Reading Time: 8 minutes
And just like that, we’re at the end of another month! I have been devouring a huge amount of music this month, so it was hard to whittle it down to even this amount of tracks!
Short on time? My Essential 5 are featured at the top!
As always, I really appreciate every read, scan or visit and hope you find some new music you love.
The Essential 5
Zara Larsson – Escape
Dreamy, vibey pop fun with buyant production and a warm chord progression.
Rag’n’Bone Man and Calvin Harris – Lovers in a Past Life
Once again, Rag’n’Bone Man and Calvin Harris prove to be a winning combination with this moody, powerful house banger which is destined for the soundtrack of Summer ’24.
Surfaces and JVKE – Don’t Let Me Down
Effortless pop fun with irresistable melodies and an excellent, thumping backing track.
Ariana Grande – the boy is mine
Throwback 90’s R&B with stuttering production and a contemporary twist.
Tate McRae – greedy
Moody Timbaland-inspired bop with perfect pop sensibilities and self-empowering themes.
The Long List
Zara Larsson – Escape
I love Zara Larsson. She’s a pop star in a true sense but seems to maintain creative control over her sound, image and voice. This bright and breezy pop bop is a highlight on her latest album and I am utterly obsessed! Dreamy chord progressions and jittery synths flutter over a slick, buoyant drum beat. It’s dreamy, carefree and just irresistably fun. One of my favourite songs of the year so far and it’s crying out for a single release.
Rag’n’Bone Man and Calvin Harris – Lovers in a Past Life
Oh, THIS. I loved it from my first listen and am still obsessed. Screaming summer with it’s moody piano chords, claps and euphoric distorted guitar drop, Rag’n’Bone Man sounds as brilliant as ever with his emotive and powerful vocals and pair wonderfully with Harris’ EDM instrumentation. A million miles better than ‘Giant’ ever was and both artist at their very best.
Surfaces and JVKE – Don’t Let Me Down
OBSESSED with this pop bop! JVke’s almost mumbled, robotic vocals glide effortlessly over Surfaces’s buoyant, dancepop instrumentation. Fun, fresh and irresistably catchy with a brilliant chorus and an actual key change in the same vein as early 00’s pop!!
Ariana Grande – the boy is mine
I absolutely agree with the acclaim Ariana’s new album ‘Eternal Sunshine’ has received. It’s a great album and is up there amongst her best work. This song wasn’t a standout on my first listen but it’s one I’ve returned to and might now be my favourite. Inspired by, and inerpolating Brandy and Monica’s iconic 1999 ‘The Boy Is Mine’, this bass-heavy, brilliantly produced R&B track with it’s stuttery instrumentation feels like a throwback to the 90’s, yet feels current and fresh. Ari at her best.
Tate McRae – greedy
I know I’m super late to this! I’ve actually loved this for a while but my love for it has intensified over the last month. This Ryan Tedder (of One Republic) produced/co-written track feels very mid-00’s Timbaland in the best way with its stuttering, on-steroids percussion and moody feel. I genuinely feel this is one of the best pop tracks of the last ten years.
St. Lucia – Poet
I adore this dizzying, uplifting indiepop track from South African musician St. Lucia. Full of good vibes, other-worldly vocals and space-y production elements, this somehow feels like both an early summer morning and a late-night summer drive. Perfection.
Hotel Apache – Till The End Of Time
I adore alt-pop trio Hotel Apache and am delighted they have returned after being AWOL for three years. Remaining loyal to their 80’s synthpop sound, ‘Till The End of Time’ is abundant with meticulous production and programming, Ryan Garcia’s syrupy sweet vocals and warm synths. The chorus is clearly heavily inspired by Prince’s ‘I Would Die 4 U’, a song the band themselves have covered a few years back. A pop smash!
Usher – I Love U
Usher is an R&B God and cements his legacy with his latest album. This soul-infused R&B smash is my favourite track on the record and feels almost like it could have been lifted from the late eighties with it’s funky bass line and moody synth work but with a contemporary touch. The chorus melody is simply irresistable and the harmonies during the middle eight are perfect. Classic Usher and among his best work!
Victoria Monét, Earth Wind and Fire and Hazel Monét – Hollywood
I adore this dreamy, moody R&B song which feels like a throwback to the late 70’s with gentle guitars, rich harmonies, luscious strings and an overall live band feel. Victoria’s clear and sweet vocals are paired wonderfully with Philip Bailey’s gentle falsetto and I love the fact that Victoria is bringing the legendary Earth Wind and Fire to a new generation. Sublime.
