Our music recommendations: What we’re listening to this week, from LAUREL to mary in the junkyard
Is your playlist in need of refreshment? We have some suggestions.
LAUREL - Burning Up
Despite its chipper synth-pop surroundings, Burning Up â the latest to come from LA-based Brit LAUREL â delves into darker subject matter, detailing the feeling of teetering on the brink of a panic attack, the tension between pop polish and raw, candid lyrics keeping up the momentum.
mary in the junkyard - Marble Arch
Experimental London trio mary in the junkyard have built up a solid rep as regulars on the stage of Brixton new music spot The Windmill, and are now gearing up to release debut EP This Old House on May 9. Ahead of that, here’s an early glimpse in the shape of Marble Arch, which borrows its name from a reference to the London landmark in a copy of Angela Carter’s Wise Children. The song, explains Clari Freeman-Taylor, is about “the intense relationship between sisters, and leaving home and not wanting to come back.”
Jessica Pratt - World On A String
There’s a haunting, lo-fi quality to World On A String; its blend of classic-sounding pop melodies and fuzzy production reminds me of the Baltimore dream-pop band Beach House. It lands ahead of the LA singer-songwriter’s new album Here in the Pitch, out on May 3.
Chastity Belt - Laugh
This grungey highlight from the Walla Walla rockers’ new album Live Laugh Love sees Julia Shapiro and the band reflecting on carefree days, with bittersweet fondness: “remember that summer we spent living instead , I wanted it to last, but it’s all in my head.”
Tyla - Art
“Handle me carefully,” Tyla sings on this amapiano-influenced highlight from her debut album, which â despite first impressions â is not actually about taking a responsible approach to painting conservation. Instead, the gallery metaphors make for a pleasingly steamy love song.
John Grant - It’s A
