Five songs you must hear this week (July 2, 2018)
1. Just Loud, “Ghost” | Episode 1 EP (Eleven Seven/Five Seven)
Recommended If You Like: A little Lenny Kravitz, maybe?
First, Just Loud is a dude, not a band. Second, he’s from New York but was raised in a strict religious environment in Virginia. (His mom was so old school that she refused to wear pants or makeup).
Third, his sound is really, really hard to categorize. It’s contemporary but has elements of 80s pop-rock stirred in. “I always say I have voices in my head where I collect sound.” There are just four tracks on this EP, but…
2. The Darcys, “Just Here with my Friends” feat. Leah Fay | Single (Arts & Crafts)
RIYL: That time you clicked with a person in a club but then ghosted them
Toronto’s Darcys are back with their first new song in two years and it features a little help from July Talk co-frontperson Leah Fay. The whole thing came out of a chat between the three about going to a club but choosing to hang out with the friends they came with instead of looking for a hookup.
How…responsible. Dammit, but this song is stuck in my head. Big crossover potential here.
3. Ben Caplan, “You’ve Arrived” | Old Stock (Rhyme and Reason Records)
RIYL: Tom Waits but without the gravel
Ben grew up in Hamilton but now plies his trade as a folk music in Halifax, sometimes performing with his band The Casual Smokers.
The songs from Old Stock were originally found in a musical play called Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story which won some awards and ended up with an off-Broadway run earlier this year.
Do not be surprised if you hear stories about Ben finding some international success.
4. Wallows, “Pictures of Girls” | Spring EP (Atlantic)
RIYL: If New Order decided to be a pop-rock band
There’s a British feel to this trio from LA fronted by Dylan Gomez. Yes, the same guy who played Clay in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why.
You also might remember him from a bunch of other TV shows and movies including Lost (he played young Dave Shepherd in four episodes), Grey’s Anatomy (he was a little boy with no ears and no money for reconstructive surgery) and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
And that doesn’t even begin to scratch his resume. He’s only 21, too. And how are we feeling about how we’ve spent our lives?
5. Dan Mangan, “Troubled Mind” | Single (Madic Records)
RIYL: Songs about the difficulty of holding it together day after day
Dan Mangan isn’t really known for releasing danceable songs, but he’s done it this time. Take a look at this video featuring all sorts of vintage video and feel free to send Dan a picture of your flaming head (DM’s on Twitter are preferred.) He finds this all very, very funny, especially the people who send stuff featuring their dogs and cats.
This track will appear on Dan’s fifth album, but he’s not saying when that will come out.
Source: 915thebeat.com | by Alan Cross
