We gave up procrastination for Lent. Now that that’s over, we’d like to wish you a happy Easter and we’ll finish writi…
NICO — “These Days” — as described by jackson wiley roach
Listen to this song on a lonely rainy morning as you drink tea and look out the murky window of your Seattle apartment, watching the slow way that orange spills over the horizon into the blue-grey sky. Listen to the soft, brandy-colored texture of finger-picked electric guitar, the lilting sweeps of strings, the way Nico’s gentle German accent curls around the warm syllables of her voice, smooth and solid and bright. Get the feeling that everything has just woken up, that the world is new and bleary-eyed and beautiful, that it has not had time to make any bad decisions yet, or has not yet had time to remember them.
DISCLOSURE — “When A Fire Starts To Burn” — as described by alejandra salazar
Throwback to the first time I listened to the entirety of Settle, Disclosure’s debut album release, in one extra-long sitting. Fall quarter, dorm room speakers, amped up bass. I was camped out on the floor next to a growing pile of homework going nowhere. My friend Stephen had spent twenty minutes contemplating a pizza order. By the time this song came on loop the third time around, the trajectory of what would have been a typical weekday work night shifted into one of those rare musical experiences that can be likened to sensory spontaneous combustion. While I recommend all of Settle, “When A Fire Starts To Burn” is that opener that gets you hooked. That lyrical sampling alone (work of genius) will have you singing along soon enough.
PRINZE GEORGE - “Victor” - as described by margaret wenzlau
I listened to this song all weekend instead of going to Coachella. Most definitely less exciting, but also not as hot or dusty. Regardless—cool song, which gets particularly soulful following the “mmmhmmm” in the second line.
CHELA — “Romanticise” — as described by tulio ospina
I think we’ve traveled back in time to a better version of the 80s! Here’s a song that harkens us back to the funky beats of punk singers like Blondie, with a music video that should help define “cool” in the dictionary. The two go hand in hand. Watch this video if you want to learn the definition of cool and then dance it with your drunk friends. Listen if you like groovy disco beats, electropunk, and a catchy song you can easily memorize.
DOSS — “The Way I Feel” — as described by adam bowles
Sometime in the near future a highly advanced and sentient robot may become self-aware. It will sound something like this mysterious lil tech jam from Doss. (◕‿-)
SOHN — “Artifice” — as described by performance editor bojan srb
SOHN is probably the artist I’ll associate with April of 2014. When I’m old and living in a pastel-colored retirement village in Florida, I hope this is the kind of vintage my grandkids will want to listen to when they visit me. Make no mistake - SOHN’s first album, Tremors, is as magical as it is abstract. It’s like that tint-filter on Snapchat everybody adds to make their eyes bluer and their lips redder. It shouldn’t make sense, but it does.
SHE & HIM — “London” — as described by editor at large katharine schwab
These days I’m remembering the rain of London with fondness. The rain and England’s ambivalent skies and simple piano chords and Zooey Deschanel’s ethereal, breathy voice has become a soundtrack to my nostalgia for aimlessness and days spent wandering and ducking into a cafe for a subtle cup of tea.
ISAIAH RASHAD — “Heavenly Father” — as described by managing editor alec arceneaux
I listened to Cilvia Demo when it first dropped and didn’t give it much of a second thought. This past week, though, I’ve listened to it like four times. I’m still having trouble articulating it, but Isaiah Rashad has a really great and mature delivery and songwriting ability. I think people were kind of underwhelmed by his debut because they expected TDE to sign someone as great as Kendrick, but Rashad raps like he’s already got life figured out, even as he talks about struggling with it. He doesn’t have hooks, or elaborate melodies, or crazy flows, but his songs just feel so perfectly complete. I doubt he’ll ever make an album that goes gold, but he has a songwriting knack that is virtually unparalleled despite its humble aspirations.
(‘17, undeclared) is from Los Angeles. He likes board games and Wikipedia. He sometimes makes things and posts them at wrzelewo.tumblr.com.
(‘17, Communication, Music Editor) is a contributor from San Antonio, TX. She believes in making playlists for every occasion and chronically overthinks everything.
(‘17, Undeclared) is from southern West Virginia. He likes adventure, music, and mischief. He is currently undecided about everything.
(‘16, English, Editor-in-Chief) learned most of his English from Cartoon Network. What Bojan cares about: Freud, cities, gazpacho, and you.
(‘15, English, Outgoing Editor-in-Chief) likes to write songs about gravity and days that don't end. Katharine is from Pasadena, CA and she's only been to one Rose Bowl game. Ever.
(‘16, Undeclared, Literature Editor) hails originally from Lafayette, Louisiana. When not gator wrestlin’ or crawfish boilin’, Alec spends his time playing and listening to music, reading, writing, and dominating at fantasy football. He writes for the Stanford Review and is a member of the local jazz ensemble Skeleton Crew.