One tune that really excited me

I know, it is pretty much out there, but the sophomore LP of Dublin’s new-famed post-punk boys Fontaines D.C. finally dragged me into their sad party of rushing guitars, half-melodic anthems full of young ennui and never let me off the hook ever since. A Hero’s Death is the band’s brave attempt to confront their early rise of fame and Televised Mind, a febrile hymn for the outworn and disenchanted stands out as one of the atmospheric peaks of this record. Blasting guitars and rattling base and drum lines are met by the repetitive outcries of front singer Grian Chatten: „That’s a televised mind / That’s a televised mind“. There is a vibe roaring through these lines that I do not wanna miss out on and it pains me that I will have to wait for a considerable amount of time until I can catch these lads live on stage.

One wonderful discovery

I guess it is my very strong tendency towards the lyrical, the poetic side of music, but I rarely embrace the solace ambient piano soundscapes can provide. In this case, I got lucky I did, because the Polish pianist, composer and singer Hania Rani really blew me away with some of her new material on her sophomore record Home. Immersive, majestic and grand in its atmospheric dimension, the song Tennen perfectly sums up the beautiful talent of putting emotional landscapes into a musical setting that would echo these very inner journeys of humankind. Well, and if that is not poetic, then I don’t know what is. I can only you encourage you to dive into this one, as it stands out as a strong expression of exactly these movements and may just soothe you as well.

One thing that really annoyed me

Please, just stop it already. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy my fair share of the blasted pop hymn appeal of The Killers back in the day, but songs like My Own Soul’s Warning from their latest Imploding The Mirage are certainly not gonna bring back that mood. Yes, Brandon Flowers’ voice does carry a certain delicacy in the beginning, but as the synthy waterfalls and the constant off-beat drench in, the overloaded melodrama plus the lack of musical inventiveness just leaves me numb. While there is beauty in lines like „I tried going against my own soul’s warning / But in the end, something just didn’t feel right“, but the way The Killers undermine and overdrown that earnest sentiment will probably keep me away from them for a while.

One thing that really surprised me

Well, the whole folklore release of Taylor Swift was a surprise in itself, but to be honest, that probably wouldn’t have stirred me up much, if the former country-pop starlet hadn’t appropriated entire clusters of famed indie musicians and producers for the record. Aaron Dessner from The National got on board for this one as well as Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, featuring artist on the track exile. While I still have to make up my mind about folklore, this song surprisingly struck a note. It might be the solemn sentiment of Vernon’s throbbing bass voice and his engaging performance all the way through this tender ballad, reaching a compassion I dearly missed on last year’s i,i. Put together with Swift’s bright voice, the tune builds up a vulnerability which captivatingly mirrors the moving tale about a love story gone awry.

Just a random thought

Some weeks back I rooted for the debut record of the Black Pumas in the light of Bandcamp’s NAACP aid campaign on this year’s Juneteenth. Still standing by my proposal, I’d like to wish to spotlight them here once more, as they were recently featured on Song Exploder, one of my favourite music podcasts out there. In this worthwhile format, artists are given the space to take a deep dive into a particular song of theirs. Digging into their hit single Colors, the duo here breaks down the various components that make up the brimming soul-funk gem. Insightful and heartfelt, front singer Eric Burton and his companion Adrien Quesada relate the moving backdrop that encompasses one of Burton’s earliest attempts at song composition. I suggest you get right into it. And while you’re it at, go ahead and give the song another good spin!

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