Archive

New Music Wednesday: Missy Higgins, Icky Blossoms, Angel Haze and more

Wednesday, how did you get here so quickly? I’m in Portland at the moment and all I have to say is, these people know how to sing the shit out of some live band Riot Grrl karaoke. I was able to witness and even participate in a little bit of the greatness with Trish Bendix playing my better half of Veruca Salt for “Seether.” It was easily one of the best, if not the best, karaoke experiences of my life. If you ever have the chance to go – do it. Now, on to some of today’s new music!

I’m not sure where I read this or where it originated but recently someone wrote that when you’re happy, you feel the music and when you’re depressed you feel the lyrics. That was probably a bad paraphrase but it has certainly rung true for my experience lately. Thankfully, the chicken soup for my soul has come in the form of an unusual amount of great “breakup” albums that have been released as of late. Not all of Missy’s Butterfly Boucher-produced album is what I would put in the painful breakup mixtape category but there are plenty of songs for the times when you feel as though you’ve entered the Limbo area of Dante’s Inferno. The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle is a great collection of singer-songwriter ballads with a very soft instrumental nod to alt-country peppered into a few songs like “If I’m Honest” and easily-relatable lyrics throughout the entirety of the album. One of my favorites, and a string of words that ring true on a regular basis, is from “Sweet Arms of a Tune”: “Hold the one you can’t have, in the sweet arms of a tune. Hold the one you can’t love in the sweet arms of a tune.” I might be a writer but sometimes songs can express things better than I could ever dream of being able to express myself.

Check out Missy’s music video for “Unashamed Desire.” She will make you unashamed to desire more of her. She is also ridiculously hot. I give her three Uncle Jesse “Have mercy”s and three snaps up in “Z” formation.

All I know is, I have needed this album in my life in the worst of ways. The first single from this three-piece, “Killer Babes,” was a great indication of the sultry electropop heard throughout this debut. I am a huge fan of Tilly And The Wall, who were born from the same Omaha scene and boast having Derek Pressnall as a key member, but this album plays like an adult version of what the Tilly kids have put out in the past. The heavy bass grooves combined with Sarah Bohling‘s hypnotic voice are like a sexy reminder of how sometimes nice people finish last because the dangerous ones can coax you into bed more easily. Stream the album in its entirety over at Spin.

The first time I saw Angel Haze, she was making YouTube videos and spitting some of the freshest fastest rhymes I had ever heard. I’m talking about the kind of rhymes that make you go “Ooooooooh snap that’s hot!” This debut does not disappoint and is filled with a variety of sounds, musical textures and tempos that only further her legitimacy as an MC whose name should be on your tongue and whose music should be playing in your ears. This is an exciting young woman to keep your eye on and mad props to my people at Biz3 for signing her. Stream the album up in hurrr. (Warning: The track below is hot but also packed with the F-bomb.)

Honorable Mentions: Baroness, Nas, Angus Stone, Com Truise, Citizen Cope, Matisyahu, Jeff The Brotherhood, Old Crow Medicine Show, Pierce The Veil, The Very Best, The Be Good Tanyas (collection).

If you aren’t able to listen to the Spotify player below, you can stream No Doubt’s new single “Settle Down” over here.

More Music Extras: Stream the fantastic Be Good Tanyas collection album over at Soundcloud.

I know a lot of you are big fans of Of Monsters & Men so I’m hoping you’ll enjoy this Passion Pit remix as much as I do:

Check out the first single from Elska’s upcoming debut, Middle of Nowhere, out September 4:

That’s all for this week – I hope you found some tunes you enjoy! As always, feel free to friend me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or drop me a note to say, “Hey girl hey.”

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button