It’s the time of year when the second thing people do after getting in the car is roll down the windows and turn up the stereo. Might these five new songs require some extra volume?
1. Beabadoobee, Talk
Beatopia (Dirty Hit)
Recommended If You Like: Carefree alt-pop
I just like saying “Beabadoobee.” If there’s a more fun name in music right now, I can’t think of it. If you’re not up on her yet, Beatrice Laus is the Philippines-born London-based singer/guitarist who has become something of a streaming sensation over the last year. Her second album (probounced Bay-A-Toe-Pee-Uh, by the way, and is due July 15) digs into what she went through when she was seven.
Euphoria, Deep Calls Out (Album Mix)
Deep Calls Out (Remixes)
RIYL: Studio wizardry
Euphoria is the project of Toronto musician Ken Ramm, a one-time composer for daytime TV (he was nominated for an Emmy for a song he wrote for Lauryn Hill’s character on As the World Turns), a musical contributor to various movies, prime time network shows, an HBO series, and a guy who knows his way around a recording studio. This EP features six different versions of a song that lends itself to different interpretations.
3. Suede, She Still Leads Me On
Autofiction (BMG)
RIYL: The glammy pre-Britpop days
Most of their contemporaries are long gone, but Suede (The London Suede to Americans thanks to a copyright infringement situation) is still with his. Their ninth studio album will be here on September 16 and promises a return to the band’s early days. They call it their “punk record. No whistles and bells.” Here’s our first taste.
4. Miesha and The Spanks, Dig Me Out
Song You Must Hear (Independent)
RIYL: Reconciliation
When news of all the gravesites found at residential schools started to break, Meisha Louie, singer for Meisha and The Spanks and a mixed-Secwépemc artist living in Treaty 7 Territory in Alberta, was outraged for an extra-special reason: Her grandmother was a survivor of T’kemlups Residential School, a place where 215 bodies were found. A year later, this song has appeared. All sales on Bandcamp will be donated to the Indian Residential School Survivor Society.
5. Fontaines D.C., Roman Holiday
Skinty Fia (Partisan Records)
RIYL: Dublin
As far as I’m concerned, this is the best new band to come out of Ireland since…what, The Cranberries? Since their formation in 2017, they’ve released three excellent albums and just keep getting better and better. This is the latest single from their last record which appeared last month. It’s been on high rotation in my car ever since.