June is only a little over halfway done, which means it’s still pride month! And with pride comes a lot of dance music, though why wouldn’t it? The amount of queer history embedded in the development of disco, house, and techno has made countless members of the LGBT community into dance music legends. This includes gay performers like the Pet Shop Boys and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, influential producers like Larry Levan and Arthur Russell, and straight but strong allies like Madonna and Donna Summer. All of them, in one form or another, have songs on this playlist.
In a sense, this is a soundtrack that takes you through a chronologically ordered musical history lesson of 70s dancefloor diva disco, cult classic 80s Hi-NRG, and early 90s house tunes. It ranges from songs your middle-aged mother will belt out while doing the dishes or obscure euro-disco that no one else but me knows but I want to force in somewhere. (It’s all great, trust me.) With nu-disco such a prominent sound in 2020s pop music, it’s important to honor the marginalized community and queer icons that created the genre. All 35 of the songs in this decade-spanning playlist are still endlessly joyful and worth checking out.
It’s been a known stereotype that artists will use their work to process and channel their own emotions. This could be their heartbreak into paintings, their loneliness into a story, or–with the newest single by singer-songwriter Becca Stevens–the loss of their loved ones into a song. Stevens, a 2x Grammy-nominee, has been quite busy recently with both a role in the cast of the Sufjan Stevens-inspired musical “Illinoise” for the rest of the summer but also with her newest album, the entirely acoustic Maple to Paper, which releases August 30th.
Stevens has described the new album as very personal, and the lead single “Now Feels Bigger than the Past” shows her at her most vulnerable. This is largely due to three major events that shaped the tone of the album: the death of her mother, the birth of her first daughter, and the death of mentor and frequent collaborator David Crosby. The song is immediately upfront about these events; opening with a verse seemingly about artists not being appreciated and loved until they’re gone. It’s a bitter and almost angry way to open the song, but it’s clear that it’s out of Stevens’ love and respect for Crosby. She had played on his last four albums, and her vocals and sound are a dead ringer for other 70s folk singers like Joni Mitchell or Vashti Bunyan.
Stevens recorded all of Maple to Paper live without overdubs, and this single alone adds to the honesty and personal sentiments of her lyrics and vocals. It’s cliched to describe folk music as “authentic” or “intimate” but Stevens’ soft, wistful voice and the intentionally sparse production successfully capture those feelings, and it complements the song’s mournful tone perfectly.
Stevens continues to sing about loss, examining how it’s easier to appreciate someone’s flaws after they’re gone. “Imperfection is beautiful in retrospect… And great big flaws are charming when there’s no one there to correct.” This leads into the final verses where she sings of the grief brought about by her mother’s passing and the sudden disillusionment of now having to provide the same role with her own child.
It’s a heartbreaking song, yet also a masterful and poetic work by a great artist. The music video, directed by Jep Jorba, uses trick photography to show a modern-day Stevens and an older Stevens (achieved through makeup and hair curlers) singing verses to each other as though it were a dining room conversation. It visualizes the themes of Stevens contemplating her own mortality as she grows into the role her mother had, but now only has herself to talk to. “Now Feels Bigger than the Past” is an entirely haunting yet emotionally gripping lead single into Becca Stevens’ upcoming Maple to Paper.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think Gen Z needs to be more aware of the countless R&B and funk superstars from the 70s and 80s. A lot of these artists just seem to be overshadowed by larger artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, or Stevie Wonder. I love the music of those three too, but there’s so much great music that needs to be rediscovered and praised as classics. One of these artists is Chaka Khan, known as the “Queen of Funk” and has multiple hits with both her band Rufus and her solo career. She still has a large following, but only a handful of her biggest hits have reached younger audiences. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, I can’t recommend her Tiny Desk Concert performed last week at NPR enough as a starting point.
For those that don’t know, Tiny Desk Concerts are performances held in NPR’s headquarters in DC. What separates them from just a normal concert is that all the musicians and equipment must be able to fit behind the desk where NPR’s weekly podcast “All Songs Considered” gets recorded. That means all the musicians get squeezed just inches apart from each other in an office space. If it sounds awkward, that’s the fun of it! With the audience only a small group of NPR employees right next to the space, it makes the concerts more intimate, up-close, and personal. The limited room makes the music fully center stage instead of surrounding it with other stage effects and unnecessary parts of a more corporate concert performance. Really, just think of Tiny Desk Concerts as a late millennial/Gen Z version of MTV Unplugged except less pretentious and not entirely acoustic.
