Stream: These Days. I Don't Know - Goss

These Days. I Don’t Know is the new single from Danish alt-pop musician Goss and it follows in the wake of previous hits I Want To Know????? and Soo Bad.

There is an interesting collision at play on this new track from Goss. The artist himself has commented on this, but it feels both urgent and lackadaisical, rapid yet laid back, introspective yet publicly so. The production work here seems to weave its way around Goss’ bruised vocal performance, a little like everything is suspended in mid-air. A moment captured and preserved. That outro is just so perfect too.

Describing the track Goss says:

"Lyrically I am inspired by this new scene of poets writing about the internet, digital currencies, software, etc. I always felt the internet was an unpoetic place but I think this new wave of poets are making the complexity of the digital world beautiful. On the production side I wanted the track to have a certain pace but at the same time have it feeling somewhat laid back. I love when a production give a feeling of both being fast and slow at the same time. Both melancholic and optimistic, complicated and simple.”

Check out These Days. I Don’t Know below:

Stream: Ultimatum - Christina CF

Christina CF is an Oakville, Ontario based musician and Ultimatum is her first public release, and is suitably packed full of vulnerability.

Ultimatum was created entirely by Christina - written, played, recorded, mixed and mastered - and it represents an impressively sophisticated sounding piece of pop music.

There is a certain courage here, both in Christina’s determination and self-motivation, and in the lyrics of the song itself. As she pleads her love to give her an ultimatum, you can sense her desire to be heard - not just by the song’s subject, but also by you as the listener. This is the sound of just telling someone you want them and only them - the purity of expressing what the heart wants.

Describing the track, Christina CF says:

“Music is such a powerful way of connecting with others," says Christina. "I just want to make sure people feel things with the songs I create – whether it be a song I write for myself or another artist. I hope the public vibes with "Ultimatum" the same way friends and family have.”

Check out Ultimatum below.

Stream: Last Night - Hoodlem

Last Night is a pop record positively brimming with lush sophisticated soul.

Created by Toronto-via-Melbourne R&B musician Hoodlem, Last Night is full of woozy rhythms, stabs of brass and glitchy IDM sounds. The track seemingly gets carried away with itself - a record about being in love with being in love, it sounds like those times where nothing can pull your mind out of a daydream.

The song is dedicated to those days when the spirit of last night lingers within you - your head and heart still right there with whoever you shared your night with. The possibilities in those moments can be overwhelming - the sense that seemingly anything is possible.

Describing the song Hoodlem says:

"Last Night is the afterward of a night with someone you’re into and you can’t stop thinking about that person, you replay it all over in your head and it drives you a little crazy. I think that 'not knowing where you stand with someone' feeling is kind of stressful but also fuels this half excited anxiety and that’s the feeling I was going through when I wrote this."

Check out Last Night below and look out for Hoodlem’s forthcoming Teenager EP, set for release this summer.

Video: Disco - Weirdo

I don’t know much about Weirdo, but this crazy infectious little ditty has me all excited on this Friday morning.

There is a crazy calypso buoyancy to Disco. It is a track that feels lost in feelings of affection for someone - a series of details specifically noticed by one person that could easily be missed by everyone else: “I like the perfume you’ve been wearing / probs ‘cause I purchased it / I like your eyes when they’re blinking / don’t go changing this”.

Also this video is utterly charming. I have no idea from which Disney cartoon the visuals come, but they really fit the song wonderfully. I hope it exists forever. I want to spend my time wearing a grass skirt in love on a cartoon desert island.

Stream: New Religion - Anna Wang

There’s an ambiance here on New Religion that feels stark like cracked earth baked in the midday sun… Wang’s vocals echo, almost like she is entirely alone in her environment. Perhaps this reflects the alienation and loneliness of the romantic obsession New Religion portrays. At times the vocals become twisted and distorted, like they are being submerged and buried down beneath the surface.

In contrast the production work here is simple and restrained - the foil to the emotional excess Wang delivers. Those modest electronic sounds simmer gently whilst Anna boils completely dry. New Religion’s vulnerability is a little intimidating, but all the more thrilling as a result.

Check out New Religion by Anna Wang below: