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  • Your Weekend Playlist: New Music To Listen To This Friday

    Your Weekend Playlist: New Music To Listen To This Friday

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    How are we halfway through June already? It actually seems illegal how fast the summer passes by, there’s so much I want to accomplish in no time whatsoever. But enough about me, the main point here is that we’re looking at the weekend once again.


    Whether this was the best or worst week of your life, there’s one thing we can all agree on: music will help any situation. Yes, there’s a song out there that will make you forget about everything else in life while it’s playing…you just have to find it.

    And you may be wondering: yeah, but why do you care? Well, dear reader, you’ve actually stumbled upon the place for new music released today. Every Friday, hundreds of new songs are released…and sure, you can comb through every New Music Friday playlist curated on your Spotify or Apple Music. But wouldn’t it be easier if one place made a playlist with the best-of-the-best on it?

    Yes. It would. And that’s why we’re all here: I make a weekly playlist with the best new songs released so you don’t have to do all that aimless searching and listening on your own. It’s okay to be lazy when you’re listening to my Weekend Playlists!

    This week, we have a bunch of fresh new tracks that can easily get you through the weekend. Without further ado, let’s get listening!

    R3HAB, Don Diablo, NEEKA- “Disco Marathon” 

    Welcome back to the 70’s…because it’s a disco summer! The EDM/house world is fully leaning into the club disco track, which is why R3HAB, Don Diablo, and NEEKA teamed up for “Disco Marathon.” If you want a feel good track that gets you and your friends dancing, this is a great start to your playlist.

    “Disco Marathon” is captivating from the very start- a sonic shift for both R3HAB and Don Diablo that blends their sounds perfectly.

    Ashton Irwin- “Straight To Your Heart” 

    We recently got the chance to sit down with Ashton ahead of his sophomore solo album release, Blood on the Drums. After speaking a bit about “Straight To Your Heart” I learned that Ashton was really inspired by the bands of the 80’s who leaned heavily into synths. Now, as he releases the first part of Blood on the Drums, “Straight To Your Heart” is here for the world.

    It’s a testament to his prowess as a songwriter and singer, a multi-instrumentalist who has years’ experience under his belt. “Straight To Your Heart” is pure fun all the way through.

    Jelly Roll- “I Am Not Okay” 

    Just in time for Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, Jelly Roll releases “I Am Not Okay”- an introspective track about needing help but not wanting to talk about it. With lyrics like “I woke up today/I almost stayed in bed/Had the devil on my back”, it’s a prevalent reminder that although we all have our dark moments, have have to keep going.

    Jelly Roll has been a longtime advocate for mental health awareness through his music, and his mission continues by spreading the word in “I Am Not Okay.”

    Benjamin Ingrosso- “Look Who’s Laughing Now”

    Benjamin Ingrosso’s vocal ability shines through in his new single, “Look Who’s Laughing Now.” The song almost was made for live performances, with big sounds building to a crescendo throughout the entire song. It’s an easy listen, both uplifting and confident all in one. Ingrosso says,

    Look who’s laughing now is about announcing to yourself and the world you can be whoever you want to be in all of your imperfections and still have the best time of your life and come out winning.”

    Tove Lo, SG Lewis- “HEAT”

    What makes a collaboration successful is the ability for both artists to blend their sounds in a way that makes sense, that makes people want to hear more from them. It doesn’t work every time, but with Tove Lo and SG Lewis, the four tracks that make their EP, HEAT, it works tremendously. The energy is palpable throughout each and every song, and you never want it to end.

    The four tracks- title track “HEAT”, “Let me go OH OH”, “Busy Girl”, and “Desire”- are equally exciting across the board. They find a way to combine sex appeal with synths and bass, and then you add in Tove Lo’s crooning vocals and you have yourself a hit collection of songs.

    Listen to our playlist on Spotify! 

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    Jai Phillips

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  • Melanie Martinez No Longer Needs The Weirding Module At Toyota Center

    Melanie Martinez No Longer Needs The Weirding Module At Toyota Center

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    Melanie Martinez
    Toyota Center
    May 22, 2024

    No matter how much you think you’re paying attention to musical and cultural trends, some shit is going to make it past you without you ever realizing it. Even your trusty reviewer — who attends dozens of shows a year, reads Stereogum, and has teenage kids to constantly prod him about his relative ignorance — even he has a few blind spots.

    When my niece asked if I could take her to the Melanie Martinez show, I wasn’t completely in the dark (I knew the name). Nevertheless, I hadn’t listened to any of her music. The months between my niece’s request and last night’s Toyota Center show, in theory, afforded me the opportunity to do a deep dive into Martinez’s catalog.

    Narrator: he did not, in fact, do a deep dive into Martinez’s catalog.

    The good news, a thorough retrospective isn’t necessary. Martinez has three albums (2015’s Cry Baby, 2019’s K-12 and 2023’s Portals), and performed them all in (mostly) their entirety last night. What’s better, the Portals Tour showcased her growth as a songwriter and storyteller as well as the pervasive weirdness of her live shows.