Despite the tight space that Chaka Khan and her band have, what’s even tighter are the nonstop grooves and funk rhythms they play for their 30-minute show. (Was that clever writing? I thought it was.) The entire time I was listening to it, I couldn’t stop dancing, swaying, and moving to the music. Chaka’s backing band that accompanies her is absolutely on fire, with the funk starting immediately and never letting up. My favorites were the percussion, shakers, and sparkly chimes, as well as the bass playing. If I had one tiny criticism, it would be that a synthesizer is used to replicate horns and orchestrations, even if a lot of classic synth-funk did that as well. However, it still sounds serviceable (even great during the closing songs), and I doubt they could fit anyone else with the limited space they had.
The concert set list is a collection of seven singles from both her solo career and time with Rufus, spanning from 1974 to 1985, with the most famous singles being at the very end. Okay, let’s talk about Chaka Khan herself during this show. You would never believe that she’s 71 years old because she looks and sounds fantastic. Her energy is loose and fun, her singing hits the high notes with ease, and she sounds almost identical to the original studio recordings. Just as good as her are her backing vocalists, who get moments of their own to shine (see Tiffany Smith getting a solo to show off her pipes on “Sweet Thing”). The onstage chemistry between Chaka, the backing vocalists, and the band is always apparent during the show.
Like many Tiny Desk Concerts, part of the fun is also the interactions between the band and the crowd. A show highlight was Chaka letting the NPR audience sing several verses on their own during “Sweet Thing”, and it’s adorable hearing the enthusiasm and love for the music from the crowd. By the time the show closes with “I’m Every Woman”, it’s impossible for anyone on stage (or yourself, for that matter) to keep a smile off their face. Chaka Khan’s Tiny Desk Concert is nothing but delightful, and a victory lap for a monumental artist.
Myra Keyes is a good example of a modern-day Renaissance woman. The 19-year-old Chicago-based singer-songwriter released her debut LP Flower in the Brick in February and it’s a criminally overlooked release in modern indie rock. She’s a talent to watch over, wonderful in her vocals and guitar and bass playing, especially in how young she is. Previously, Keyes had released the EP Girl Reimagined in 2022 and worked with the Portland-based indie punk band Rawt.
Keyes’ general style, like a lot of modern indie rock, has its inspirations from the 90s with lo-fi production and some sludgy grunge guitars. She had spoken about how one of her main inspirations is indie rock goddess Liz Phair, and it’s entirely apparent as her voice is occasionally a dead ringer for Phair’s earlier work like Exile in Guyville. I’d love for Keyes to open for Liz Phair at some point based on her enthusiasm for her music. However, she still manages to not come across as an imitator by adding heavy 90s alt-rock guitars and a great rhythm section (provided by Joe Mengis of Eels on drums) for many songs. Tracks like “Powder Blue” and “Clubs” have consistently enjoyable grooves that keep the songs moving at a fast tempo and never let up. This is even during the somewhat silly rockabilly-inspired “Skylight” that features my favorite bass performance from Keyes on the record.
Keyes’ vocals are also a strong point of the album, transitioning easily from a breathy lower register (“MME”) to more expressive songs that focus more on her lyrics and personal sentiments (“A Year Above Ground”). She has a captivating presence that keeps you interested in her, and the way she consistently uses the wide range of her vocals is impressive. At only 29 minutes and eight songs, the album still has a unique voice for each track, and I’m interested in hearing what Myra Keyes offers next. Flower in the Brick is a confident debut LP that suggests more solid work from her in the future.
Another band I’ve seen pop up in my socials a bunch is the band grlztoy of the DMV area, made up of Theo Zamani (lead vocals, guitar) and Molly Izer (drums). Their EP green!, released last June, is an assured and confident debut I think is worth listening to for anyone into indie pop/rock.
For a release that’s only 12 minutes long, grlztoy easily establishes themselves with just six tracks. The opener, the title song, is only a minute long but still establishes a calming, slightly psychedelic mood through the guitars and slightly echoed drums. It’s ultimately just an intro to the EP, but it still feels complete. Each song carries the same vibe established in the intro title track, creating a hazy, colorful, summer night atmosphere.
The next three songs, “spring (untied shoes)”, “say when”, and “wavelength” are all a showcase to both members’ talents. Throughout the album, Theo’s singing is wonderful, clearly inspired by both a lot of 90s and 2010s indie singers, but she still almost equals those obvious influences in her abilities. Her voice is sweet and soft, but is still expressive when it needs to be. She carries a song like “say when” by sounding sweet and romantic in a way that’s earnest and never anything but genuine. Molly’s drumming is also consistently great, giving each song a fun, up-tempo groove. Her style varies neatly from cozy indie rock (“teenage dirtbag”), sort of bluesy (“keychain piano”), to garage power pop (the totally killer “wavelength”).
Admittedly, the band is still very new and occasionally some songs could use more substance (ex. “keychain piano” being clearly a mess-about band jam but still entertaining) or space to breathe. Still, despite having room to grow, green! is a kind of first release that makes you excited to see where the band will go next.
