New Music-Lala Lala/WHY?, Frenship/Yoke Lore, Pip Blom, Sharon Van Etten, James Blake/Travis Scott, and Toro Y Moi

January is beginning to look like a promising music discovery month. There is so much to love this week and I have to share it all with you.

If you have been following me you know I am a huge Lala Lala fan, so when Lillie West released this collaboration with WHY?‘s Yoni Wolf, I was smitten from the first few notes. It is the first song she has released since her highly praised album of 2018, The Lamb. There is something so tangled about her life and she expresses it so succinctly in her music. “Siren 042” opens with her apologizing for her awfulness. She seems to be expecting punishment or to be left alone and yet, she somehow provides a hint at needing a bit of comfort or care. The repeated guitar is a pleasing eastern asian riff adding to its catchiness despite the lyrically self deprecating tone. The video has a bit of a worrisome ending, but perhaps it is only a metaphor for the beginning of something new.

Looking at this lovely photograph of the two of them, I wonder about their relationship. It is such a tender photo and seems to clearly show they care for each other. Perhaps this is just the beginning of their work together. I hope so.

LaLa and WHY? -Siren 042

If you want to learn more about Lala Lala and her album, The Lamb check out my post…HERE.

Electropop duo, Frenship has collaborated with a fave of mine…Brooklyn’s Yoke Lore. Their song, “Wanted A Name”, has a soaring chorus that I am haunted by…

“Could you love me like you used to?

‘Cause I still need you,

I need you,

‘Cause I still need you “

Adrian Galvin of Yoke Lore explains the song,

“As we make the road our lives and we make our instincts our livelihoods, we tend to sacrifice certain romances to which we were initially drawn,” Galvin says. “This song is about how to sustain the longing after we have achieved the goal.”

Don’t we often spend time apart with someone we love and wonder if it will all be all right when we are joined again. Hopefully, you can pick up right where you left off and all is well. I love the dance vibe paired with the weight of the subject. Frenship and Yoke Lore have ended their recent tour together, and yet they are jumping right back into the music. More please!

Frenship (Featuring Yoke Lore)- Wanted A Name

Okay, this next song was released by Pip Blom at the end of last year, but I am just now finding it. So technically, it is a new song for me. I am obsessed with Pip Blom’s guitar plucks that are just a bit flat. I am a sucker for the kind of song that is just a little off-balance. The Cobain-ish sound perked up my ears and I instantly payed attention. These Amsterdam indie rockers have a post punk groove which has me smitten. A bit grungy, defiant, and their most recent EP, Paycheck, is definitely worth a listen.

Pip Blom-Come Home

Unless you have been in hiding, you will likely know that Sharon Van Etten has dropped a new album and it is incredibly good. There is so much to appreciate, but “Seventeen” is one that I can relate to. Her voice in “Seventeen” is so distinctive and becomes quite thunderous and emphatic as the song progresses. Add to that the scratchy guitars and synth exclamations which suggest that the struggle is real. Powerful stuff.

Have you ever looked back at who you were at seventeen? For me, I was chasing the wrong boys, always giggling, awkwardly tall, and even trying cigarettes because I thought it was cool and accepted. I find looking back illuminating because I recognize I have grown so much since that fragile, wonky time in my life. Back then, I was incredibly naive and so impressionable. I wanted to fit in, whatever that was? I look back and wonder why. I find it ironic that for sooo many years, I longed to be seventeen. Then it came and went in a blink, and I never want to return. I imagine this song has her looking back too, and finding the girl she once was doesn’t even compare to who she is now. Amen!

Sharon Van Etten-Seventeen

Following a series of projections in London, a billboard in Times Square, and a teaser video on his social media, multiple Grammy award-nominee and Mercury Prize winner James Blake revealed his highly anticipated fourth album, Assume Form. It was released January 18^th via Republic Records. James Blake continues to defy genre and creatively mix up his music. “Mile High” is the collaboration you didn’t know you needed. With Travis Scott it is genuine gold. Dreamy in its sound, as Blake successfully accomplishes over and over, Scott brings a freshness and a beat to keep me from meditating or dozing off. Once again, the lyrics woo me…

“The lesson’s always there
That less is always more
And in the back and forth
I’m not keeping score
Lesson’s always there
That less is always more
When you’re alone with me
You never come up short
You never come up short”

Travis Scott has recently agreed to perform for the 2019 Superbowl (in Atlanta) with Big Boi in support of Maroon 5 . Then Blake will debut his new music in Atlanta on February 18 at The Tabernacle. More and more we are becoming a bona fide music city where successful artist begin their tours. Hallelujah!

James Blake-Mile High (featuring Travis Scott and Metro Boomin’)

Toro Y Moi always brings it. He is one of the hardest working in the music business and continues to be a creative force pushing boundaries and generating sonic experiments. His newest album, Outer Peace, is no exception. All of the songs are shorter, catchier, and have a fun, hip dance vibe. In an interview with Chaz Bear he discusses that he wanted shorter songs that would play well in a car. When I think of driving, my music helps me tolerate the chore and playing “Ordinary Pleasure” would transform it to a place of sound, all the way around. Now if only I could figure out how to dance behind the wheel without crashing. Listen.

Toro Y Moi-Ordinary Pleasure

There you have it, 6 songs I can’t stop listening to….Hope you will find one or more you might love as well.