I’m homesick, but not in the usual way. Instead, I’m sick of being stuck at home. In retrospect, that perhaps that affected my judgement when picking songs for this week’s list. Read on and you’ll see what I mean.
1. Tania Joy, Blink
Single (Independent)
RIYL: Trip-hoppy soul
Tania first got some attention back in 2013 with an EP entitled I’ll Be Around but hadn’t done much more until the pandemic gave her some quiet time to make more music. Two singles, Planks and Marietta and The Drought appeared earlier this year. Now she’s released another song that will also appear on an upcoming release later this year. Very film noir, this.
2. K.Flay, Four Letter Words
Inside Voices EP (Frontside)
RIYL: COVID-related desperation
After guesting on a number of songs by artists like Tom Morello, grandson, X Ambassadors, and Arkells, K.Flay (real name: Kristen Flaherty) returns with a single that begins with the line “I drank a litre of tequila in my bedroom.” That doesn’t bode well. Both Morello and Travis Barker of blink-182 will appear on the EP
3. The Hunna, Bad Place
Single (300)
RIYL: Songs about being in a bad place
If you’ve been knocked out by the coronavirus lockdowns, you’ll be able to identify with this song from Britain’s The Hunna. The band is using the song to help people with COVID-related mental health issues. The band’s Ryan Potter says “I’ve had messages with fans talking about how they’re feeling & struggling with everything. This song represents that mental battle of being in a bad loop & trying to find a way out of it. Hopefully for our fans and anyone else listening/watching they won’t feel as uncomfortable to speak up as I once did.”
4. CHVRCHES, He Said She Said
Single (Glassnote)
RIYL: Songs made under COVID circumstances
Like everything else on this list, this song was recorded remotely thanks to COVID. In this case, band members were stuck on either side of the Atlantic. This comes almost three years after the last CHVRCHES album, Love is Dead, and will be part a fourth record sometime later this year.
5. Gary Numan, Intruder
Intruder (Warner)
Recommended If You Like: 80s industrial
Yes, this is the guy who had a major hit with Cars and Are “Friends” Electric? back in the late 70s and early 80s. He’s maintained a career with a rabid cult following all these years. Ask Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl, or Jack White what they think of Numan and they’ll go on forever. Intruder will be his nineteenth solo album and twenty-first overall.