5 More Songs You Should Add To Your Playlist

 

    

    With the year slowly coming to an end we are back again with another edition of 5 more songs you should add to your playlist! Hopefully this list contains a few hidden gems that spark your interest and as always, a Spotify link with all these songs will be posted below.

1. Rolling (feat. Saba) - Alex Banin

    This First track is off of Alex Banin’s stellar EP DID I Imagine, released earlier this year and includes fellow Chicago based artist Saba. The cut is a euphoric vibe of delicate chords spliced perfectly with Alex’s striking voice. Her lyrics intoxify the senses, and the semi-skeletal instrumentation help the drums stand out immensely. All this works in perfect harmony, allowing her creative blend of pop-rap production and R&B vocal melodies to meld perfectly, delivering one of the coolest songs of the year. Saba is the perfect foil to Alex’s more dreamy vocals, weaving through the new piano chords that have popped up, rapping until the cut is finished off by Alex’s gorgeous hook.

2. Days That Got Away - MGMT

    “Days That Got Away” is mostly instrumentation from the beginning of the song until the end, and you know from the immediate onset of the evolving synths that this is going to be one of MGMT’s stranger pieces. What is even weirder are the relaxing drums that come in next, followed by the melting chords that start dancing around the sparkling notes hitting way off in the distance. I know this is a lot to take in but this track is a slow burn of ethereal sounds and yearning nostalgia. The only lyrics on this track are a combination of the words “Days that got away,” so the majority of your attention is in the seemingly endless number of notes, chords and quirky sounds that have been meticulously crafted into this song. Every listen of “Days That Got Away” is a new experience and will make you reminisce of something you can’t quite place your finger on.

3.    Situations - PARIS TEXAS

 

    Probably the most innovative and charismatic new group in the underground hip-hop scene are PARIS TEXAS, composed of members Felix and Louie Pastel. Their debut record BOY ANONYMOUS was a 22 minute barrage of lyrical sharpness and production genius. “SITUATIONS” was the standout track, creatively engineered with piercing snares that play well off the aggressive, ominously distorted kicks. The verses are clean and they grab hold instantly as Louie and Felix work within the natural distortion of the grimy tune, delivering catchy lines such as “Told me stay inside, and focus on my grades, Since I been outside got weight up on my name, Couldn’t stay behind ‘cause shit would stay the same.” The track concludes with some gnarly guitar riffs to spice up the outro and we slowly hear the wane of “Don't wait to take control, It’s too late to take control of me” uttered until the end. At surface level these guys might present themselves as another oddly aggressive boy band, but this duo is clearly different and they know how to make some great music.

4.  Promises - Cleo Sol

    A song of self-love and broken promises, off of a record about the experience of Motherhood. It doesn't get more authentic than that and this track, like the album it is from, is an incredible journey from start to finish. The steady drum loop beautifully supports the slightly jazzy nature of the track, allowing Cleo to arrange some angelic vocal melodies that lean a little more R&B. The production is further polished with the addition of some mellow, sun-filled piano keys that trickle down throughout the track as it progresses. This cut is rich with emotional lyrics especially on the latter half of the track when Cleo sings “I wrote a letter to myself and it was full of promises, One for you and one for me, Love is not our enemy.” The cherry on top are the sprinkling of acoustic chords heard throughout and her lush vocal melodies that serenade periodically towards the end of the song.

5. 5 to 50 (feat. India) - Benny The Butcher.

    This track brings out a different vibe than we are used to seeing in Benny The Butcher, with this track phasing out his usual, aggressive piano melodies for a more grimy percussion-driven piece of gangster rap. Benny grasps our attention with an evolution into his stark life as a drug dealer turned rapper and the track is an onslaught of realities Benny experienced when he was younger. The delivery remains very casual, not overtly aggressive in a way that would confuse the acceptance and storytelling aspect of this song. There is a perfect splattering of synthesized notes and some grungy guitar chords that appear throughout that further lend themselves to the ominous tones of this cut. The song is nonchalant overall but this makes for a more lucid and tranquil dive into the dangerous realities Benny faced coming up and the song is great departure from his more mainstream work.  

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3c2tvJOfZrAhS0Ay3g0WuT?si=5Z0onXb_TkG7Ggtg3gYXXg