As the leaves begin to change, so does my music rotation. Here are 10 songs I’ve been particularly drawn to as we inch closer to the equinox. Maybe they’ll land in some of your playlists too?
“Still” – Kenny Beats
Kenny Beats is slowly becoming one of my favorite modern producers in hip-hop and pop music and his most recent album “Louie” is a core reason why. At first glance it’s nothing more than just another instrumental hip-hop album or “beat-tape,” though it goes much deeper than that. “Louie” is actually a tribute record to Kenny’s late father and expresses his overall love and admiration towards him and his family as a whole through these blissful and inviting beats. “Still” is easily a standout with an infectious choir-like refrain and vocal appearances from JPEGMAFIA and Omar Apollo.
“Loading” – James Blake
This song has been on repeat for me since it dropped a little over a month ago and has single-handedly made James Blake’s upcoming album “Playing Robots into Heaven” my most anticipated album for the rest of the year. “Loading” is a culmination of all of Blake’s work up to this point. While the droning ambience of the instrumental is reminiscent of his early electronic music, the enthralling, despondent vocal melodies mimic his more recent electro-pop output. Blake has said this new album will be a callback to his early work and with a single like this, I can’t wait to hear the rest of it.
“Over There” – The Japanese House
Call me basic but I only heard of this song after Travis Scott sampled it. But now it’s probably one of my favorite indie songs of the year. “Over There” offers a light, tranquil instrumental and soothing vocals from frontwoman Amber Bain. If you’re a fan of acts like The 1975 or Wolf Alice, I guarantee you’ll love this.
“Come Back to Earth” – Mac Miller
Mac Miller’s “Swimming” just turned 5 years old last month so naturally it’s made its way back into my rotation. The intro track “Come Back to Earth” has always been a highlight for me. As it hooks you right into the themes and tone of the album with some of Miller’s best lyrics of his entire career. It only makes me wish he was still here to listen back with us.
“Mystery” – Turnstile
Turnstile is a band I’ve become enamored with ever since they released their third studio album “Glow On” back in 2021. The album opens with the perfect tone-setter, “Mystery.” The track begins with a subtle, dreamlike synth-line, warbling all over the place until brash and bright guitars come crashing in. What Turnstile succeeds at on this song and for most of this album is that they’re able to blur genre lines between punk and hardcore as well as synth and dream pop. And let me tell you it’s one of the most fun and invigorating albums from this decade so far.
“FaceTime” – billy woods, Kenny Segal & Samuel T. Herring
This past May, rapper billy woods and producer Kenny Segal released underground hip-hop’s equivalent to Tyler, the Creator’s “Call Me If You Get Lost.” “Maps” is interwoven with themes of traveling, living large, but also the anxieties that come with that. It’s also soundtracked perfectly by Segal’s classy yet abstract production. “FaceTime” comes in around the midpoint of the record and, like the title implies, is about not seeing someone for a long time while you’re on the road so you inevitably have to FaceTime. Some of woods’ best bars on the entire project turn up here but the crown jewel of this song has to be the infectious chorus performed by Adult Swim song singer Samuel T. Herring.
“Empire Ants” – Gorillaz & Little Dragon
The centerpiece of Gorillaz’ opus of an album “Plastic Beach” is the two-part suite of “Empire Ants.” Drawing you in with a lullaby-esque first part with a gorgeous vocal performance by Damon Albarn, it slowly becomes a rave, synth-heavy dancehall type track with a guest appearance from Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon. The best way I could describe it is that if you could hear ‘euphoria’ it would sound like this.
“Voyager” – Daft Punk
One of my favorite instrumentals from Daft Punk’s EDM masterpiece “Discovery.” I would even say this is one of the more underrated songs, falling in the latter half of the tracklist. But the sheer amount of grooves and beat shifts on this track is enough to get you hyped up at any time of the day.
“You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton
As I’ve learned to give more country music a chance, I finally spun Chris Stapleton’s album “Starting Over” and was astounded by how much I liked it. “You Should Probably Leave” wears a lot of lyrical clichés on its sleeve but they’re executed in such a perfect and smooth way that it easily turns into one of the catchiest songs on the entire record. Stapleton even takes some tricks from blues rock and soul in his guitar playing and adds that little bit of flavor it needs. Chris is really on the cutting edge of country right now and I can’t wait to hear what he has next for us.
“Hold the Girl” – Rina Sawayama
Turning a year old this month, Rina Sawayama’s “Hold the Girl” will always remind me of fall. Channeling her inner Lady Gaga, Rina mixes everything from chamber-pop to hyperpop on this song and gives us one of the most inspiring and motivating bangers of recent times in pop music. She’s definitely one to watch…or should I say hold?