Part of the fun of having a job like this is being able to write about tiny local bands you know personally or might have a friend or two in. It gives you the opportunity to give their work some exposure and you also get to count it as part of your hours. This brings me to Newport News’ own indie rock band Space Fish (or “Spish” for short), who recently released their new single “Ringtone”, which came out just this April.
The band comprises Alex Arena (lead guitarist/vocalist), Joey Bartoo (rhythm guitar), Kemari Effiong (keyboards, backup vocalist), Lauren Tudahl (bass), and Matthew Conner (drums), each of whom met while studying at Christopher Newport University. They have been releasing music since 2020, with “Ringtone” being their third single after 2020’s “It’s Never the Same” and 2021’s “The Warm Up Legend”.
In a way, “Ringtone” is a new beginning for the band as it’s the first single with its current lineup. With two years between this single and the previous one, there are immediate signs of improvement. The lead vocals are stronger and more confident, the already strong guitar work is even better, and it just has a fuller sound overall with clearer bass and drum fills. Space Fish’s sound was already built out of folk and indie rock, and here it’s a perfect blend as a focus on driving guitars and drums doesn’t overpower the emotions and confessional storytelling present in the lyrics.
It’s a good song, especially for a young band still finding their voice. As of now, the band is working on a new single and eventually plan to release an EP containing “Ringtone” and other new tracks.
Talking Heads is easily my favorite band. They were the first band that really got me into being a massive music geek, and I can’t imagine where I’d be today without them. So, when I heard A24 was planning a large-scale tribute album of Talking Heads’ iconic Stop Making Sense concert film with a different artist covering each song, I got excited but also quite cautious. I loved the band was getting more exposure to new audiences, but who would A24 pick to cover each song? Would they choose artists that honor Talking Heads’ material but still do their own spin on it to keep it fresh?
I’ll go out and say immediately that many of the musicians featured on the album aren’t necessarily ones that would be on my shortlist for a covers album, but that’s not at all a bad thing. Part of Talking Heads’ appeal is the way they respected and performed countless music styles—sometimes multiple at once. They created a unique sound of punk, funk, dance, and art rock and still had room for inspirations from world music or hip-hop made them so forward-thinking. Choosing artists of a variety of styles complements the multicultural palette Talking Heads had worked with.
(Okay, but if I had to choose who I’d want on the album, I’d choose LCD Soundsystem, St. Vincent, HAIM, and a more contemporary post-punk band like Squid or black midi… I can dream.)
However, there was still another big concern I had with the announcement: it was a covers album. A known, respected artist doing a cover of a song is a tricky balancing act. You must honor the source material, but not too close to where it just sounds like you’re doing karaoke. But, if you divert from the original too much and go somewhere too new, it makes your cover just seem like a pointless exercise and you won’t make fans of the original happy. It’s difficult, but it’s totally possible to accomplish this mix.
With that said, the easy standouts of the album were the ones that got this balancing act down the best. Paramore’s cover of “Burning Down the House” kills with Hayley Williams’ stage presence and irresistible vocal performance, and “Crosseyed and Painless” done by Chicano Batman and Money Mark captures the original’s relentless, nonstop energy. It’s hard to recapture the feeling of such a soulful, heartwarming song, but the version of “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by BADBADNOTGOOD and Norah Jones gets damn close. I’m a fan of the former’s lush 70s soul inspirations and using that with Jones’ comforting presence just makes their cover feel like a warm hug in all the same ways the original did. And, if Talking Heads’ cover of “Take Me to the River” equally combined them with Al Green, then Lorde’s cover of the same song is a satisfying blend of both her sound and Talking Heads’.
Some of the other covers closer to the originals can depend on your tastes. I liked The National’s version of “Heaven” which works well with their atmospheric indie folk sound, and quite like some of Aaron Dessner’s produced work for that one super famous rich white and blonde woman who I won’t name*. (*Forgive me, Meredith.) The Linda Lindas and girl in red do acceptable versions of “Found a Job” and “Girlfriend is Better” respectively without changing much, and I enjoyed seeing an African group represented on the album through highlife band The Cavemen’s version of “What a Day That Was”.
The problem with many other covers is that they’re too different from the originals, and it makes them difficult to judge. I love “Psycho Killer” and I’m fine with Miley Cyrus covering it, but why do it as a Lady Gaga-style EDM song? “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” isn’t one of my favorite Talking Heads songs, yet it’s hard to get behind Blondshell doing a slow burn grunge version of it (albeit with a pretty rad guitar solo at the end). Then there’s some of the out-there covers like DJ Tunez performing “Life During Wartime” as an afrobeats-inspired trap song or Kevin Abstract going as far away from “Once in a Lifetime” as possible.
