It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these — for which I think the artists who have been patiently waiting! Turns out the beginning of July is an important time for many countries across the Americas — this playlist features songs about Canada Day and the ongoing unrest in Venezuela. There’s also a lot of excellent slow-tempo indie rock on here. I divided the songs between Spotify and Soundcloud because using Spotify is just 500,000 times easier for me. First, the Spotify songs!
1. Pekoe Cat — “Northern Light” was released on the 150th Canada Day and commemorates the struggle of First Nations people in Canada. You may be interested to know that this year, Canadian police forces removed First Nations protestors from the capital even as Justin Trudeau gave a speech about respecting First Nations people. Just goes to show that even though a world leader is a Hotty McHotty who stages candid photos to make himself seem cool doesn’t mean he isn’t a white supremacist invested in upholding oppressive politco-economic structures like the rest of them!
2. Sophie Coran — “Jimmy” is a beautiful, jazzy ode to Coran’s colleague in the world’s most thankless industry: food service.
3. Darcy Malone & the Tangle — “Time To Be Free” is a dazzling opening salvo from New Orleans funk band, helmed by the daughter of Dave Malone (The Radiators) and has taken up her birthright with pizzazz. The band listed Cowboy Mouth as an influence which of course caught my attention, as the name of this blog comes from one of their songs. But if you don’t love 90s frat rock, have no fear — Malone and the Tangle are much more New Orleans than new.
4. Sofia B — “We Are Listening Venezuela” was released on July 5th, Venezuela’s Independence Day. Though the song was completed in 2014, it feels especially relevant now as Venezuela is rocked by unrest.
5. Hetton — “Nos Da” means “Goodnight” in Welsh. Hetton’s song is a powerful chamber pop piece that combines centuries of British music into a lush heartbreaker.
6. Matt Henry — The London Kinky Boots star released a stirring cover of “Love Is a Battlefield” in honor of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando. Pat Benatar would be proud.
7. Night Click — “The Drugstore Ceiling” captures that 70s Laurel Canyon sound with a late-stage capitalist-era rictus smirk of irony. Try it!
8. Cold Casper — “Mize” is a sweet song that balances the tension between feeling horrible about the outside world and being content with your own lot. “Mize” finds middle ground and it sounds pretty great.
9. Ethica — Dutch shoegaze band Ethica captures the resigned warmth of the 90s in “Ever Even.”
10. Jacob Quint — “She’s Gone” captures the best of 80s new wave with the warmth of heartland rock. It’s a curious combination but trust me — it works.