New Constellations – Think It Over
This indiepop smash has been replayed a lot over the last couple of months.
Featuring funky rhythm guitars, dreamy synths and a stomping beat, it feels like a throwback to 80’s electropop in a similar vein to the likes of The Ting Tings and Ladyhawke back in the late ’00’s.
Justin Timberlake – Selfish
Justin often receives a lot of flack, some of which is deserved and some isn’t. His latest album is a million miles away (thank God) from 2018’s ‘Man of the Woods’, which was a confused and quite frankly awful album. Justin is back to his best; smooth R&B and fun discopop. This was a curveball choice for a lead single – it’s lowkey and meanders without ever really going anywhere. That being said, it’s a great song which exhbits Justin’s trademark falsetto vocals and I’ve gotten into it more through Justin’s live performances during promotional appearances which somehow always elevate the song.
Pharrell Williams and Miley Cyrus – Doctor (Work It Out)
This glamrock-inspired pop bop is fun, flirty and funky. Apparently the genesis of the song stems back to the creation of Miley’s ‘Bangerz’ album over 10 years ago. A collaboration with Pharell, it’s full of his trademark production with it’s 4 count intro and bouncy, funky percussion. It appears to have tanked in the charts around the world which, whilst isn’t overly surprising (people seem a bit over Pharell’s sound and the track is repetitive) doesn’t seem fair. It’s a great song. Not Miley’s best but fun all the same.
MARIS – GOING YET!
An electrifying electropop smash with flavours from the 80’s and a huge chorus. Warm verses give way to a loud, irresistable chorus complete with 80’s synth riffs and endlessly reverberating gated percussion. Amazing track.
Duskus – Moss
I really like Duskus. He’s a London based producer and creates atmospheric, electrifying electronic music. This glitchy, moody instrumental house track is full of eerie sounds and distant synths over thumping beats.
S Club (Bradley and Jon) – Good Times
A sweet rendition of Paul Cattermole’s lead vocal S Club song ‘Good Times’ from 2001’s ‘Sunshine’ album in memory of him and to mark his birthday. Whilst some elements feel rushed/done-on-the-cheap (the vocals feel slightly distorted and Jon’s vocals are out of synch with the song), it’s a lovely, poignant and well-arranged version.
one vo1ce – Lights
I’d never heard of one vo1ce until Spotify delivered this gem to me. It turns out this Filipino-American R&B trio have been together since the mid 90’s. This is from their latest album ‘Here To Stay’ and feels like a throwback to 80’s soul/R&B. Catchy and warm with lovely harmonies and twinkling synths over punchy drum programming.
Ryan Mack – Did You Love Me Ever?
This is a pretty pop piano ballad which I came across due to the power of reels on the internet! The reel in question showed the process behind creating this song, with Ryan’s family forming the choir. Really lovely, this.
DJ Cassidy, Robin Thicke and Jessie J – Calling All Hearts
This disco track is huge fun with funky bass lines, Nile-Rodgers-inspired funk guitars and irresistable rhythm. Robin’s voice is as soulful as ever and Jessie’s powerful and electric vocals elevate this to new heights.
Alex Blue – So Good
This is a Pop Bop with funky rhythm guitars, wah-wah keyboards, laidback vocals, a great bass line and a chilled vibe.
Guy Sebastian and Sam Fischer – Antidote
A sublime piano ballad with gorgeous melodies, lovely vocals and exquisite piano riffs which builds into a huge, powerful power ballad. Simply lovely.
Lake Street Dive – Automatic
Lake Street Dive got it so right with this pop-soul/jazz interpretation of The Pointer Sisters’s classic 1980’s hit ‘Automatic’. Slight modifictations in the chords and arrangements mean they make this own, whilst remaining tasteful to the original.
Finn Forster – On My Mind
If you love singer-songwriters and indie music in a similar vein to Sam Fender, you’ll love this. Proving that guitar music is actually still a thing, singer-songwriter Finn Forster delivers on this anthemic rock track with great vocals and a brilliant chorus.
Extra keen and want to listen to these all back to back? Unlikely but in case you do, here’s the playlist, along with 3 extra tracks:
the-music-box.co.uk 