Hope you all are staying safe at home and staying healthy! This week we have five great new songs to jam to while we’re all still in quarantine. Multi-Platinum musical duo twenty one pilots released their first new single in two years, DJ Alesso collaborated with Liam Payne for an upbeat tune, award-winning artists Leon Bridges and John Mayer teamed up for a soft easy-listening track, Hayley Williams continues to release a new song each week from her solo project, and indie rockers Mt. Joy inspiring good vibes with their latest song! All that and more in this week’s edition of New Music Friday…
“Level Of Concern” by twenty one pilots
twenty one pilots have returned with their first new single since their 2018 fifth studio album, Trench. This is a pretty rad song if I do say so myself in regards to the ongoing quarantine we’re experiencing right now. Even though it references the current pandemic, this still feels like a song they would put out to the world in my opinion.
Lead singer Tyler Joseph revealed recently that this is the first ever song he recorded on an electric guitar citing it as “simple but hopeful.”
Portions of the proceeds from the song will go towards Crew Nation, a relief fund dedicated to helping the affected families of the coronavirus who work in the touring and music venue industries.
The music video above is a collection of home-recordings of Joseph and drummer, Josh Dun jamming out to the new song.
There’s also an appearance of Joseph’s wife and infant daughter as well as Dun’s fiancé/actress Debby Ryan.
I like the flash drive aesthetic for the single. They resorted to snail mailing the drive back and forth with iterations of the new song and by the end of the video there’s a funny twist that you have to see for yourself!
Download/stream the new track now.
“Midnight” by Alesso (feat. Liam Payne)
Swedish DJ/producer Alesso teamed up with One Direction member and now solo singer-songwriter, Liam Payne for a song that’s quite comforting to the ears. The DJ calls this song one of his favorite songs he’s ever made. He added that it’s been helping him get through these weird times.
Fun Fact: Alesso added a part of the drop in the instrumental of DNCE’s song, “Still Good” into this song.
In the above performance video which was filmed in quarantine last month, Alesso was in a studio in L.A. while Liam recorded his parts from a London rooftop. Collaboration in today’s quarantine world works seamlessly thanks to technology. Imagine if we didn’t have Internet or smartphones, then this project might not have been made!
If you’re looking to ease some of the quarantine blues, this will be a welcome addition to your playlist(s). Listen and get the track, right here.
“Inside Friend” by Leon Bridges and John Mayer
Need a slow jam for your quarantine playlists??? Then this is a perfect choice for you. While physical interactions outside have been extremely limited lately, this song could help reinforce those inside interactions with your loved ones and can potentially make your romantic relationship stronger indoors too.
This is Grammy-winning artist, Leon Bridges’ first song since his Texas Sun EP which dropped in February. He teams up with fellow Grammy-winning artist John Mayer for this mellow and smooth R&B track.
Apparently it took the COVID-19 crisis to inspire Bridges to finish this song with Mayer according to his recent tweet seen here:
He goes on to say that he hopes this song will soothe our souls and uplift our spirits while we hunker down indoors for the foreseeable future.
You can download/stream their new song, here.
“My Friend” by Hayley Williams
From having an inside friend to talking about a friend with this week’s fourth pick, Hayley Williams of Paramore has a song dedicated to her best friend and hair and makeup artist, Brian J. O’Connor.
Through thick and thin, he has been by her side in her life and career. I thought this was a perfect way to acknowledge someone you’ve known for a long time. Through a series of past video clips put together for the above video, you can see how much fun these two have had over the past year when life was still normal and touring wasn’t a daily hazard.
The song really puts in perspective how much a friend has impacted your own life. So if you need a song to help inspire you to shout out your friend(s) or best friend(s) in life during this odd time we’re living in now, this definitely is the one.
“My Friend” is available now to download and stream.
“My Vibe” by Mt. Joy
For the fifth and final pick for this week, we have “My Vibe” by indie-rock group, Mt. Joy. This is suitable for those who want a nice pick me up to help alleviate any sadness, stress or anxiety.
It’s true that we should all move to feel better. Staying sad and moping by yourself will only cause you to feel down and depressed. Hopefully by listening to this song and watching this fun video with broom guitar playing and dancing french fries and utensils will help brighten your day.
This song will be part of their second studio album, Rearrange Us slated for release on June 5th.
Thanks for reading another edition of New Music Friday. Happy listening! Drop a comment down below letting me know which song(s) you will be listening to this week.
Philip's Music Corner 