Weather’s cooling down and the music scene is heating up as we enter October. Check out some of our favorite tracks from the last few weeks!
Emeli Sandé – Love to Help (GROOVY)
This is definitely a feel-good song! The soothing guitar lick and soft vocals immediately draw you in. That, along with the harmonies and its groovy beat makes you wanna kick back and forget your worries for a moment. If you don‘t know Emeli Sandé, you‘d better get into her music soon – your playlist will be blessed because of it!

The Growlers – Pulp of Youth (BEACHY NOSTALGIA)
Over the last couple of months, The Growlers have dropped three singles in anticipation of their new album. After what can only be described as a holy trinity of romantically dissonant cuts that leaves you gasping for air, their latest single, “Pulp of Youth,” falls short of the mark. Compared to their earlier singles, “Pulp of Youth” is mundane, easy listening. Though the track embodies stylistic elements that can only spawn from The Growlers, it quickly becomes tiresome and would have more promise as a buffer song on an album rather than a stand-alone track.

By Gracie Engel

MIKE – *storm & the calm (EXPERIMENTAL)
MIKE returns with a song that slots itself perfectly into his eclectic and experimental discography. For those of you familiar with the New Jersey-born, London-raised, Bronx-based emcee, this track is nothing out of the ordinary, which is definitely not a bad thing if you count yourself as a fan. MIKE delivers his trademark introspective bars over some typical MIKE production. It’s just a chopped sample, pitch-shifted and laid down bare behind MIKE’s slow, deliberate delivery. Short, sweet, and to the point. Overall, a great track.
By Griffin Frechette

V9 – Mad About Bars – S4-E23 PT 2 (HARD DRILL)
British drill artist V9 released his Mad About Bars session as an EP, and for fans of drill or trap-influenced hip hop this is a must-listen. The second part of the live performance, titled “PT 2,” is plain and simple one of the hardest drill tracks I’ve heard in a while. V9 utilizes the typical British grime flow to come through with some pretty clever quotables (ex. “Fly out the car like Rob Van Dam”). The beat is generic in the sense that it follows the recognizable tropes of a British grime beat to the letter, but at the same time it is undeniably infectious and matches V9’s grim tone perfectly. Give this a listen if you’re a fan of British hip hop or trap in general, you probably won’t be disappointed.
By Griffin Frechette

Electric Light Orchestra – From Out of Nowhere (CLASSIC ELO)
ELO brings their classic sound to the lead single from their upcoming album, also titled From Out Of Nowhere. Nearly 50 years after the release of their first album, Jeff Lynne and Co. are still bringing the same classic progressive rock sound they have provided fans with for years. This song contains the same fantastic vocal harmonies and riffs as some of their classics, and really sounds like it belongs in the prime years of the ELO catalog.
By Donnie Hanway

Black Pumas – Eleanor Rigby (FUNK & SOUL)
One of the breakout groups of 2019’s latter half, Black Pumas delivers a fresh take onto this classic song. The band brings a whole lot of funk and soul, enough to pay tribute to the heyday of soul but not sound like a copy and paste of any of the greats. Anyone who enjoys the original version would be inclined to give this song from an up and coming a listen or two.
By Donnie Hanway

DIIV – Blankenship (WORLD ANGST)
DIIV returns with their third single off of their upcoming record, Deceiver. Heavy with anti-capitalistic themes, the lyrics of the song demonstrate the band’s growing frustration with those who buy into and lead society’s destruction of the earth we inhabit. This frustration is reflected through the groovy-yet-eerie sounding bassline that kicks the song off and the two blaring sections of distorted, Sonic Youth-esque guitars that bookend the song.
By Jeffrey Pollman

Arse – Who Comes Next? (INVINCIBLE PUNK)
The Australian punk outfit, Arse, will make your ears bleed (in the good way) with this new song. The chaotic energy is provided by the instantaneous drums that don’t allow a second to pass before you realize you have lost full control of your body. The repetitive guitar lines keep your head on straight as you are slapped by the vocals that demand to know, “WHO COMES NEXT!” The song eventually slows down to a tempo that allows the band and listener to catch their breath while also allowing riffs from a saxophone to sound out as you question your life’s purpose after hearing the destruction that just occurred. Listen with caution, this song WILL make you feel invincible.
By Jeffrey Pollman

Caroline Polachek – So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings (80S DREAM)
Caroline Polachek just keeps releasing great singles in anticipation of her second studio album, Pang. Her newest is a melodic masterpiece, evoking ’80s era Fleetwood Mac with a modern, art-pop twist. The earworm background vocal melody and bubbly production make this an absolutely airtight single, and only serves to build anticipation for her upcoming LP.
By Jacob Luebbert

Boards of Canada – XYZ (FUTURE JUICE)
Boards of Canada releases are few and far between. That’s why the unveiling of their previously locked away track, “XYZ,” is such a big deal. Recorded during a BBC Radio 1 Peel Session, “XYZ” features the glitchy, cinematic electronic sound Boards of Canada is known for. It’s a welcome treat for starving fans.
By Jacob Luebbert

Abhi the Nomad – Tell Me Nothing (MELODIC RAP)
“Tell Me Nothing” is a song that you will not be able to resist dancing to on your way home for the next week. It’s one of several straight-up slammin’ tracks off Abhi the Nomad’s new album, Modern Trash, and is a prime embodiment of his loose and fun sound. Abhi’s tightly rapped lyrics lay over a groovy backing track that’s beachy and yet undeniably forward-thinking. If you manage to focus enough attention on the lyrics you’ll hear yet another of Abhi’s philosophical inquiry into his life and childhood – a reflection that exemplifies the best of what music can be in the globalized age.
By Lily Kraxberger

Girl Band – Going Norway (PUNK)
Girl Band, Dublin’s premiere post-punkers, are back in full force with their first LP in four years. Going Norway, one of the record’s lead singles, is one of the most relentless but dynamic cuts from the album.
By Will Styron