5 More Songs You Need to Add to Your Playlist

        On this list I have once again put together another collection of fantastic songs that are thematically and sonically gorgeous additions for your playlists. These tracks range from ethereally intoxicating to absolutely devastating in emotional qualities and textures. There are only 5 cuts this time around due to the fact that nobody has the patience or time to read through 2000 words of text, so I figured I would shorten it up a bit by carefully selecting tracks that are crucial picks for contention in your playlists. Again, a playlist is like a reflection of you, and what yours contains is vital to present yourself as a musical savant, so without further ado here are 5 tracks to add that will bolster any playlist perceived as mediocre or downright rubbish. A Spotify playlist with these tracks will be posted below.

1. Rose

    YellowStraps are a Belgian electronic R&B/Soul duo, and how they have stayed out of the spotlight is unfathomable because their music is emotionally luscious in every aspect. “Rose” is off of their record Goldress and it is hard to describe the beauty of this track with just words. The track is continuously characterized by a dreamy synth loop that opens the song and progressively becomes more fluid as it distances itself in the background and fades away into the onset of the piano chords that come on this track. “Rose” has some groovy percussion and the guitar chords that pop up throughout are deeply textured and extremely catchy, urging the song along with rich, emotional bravado and hungry passion. The vocals are divine, especially on the chorus when all the instrumentation elements are present and they sing “Guided by the silence, Hold me in the light, Roses turning black, I need to open up my eyes, Voiceless in the darkness, Travelling in my mind, State I can’t disguise, I need to figure how to try.” The track is expressing the concept of this person who is the “Rose” and how their life is either killing the rose or causing it to flourish, with the best nourishment coming from love.

2. Heartstrings

    This next track is "Heartstrings," a duo between the young, emerging artist Felly and Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana. The track is easily grasped in the message it is attempting to convey, with Felly crooning about a girl “pulling on his heartstrings” and chronicling the intense love he feels for her. The production is where this track shines, as it is overwhelmed by the moody electric chords Santana provides, with the drums and basslines creating an infatuating melody and a funky, gushing rhythm. There are some scarce, high pitched synth keys that occasionally come into play as well, further boosting the sonic nature and somber emotional tendencies of the song. The lyrics and vocals from Felly are done quite well, but this track really shines at the end when we get a guitar solo from Santana. The chords and melodies he creates are a masterclass in talent and execution, able to harmonize so many notes and convey a vast array of feelings with just his fingers, truly catapulting this track into a sun-filled bliss of sound and emotion.

3. Gemini

    Tash Sultana is an Australian singer-songwriter, with a focus on sounds that resemble pop, R&B and electronic alternative music. She produces and records all the music herself, and her song “Gemini” is a glorious example of all of that combined. Her harmonization is otherworldly, with the track beginning with her angelic voice “oohing” and “ahhing” and continuing intermittently throughout. The vocals are some of the best I have ever heard point blank, with Tash delivering lyrics that are vibrant in notes and the ranges she operates in know no bounds. The instrumentation is slow and beautiful, charmed with a whirring synth note that vibrates up and down in a legato nature, with ample amounts of snaps and little pieces of percussion to build a beat that is as devastating in sadness as it is glorious in grandeur. The highlight would be the electro-guitar solo that appears halfway through in this cut, emanating tones of confidence and emotional textures of pain and loss.

4. Valerie

    The Weeknd has a massive discography, but his earlier mixtapes such as Thursday are largely overlooked for some peculiar reason. The next track on this list, “Valerie” is off of Thursday and the first question we should all ask ourselves is “Who is this girl and what did she do to you Abel?” the track is loaded with a heap of miniscule synths and sounds that come off as futuristic and spacy, carried along by percussion with delicate Hi-hats and a mellow bass. All these production elements add to this energizing mystique that “Valerie” conveys; a track of sheer love and grueling sadness, with the listener wondering if this girl ripped The Weekend’s heart in half, or maybe he did it to himself and that is what makes it more unbearable. Abel’s vocals are damning and filled with pure ecstasy at the same time, shattering reality with lyrics such as “I know, Valerie, You’d rather this than be alone, ‘Cause I love you, And I need you, I only want you, And nobody’s going to know if it’s true.” The track is further exemplified in emotion later by an orchestral chord that has been synthed up and plays over the lyrics above, adding to the massive amounts of regret, sadness and turmoil felt by The Weeknd throughout this entire cut.

5. Hardknock

    The next track “Hardknock” by Joey Bada$$ featuring CJ Fly is the ultimate embodiment and essence of true rap and hip hop. Off of his debut mixtape 1999, arguably the greatest rap mixtape ever, The production is akin to NYC boom bap that has been flipped into a melancholic and truth-filled barrage of harsh realities and grim outlooks, characterized with an unrelenting, sharp -pitched snare and almost unbearable piano synths that really bring out the feelings the listener experiences while delving into this song. Joey’s rapping and lyricism are at peak performance, hitting with lyrics such as “Just got word from my man’s on the island, He said he needed guidance, Niggas on the streets is wyling, He look to God, but can’t find him, So he demands silence from the glaring sirens, to sympathy symphony, only thing playin’ is the band violence.” Here we can see Joey is conveying the fact that he is surrounded by violence, but this is a reality and part of his life, one in which he actively took part in as told later on the lyrics “Young guns know nothing’ that’s better, like fuck a prison letter, those Berettas led us to the lettuce.” The rhyme scheme with “Berettas,” “led us” and “lettuce” was brilliant, but it doesn’t take way from the fact that Joey is speaking the truth here, and he must stop living his life this way if he wants to “have a wife and kids one day”, as he says this on the hook throughout the entire track.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/62my2jKsGOIOUSZ8CSOGrZ?si=mV2OkzNzRxGsuv5vtBt56Q