Press "Enter" to skip to content

June Singles 1

Last updated on May 27, 2022

1. “I’ve Felt Better (Than I Do Now)” – Gold Panda. The cheerful, quirky sounds of Gold Panda are back! This one has a subtle disco beat feel, the chopped vocals that are his trademark (and evoke similar artist Pogo), and a patience that puts it in line with Teen Daze. Just a lovely piece of chipper dance music. Highly recommended.

2. “Brookside Hybrid 23” – Ott. Chillout electro with world music vibes thrown into the mix. It’s like Ulrich Schnauss on an around-the-world cruise.

3. “For Now” – Lutalo. Low-key indie rock filling in the spaces between Damian Jurado and Make Sure; easy shuffle and real talk.

4. “Look Outside” – Dylan Gilbert. “It’s my choice what I think about / so why am I torturing / myself?” Gilbert sings against a solid guitar strum and dissonant background guitars. I feel that message; I feel that message a lot.

5. “I Will Be Glad” – Jess Jocoy. Jocoy’s vocally patient and instrumentally relaxed approach to folk turns out a beautiful rumination on family and death.

6. “what’s the use, the real use?” – phoneswithchords. An Elliott Smith-style rumination that is both feathery and gloomy. Hope is out there in the distance, just beyond the intimate vocals and calm guitars. Touches of Sufjan’s quietest moments hover in there as well.

7. “We Are The Creatures This Desert Makes Us” – droneroom. Maybe living in the Phoenix desert has gotten to me, but I can’t stop listening to ambient country. droneroom’s latest is a spacious rumination that depends on guitar tone, space between notes, and subtle drone to create an ominous-and-inviting mood. The vast, unforgiving desert has its own charms, and this track depicts some of the emotions that come along with them excellently.

8. “Wide Corners” – Space Between Clouds. Truly ambient and truly jazzy, this piece seeks to layer the elements on top of each other instead of mix them. The result is a ten-minute piece that has quite a lot going on for being a drone.

9. “Kings (Orchestra vers.)” – Jose Pavli. A much more formal choir-and-orchestra soundtrack piece than I usually cover, but it caught my ear with its consistent energy and strong melodic lines.

10. “Elegant Demise” – Once Upon a Winter. The post-metal here makes equally good use of double-pedal kick and violin. Fans of pg.lost will find much to like in the heavy rock approaches, while fans of more moody post-metal will find the soaring lead lines and the classy breakdown section to their liking. A powerful post-metal piece.