Mourn the death of Pete and Ariana’s engagement with some tasty new tunes. #NMM

‘Treasure’ – Sampha

“Friday marked the release of the new Felix Van Groeningen film ‘Beautiful Boy,’ starring Steve Carell (Nic) and Timothée Chalamet (David). The film is about the struggled relationship between a father and his meth-addicted son. Topping off the original soundtrack to the film is a song by UK singer-songwriter Sampha titled ‘Treasure.’ In a statement, Sampha said that he wrote the song for the film after seeing it for the first time. ‘Nic and David’s story, and the dynamic between them really resonated with me on an emotional level, and ‘Treasure’ is my response, filtered through the lens of my own experiences. I feel honoured to be asked to contribute something to a film as authentic and important as this,’ he said. The track is string-heavy, featuring the artistry of Tetsuumi Nagata, Sergio Serra, Stephanie Edmundson, Toby Hughes, Venetia Jollands and Alison D’Souza. The strings, backed by a dripping piano track, serve as a cushion for Sampha’s crooning, as he provides listeners with an intimate portrait of a complicated relationship, likely as complicated as the one between father and son in the film. ‘I used to live my life in the wind,’ Sampha sings, ‘I’ll make you whole, because you’re my treasure.'”

– Chris Triunfo

‘SKINS’ – MERGA

“For those unaware, over the past year or so, Detroit’s music scene has become wholly revitalized thanks to a batch of young go-getters. What makes Detroit so special right now is how eclectic its scene is. Shows feature lineups combining femme punk bands, hip-hop collectives, and funky indie rockers. MERGA, a new band consisting of scene staples Tendosadboii and Paris From Tokyo, just dropped their stunning debut EP, I Died in Fulda. The EP combines alternative rock, trippy hip-hop detours, and groovy beats. In this way, the group is a uniquely accurate reflection of the diverse music community they come from.
Standout track ‘Skins’ serves as an epic centerpiece with its dreamy guitar arpeggios, lush hook, and slick verses. The track’s soothing ambiance is fully realized thanks to Paris’ production wizardry. Paris described the conception of ‘Skins’ as a song that came together naturally, as a result of the duo’s chemistry. Support this talented DIY band by checking out ‘Skins’ and the rest of their EP today.”

– Joey Molloy

‘Nico’s Red Truck’ – dijon

“Former vocalist for the duo known as Abhi//Dijon has been striking it out on his own for about the past year now. You may have heard his guitar driven, soft rock singles like ‘Skin’ or ‘Violence’ which have gotten considerable attention on Spotify playlists. But recently, Dijon has further slowed down his already chill style for ‘Nico’s Red Truck.’ Whereas his previous cuts have landed in grey areas between rock, r&b, and pop, ‘Nico’s Red Truck’ sees Dijon more rooted in americana or folk, at least in the beginning. Light acoustic plucking sprinkled under Dijon’s passionate vocals take us through the first half, when suddenly a fast-paced quantized drum beat jumps in as Dijon replaces his singing with rapping. It just goes to show how comfortable Dijon is hopping from genre to genre, and it maintains my excitement and anticipation for a full length project from him.”

– Isaac Shur

‘Woman Like Me’ – Little Mix ft. Nicki Minaj

“Seven years into their career and Little Mix are still finding ways to reinvent themselves. ‘Woman Like Me’ sounds like no other single they’ve ever released, combining different genres and lyrical styles into one song. The track starts with Jesy Nelson using her lower vocal range to sing over an island-like rhythm before bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock enters with a brief rap, which sounds more like sing-speaking, bringing along an slightly EDM style beat with her. The chorus takes on a more traditional pop form, but the combination of unique elements sets the song, and Little Mix, apart from other pop girl-groups. The only part that doesn’t quite work is the featuring rap verse from Nicki Minaj, who thankfully doesn’t ruin the song, but definitely could have been left off of it. Her verse isn’t necessarily bad, just lyrically nonsensical and forgettable like many other Nicki features, but hopefully it provides it’s purpose of getting Little Mix onto the radio and into the spotlight.”

– Rachel Feinberg

‘Slip Away’ – Basement

“Basement launched their fourth studio album, Beside Myself, on Friday and it throws some wonderful tracks, none of which are as simplistically perfect as ‘Slip Away’. It opens with two overlapping guitar riffs, one of which carries some difficulty with it, but the other is a simple chord progression, but that’s kind of a metaphor for what the rest of the song is. It blends a fast-paced instrumental section with Andrew Fisher’s lyrics about slowing down and taking time to collect oneself. The bridge is the most surprising part of the song, just because of how well it is mixed. The volume of the bass is brought up above that of the lead guitar, allowing the higher-pitched guitar riff to work behind the scenes. It definitely rocks hard from start to finish, and it is without a doubt one of the best songs from this album.”

– Mike Puzzanghera

‘Small Talk’ – Courtney Barnett

“With a 5:32 runtime, Courtney Barnett’s new single ‘Small Talk’ is a great listen while strolling around the city, pondering the bother of pleasantries, or any activity you enjoy doing while listening to groovy, insightful indie/alt rock. The song was recorded during sessions for Tell Me How You Really Feel, Barnett’s newest album released this past May. Her lyrics tend to capture both the most mundane and unusual occurrences in everyday life set against guitar-driven instrumentals, and this song is no different. About the relatable topic of a disdain for idle chats, the song’s cyclical bass riffs and minimal drums complement the conversational lyrics. Improvisational guitar and electric keyboard sounds are scattered throughout the verses and make the song pretty fun. The guitar-keyboard dialogue picks up during the choruses and the second half of the song as the drums get louder and Courtney Barnett states ‘I’m waiting here for you / I’m looking ‘cross the room and hoping that you’re looking too.’ To quote texts I sent a friend, the song’s ‘so good, so relatable’ and ‘a real groove,’ so give it a listen for sure.”

– Kailey Williams

‘Lorry Can’t Love’ – Goodbye Honolulu

“The Toronto native band Goodbye Honolulu is back with a new single. ‘Lorry Can’t Love’ is three minutes and nine seconds of garage-band rock in its purest form. From heavy electric shredding to an uproarious whine of static-y vocals, Fox Atticus creates an auditory space akin to that of late 90’s grunge era rock and roll. Coming as a re-release off of his 2014 solo project All The Things We Used To Do, released under ‘Fox,’ Goodbye Honolulu ups the ante with a clamorous twist, moving on from its surf rock roots and finding its legs with the support of a full band, a few years of maturity, and a whole lot of angst.”

– Paige Ardill