Tuesday Tunes--November 1, 2016
Shaun Cordingley
As I imagine there may be some call for recovering after the Halloween weekend (and perhaps even Halloween Monday), I figured trending to some chill, mellow, but often a little bit dance-y tracks this week would suit us all quite nicely.
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music that we are enjoying, or re-expose them to artists they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
The Story Never Ends (Piano Version) - Lauv
Los Angeles based indie pop/R&B artist Lauv leads off Tuesday Tunes with the beautiful "The Story Never Ends" (Piano Version). Ari Leff AKA Lauv (AKA Epique) is one of those multi-faceted indie musicians that are allowed to express themselves in a variety of genres, and his work as Lauv is largely like "Story": stripped down, beautifully layered ballads, and soft R&B tracks that are the audio equivalent of wrapping yourself in a warm blanket and watching a roaring fire on a quiet night.
"The Story Never Ends" is an excellent example of an exciting young artist demonstrating a deftness in constructing peaceful, chill indie pop R&B, and not drowning the perfectly balanced vocals and piano through over-production.
If you dig "Story", I also suggest checking out Lauv's EP Lost in the Light: it's well worth a listen.
HEAT (ftr. Sam Nelson Harris) - The Knocks
New York Electronic duo The Knocks has one of my favorite "how we got our name" stories (from their website, linked above):
Ben Ruttner, known as “B-Roc,” DJed clubs as a PM day job, and James Patterson, known as “JPatt,” played the organ at a church outside the city. Both in need of roommates, they moved into an apartment on Avenue C in The East Village that—in the DIY style that would go on to define their work in the industry—the two of them soon turned into a bootleg studio where rappers and bright-eyed vocalists came in to cut tracks. It was a tiny place, with walls as thin as the bugs were plenty. Their neighbors started banging brooms floor to ceiling, cracking knuckles on the walls. When the music got loudest, B-Roc and JPatt would go into each other rooms and say, “I just got the knocks.”
The duo released their debut album 55 in March of this year, featuring great guest spots by Wyclef Jean, Taylor Swift, WALK THE MOON and many (many) others, and returned with a fresh single, "HEAT" featuring X Ambassadors' Sam Nelson Harris. This is yet another example of The Knocks producing a multi-layered slice of danceable heaven, and allowing Harris' vocals to float over top, unclouded--this is chill electronic as it should be, and would feature heavily for me if I were still spinning sets today.
If "HEAT" is your first introduction to The Knocks, be sure to grab 55: it is a very strong debut, and probably in the argument for my album of the year...
Overload - twocolors
I don't often wander into Deep House on Tuesday Tunes, but there's something about twocolors' "Overload" that just spoke to me this week. The Berlin duo have always made for an interesting balance between EDM and chill tracks, and "Overload" has a feeling not unlike a lot of the indie folk singer/songwriters I talk about here, but with a spot on undercurrent of a chill house track screaming for a late-night pool bar to be serving you something amazing while this pulses in the background.
If you're looking for some other tracks from twocolors, I recommend "Follow You", which has a bit more of an island/summer feel to it, or "Runaways" which uses an acoustic guitar to a wonderful effect.
Scarecrow - Lukr
Lukr, a self-described "Neon Grunge Pop" artist, has started releasing his first single's this year, and the nostalgia fueled "Scarecrow" is one that just grabbed me. Reminiscing about loves lost is not exactly rare when it comes to indie music, but this track about not being able to forget that girl that got away feels more than that--there's something of a cinematic, pop sweep to "Scarecrow" that a lot of forlorn indie pop misses out on using. Keeping mid-tempo, rather than falling into full 'ballad', allows Lukr to carry more of a "frustrated/mad at myself" energy that is very appealing...
...and honestly, 'neon grunge pop' alone should get you interested in giving Lukr a shot; it's an amazing turn of phrase.
Lukr is currently working on a debut EP, which is expected sometime early in 2017.
Headlights - Meadowlark
Wrapping us up this week is Meadowlark's beautifully chill indie pop track "Headlights" (and their really fun one-shot video). Fronted by the well known YouTube musician Kate McGill (who as of this writing has the 13th highest subscriber base for a musician on the platform), Meadowlark's sound is surprisingly lush, finding a mellow vibe through a combination of handclap, piano and McGill's vocals. "Headlights" is the kind of indie pop that makes me incredibly happy: nuanced and thoughtful, while remaining intensely singable and catchy (just try not to sing along by the end...).
I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Meadowlark continue to grow. If you're looking for more Meadowlark, be sure to check out their 2015 EP Dual.
Here's the Apple Music Playlist for October 2016! Missing three songs again, which does make me sad, but this is a very fun, and diverse list...with...slightly fewer hard transitions in it then there has been on occasion when I've been putting these together.
Remember, if you want me to put these playlists on other services (like Spotify), let me know on Twitter (I've linked it below)
If you're looking for more Tuesday Tunes, are late to the party, or just want more theguysfrom.com in your day, here are the playlists for:
There are other (earlier) playlists available for you if you check out earlier articles or search on Apple Music itself.
If you're wanting me to put these playlists on other music services (ones that I don't regularly use myself) let me know in the comments below.
See you again next Tuesday with five more Tuesday Tunes!
-S (@Shauncord)