fan. New York Mets, I have to remain in denial about how good Acuña Jr.. (Ho So good. It’s annoying!) I love the push-pull rhythms of Webster’s latest single, “But Not a Kiss,” and the way the whole thing feels like a strange, perpetual dream. Every time Webster acknowledges a feeling, she — and the song itself — abruptly recoils: “I want to see you in my dreams,” she sings, “but then I forget.” (Listen on YouTube)