None of these songs are necessarily bad in terms of their sound or how they changed the originals, but they’re hard to appreciate in contrast to the other songs that try hard to honor the spirit of the originals. It’s not to say some covers work despite being too close to the originals (i.e. Teezo Touchdown’s “Making Flippy Floppy” or Toro y Moi’s “Genius of Love”), but perhaps the album could have functioned better with more direction as opposed to letting the artists run completely free.
Everyone’s Getting Involved isn’t bad, despite what some more closed-minded Talking Heads fans may say. However, it’s difficult to appreciate based on how different each artist approaches the original material. It has enough good covers to make the experience worthwhile, even if it may also leave you scratching your head at points. Still, nothing here stains Talking Heads’ enduring legacy as one of the best bands of its time.
Brooklyn’s own indie rock band Razor Braids just released Big Wave, their sophomore LP after 2021’s “I Could Cry If You Want Me To”. The new album is of a concept record about the timeline of going through a breakup, and lyrically it’s very personal. It goes into the narrator’s (which could be any of the members of the band, or multiple writing from shared experiences) feelings about their insecurities, self-doubts, and feelings of anguish within themselves. The lyrics are one of the strong points of the band, being clear, relatable, and easy to identify with as a listener.
Musically, the band’s style has its inspirations in 90s indie and alternative rock. There are many obvious comparisons like the lo-fi sound of Liz Phair, some Mazzy Star-style touches of psychedelia, as well as heavy grungy guitars that occasionally pop up. The production and guitar work on the album is consistently good, with a hazy but dreamy atmosphere composing many of the songs. Lead vocalist Hollye Bynum gives a lot of great performances throughout, showing her singing as more confident than the band’s earlier singles like “Nashville”. The backing vocals (contributed by rhythm guitarist Jillian Karande) are just as strong, though some of the best sounding parts of the album were when both vocalists harmonized, like on “B26” and “Windy Gap”. It’s an element of the band’s sound that I wish they used more.
My favorite track is the lead single, “She”, which is an upbeat pop-rock song that easily has the breeziest and most danceable groove on the album (with the drums provided by former member Sid Nichols). The band’s irresistible energy and chemistry here shines through, accentuated by brief giggles by the band as the song closes. However, while “She” is a great single, it differs a bit from the rest of the album in terms of its accessibility and focus on a pop chorus. Not that this is a bad thing, as mellow and downbeat songs like “It Goes Quiet” and the title track are still strong because of the earnest performances and lyrics, and especially from the lush guitars (from lead guitarist Janie Peacock) in the second half of the latter.
Big Wave is mostly a storytelling album rather than one that’s song driven. There’re points where the tracks can feel more about expressing emotions rather than structure and rhythm. This is most apparent on “JR”, which seems to explode with intensity as a musical emotional breakdown in the second half, as psychedelic guitars bury the vocals before they come crashing down on themselves. The vulnerability given from Bynum’s performances helps make this seem rawer and more effective.
All the songs are good, and the album is easy to recommend to fans of modern indie rock that are more into lyrically driven music. It’s not perfect, as I think it could’ve used another good hook or two and better pacing. Still, the album ends on a bittersweet but hopeful note on “There’s No Sound”, and I think the band still has a lot of talent and potential to build on based on the more promising parts of the album.
Big Wave may end up just being a steppingstone for a band that’s still evolving, but it’s captivating enough to look deeper into it.
The new single by Swedish indie rock band Girl Scout, “I Just Needed You To Know”, shows the range of the band in terms of their musicianship. It’s entirely in the realms of punk music, with driving drums and bass, distorted guitars, and an intentionally raw and unpolished production. The song never lets up for its entire duration, especially as it approaches noise rock-levels of volume at its climax. The song can appear loose and sloppy, yet it’s still obviously controlled and well thought out as more than just a fun studio jam session.
From what it seems, Girl Scout is still finding a distinct identity based on their previous singles more in line with contemporary bedroom indie pop. However, garage-inspired songs like this and “Do You Remember Sally Moore?” show they refuse to be pigeonholed. They’re successful in part because of the talents of members Per Lindberg, Viktor Spasov, and Evelina Arvidsson Eklind; but also because of the vocal range that front-woman Emma Jansson provides. Throughout many of Girl Scout’s songs, her voice can change from soft and vulnerable, angsty and grungy, or powerful and belting out. The latter is seen especially in “I Just Needed You To Know” as her voice almost becomes a powerful instrument in itself, soaring upwards and refusing to be buried under sludgy guitars.
The song is an easy recommendation for indie rock fans or anyone who’s a fan of fast-paced 90’s alternative rock. Despite only gaining attention last year through the release of two EPs (Real Life Human Garbage and Granny Music, respectively), the band’s popularity is rapidly growing as they embark on a summer tour opening for Alvvays. Considering the mountains of energy contained in the track, I’m sure it’ll become a Girl Scout live favorite for years to come.