    Martinez took the stage well before the announced set time; like, 30 minutes before. There were a lot of frantic people in tutus and tiaras rushing into place as the first chords of “Cry Baby” rang out. Martinez performed the first few songs from an elevated perch upstage, which obscured her somewhat from those with a side view seat (*cough*). Soon enough, she joined her dancers on the main platform, often backed up by fireballs and fireworks.

    Cry Baby’s songs are reminiscent of Dresden Dolls by way of Tove Lo. “Carousel” was a particular highlight, both for the synchronization of the effects behind Martinez and the harder edge provided by the live musicians. It was almost enough to forget the rabbit-headed dancers who horrified us earlier.

    The K-12 set was next, kicked off by “Wheels on the Bus,” Martinez’s tribute to public school transportation (with all the horror that entails). Meanwhile, “Teachers Pet” is a rather … lascivious number (prone pelvic thrusts never go out of style it would seem), and the profane candy hearts (“Die Slow,” “STFU”) during “High School Sweethearts” were a nice touch.

    click to enlarge

    The power of interpretive dance.

    Photo by Jennifer Lake Reister

    Martinez also didn’t shy away from politics, running a series of messages saying “End the Genocide,” “Free Palestine,” and “Fuck Colonialism,” among others, to an instrumental rendition of “The Principal.” These were popular sentiments, judging by the audience reaction. Kids: be sure to check your dad’s X/Twitter feeds to make sure they weren’t too triggered.

    The show’s final third was given over to Portals, and if we’re being honest, it’s the strongest of her releases to date. It chronicles the evolution of the character of Cry Baby to the Creature — a transformation marked by a shift from schoolgirl-ish uniforms to a more faerie look — complete with four-eyed “Nymph” mask, as well as an evolution to more complex song arrangements. The new stuff is complex and occasionally weird, but Martinez is clearly more confident in the material.

    She’s not a very chatty performer. Martinez did take a minute to single out her backup dancers, who shouldered the admittedly self-indulgent show demands with aplomb. She also thanked us for being amazing, etc. after “EVIL,” which is quite the bop itself, a penultimate song that highlighted her rapport with the dancers and the band.

    The show closed out with “WOMB,” which was prefaced by a nihilistic take on human existence that wouldn’t have sounded out of place coming out of Rust Cohle’s mouth in Season 1 of True Detective.

    Or maybe it’s closer to Dune’s Paul Atreides (’80s version, not Timothee): Melanie Martinez has blossomed into a songwriter and performer who no longer requires the gimmickry of faerie masks, whether or not she chooses to employ them. Lyrically and technically, she’s got nowhere to go but up, as evidenced by what can only be viewed as her own personal Eras tour.

    Personal Bias: I think we covered this.

    The Crowd: Teenage emos and the fathers who sort of indulge them.

    Overheard In The Crowd: “This shit is gonna give me nightmares.”

    Ask A 14-Year Old Niece:
    ME: What’s with the rabbit stuff?
    14-YON: Beats me.

    SET LIST

    CRY BABY
    Cry Baby
    Dollhouse
    Sippy Cup
    Carousel
    Alphabet Boy
    Soap
    Pity Party
    Play Date
    Mad Hatter

    K-12
    Wheels on the Bus
    Class Fight/The Principal
    Show & Tell
    Nurse’s Office
    Strawberry Shortcake
    Lunchbox Friends
    Teacher’s Pet
    High School Sweethearts

    PORTALS
    DEATH
    VOID
    TUNNEL VISION
    FAERIE SOIRÉE
    LIGHT SHOWER
    SPIDER WEB
    BATTLE OF THE LARYNX
    THE CONTORTIONIST
    NYMPHOLOGY
    AMULET
    EVIL
    WOMB

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    Pete Vonder Haar

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  • Pop-music outlier Melanie Martinez headlines Orlando’s Kia Center

    Pop-music outlier Melanie Martinez headlines Orlando’s Kia Center

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    Photo courtesy Melanie Martinez/Facebook

    Melanie Martinez plays the Kia Center in Orlando

    While Melanie Martinez’s whims and presentation sometimes make me burst into laughter, you gotta give big credit to anyone trying to tilt the pop landscape to the left. The fact that Martinez is both mainstream-huge and fucking weird as shit makes her a special kind of cool. Her sound is modern and accessible, but everything behind it is arty to the point of absurdity.

    This bill is loaded with opening acts worth seeing on their own. With a melodic instinct that rivals Alvvays, Chicago’s Beach Bunny are seriously one of today’s best indie-rock bands. Rounding out the lineup are buzzing Montreal indie-pop band Men I Trust and new L.A. alt-pop artist Sofia Isella.

    6 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, Kia Center, $75-$125.


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    Bao Le-Huu

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