New Music Mondays | 03.19.18

Sit back and nurse that St. Patricks Day hangover with these new tracks #NMM

‘Does This Ski Mask Make Me Look Fat?‘ – JPEGMAFIA

“Baltimore rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA blew up this January with his fantastically weird album Veteran, and now he’s back with a brand new track that’s just as off-the-wall. ‘Does This Ski Mask Make Me Look Fat’ is a fairly calm tune compared to cuts from Veteran like ‘Baby I’m Bleeding,’ but its still manages to captivate with absolutely insane production. Peggy manages to combine the Siri tone, the windows USB disconnect sound, the laugh from Kanye’s ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ chorus, and his usual assortment of drums and distorted yells into a mesmerizing and complex instrumental. Throw on a solid verse and a feature from Bay area rapper Heno., and ‘Does This Ski Mask Make Me Look Fat’ is a really solid experimental hip-hop track.” – Grant Foskett

‘Keeping A Secret‘ – Bleachers

“In addition to influencing the soundtrack for “Love, Simon”, Jack Antonoff of Bleachers wrote new song “Keeping A Secret” specifically for the movie. Antonoff’s contributions to the movie’s soundtrack came after director Greg Berlanti added Bleachers’ song “Wild Hearts” in a rough cut of the film and the Bleachers front man signed on to help shortly after. The best quality of this song is not only does its themes tie in perfectly with the movie but, it can stand alone as its own entity. ‘Keeping A Secret’ isn’t codependent on visuals as some movie scores may be. You don’t have to see the movie to understand the song nor does it feel out of place without the context of the movie. You can easily relate this song to the main characters of the movie as well as see Antonoff’s personal connection the lyrics. This song is the perfect mixture of today’s musical stylings with a Bleachers twist. It’s easy to see this song becoming the quintessential song for upcoming cinematic scores as it really draws you into the story being told. ” – Marisa Kenny

‘Christopher & 6th‘ – Blood Orange

“‘Christopher & 6th’ is a lush, reverb-soaked ballad that showcases Blood Orange, also known as Devonte Hynes, playing to his strengths. Hynes croons and demonstrates the power his angelic falsetto range across the two and a half minute slow burner. From an instrumental angle, the song features an ethereal guitar at the forefront and an organ-like synth at the back end of the track. The single could be a signal of more music to come, so keep your eyes peeled.
For the time being, if you’re looking for a great song to kick back and relax to this week, look no further- Blood Orange has you covered. “ – Joey Molloy

‘Uh Huh (feat. IDK)’ – Denzel Curry

“‘Uh Huh’ is the latest from rappers Denzel Curry and IDK. Its brief, two-minute runtime is loaded with heavy bass paired with tense piano, choir vocals, and string-like synths. Denzel starts the song off with an aggressive, gravelly, yelled verse. We’re seeing more and more of this wild delivery heard previously on songs such as ‘Equalizer’ from his 13 EP dropped last year. It’s doing well to cement Denzel as one of the more unique artists making this kind of aggressive hip-hop. IDK is also great on the track and brings the right amount of energy to match his partner. I started paying attention to IDK after hearing his song, ‘Baby Scale’ as a part of Adult Swim’s singles program; he is proving to be a very promising up-and-comer. ‘Uh Huh’ is a banger, but its short length and several tedious sections won’t keep me coming back. However, I’m still very excited to hear what else these two will be dropping later this year. Denzel has dropped three songs in the last month on his YouTube page, so hopefully, this is a sign that his next album which he has been teasing for a while now, is not too far around the corner.” – Spencer LaChance

‘Lemon Glow’ – Beach House

“After the 2017 release of B-Sides and Rarities, which contains previously unreleased tracks and a melancholy cover of Queen’s ‘Play the Game,’ Beach House have picked the perfect first single to drop to ease listeners back into their dreamy world in anticipation for their 7th studio album, fittingly named 7, due out May 11.

Starting off wIth alternating rhymes that soothes into the hook, ‘Lemon Glow’ is an irresistible song that’s just as smooth as its title. Lyrics like ‘Lemon color / Honey glow’ are as much soothing as they are romantic. Alongside spacey guitar and a steady electronic rhythm that are signature to Beach House, they still manage to create original and memorable earcandy for both new listeners and long-term fans. With each new release, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have proven themselves as a power duo whose musical chemistry is pure magic. “ – Kathryn Garcia