Hello readers! Happy Friday once again! I’m pleased to share another round of music recommendations this week for you all! I’m highlighting all new music from Sia, OneRepublic, Kylie Minogue, Bastille & Waterparks. Feel free to read on and listen! Share your thoughts and feelings about them in the comments box below the post.
“Courage To Change” by Sia
Kicking off this week’s picks with the talented musician, Sia and her new song “Courage To Change.” With the recent headlines of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the ridiculous announcement that none of the officers are going to be charged for killing Breonna Taylor, we could all use a song right now to help heal these gut-wrenching blows.
Taken from her upcoming directorial debut film, Music, the 9x Grammy-nominated singer-sognwriter left a powerful message in the description of the new song on YouTube.
“The only thing that remains constant is change.” Now more than ever we need to pull together to fight for humanity, social justice, equality & so much more. It’s time for real change.”
With the upcoming election in November for the U.S., hopefully we do see the first steps towards real and impactful change! A new president will send ripple effects all around the world and for generations to come.
Musically and sonically, this song is another anthemic track from her. It deserves all the love and attention from the hardcore Sia fans, the casuals and anyone new who discovers this song out of the whim. It starts off a bit of a downer lyrically speaking in the first verse, but her strong and comforting vocals pivots and reassures us that “we’re not alone in all this” and that when we stand together, “we can do anything!” Also, that piano solo bridge will give you goosebumps! Soooo good!
CBS has already put out a new CBS Salutes commercial campaign which features this inspiring song. Check that out if you like, by clicking here.
I wanted to end my thoughts about the song by saying this track along with her 2016 single, “Unstoppable” go hand in hand. They’re both such amazing motivational boosters to have on your playlists!
“Wild Life” by OneRepublic
For my second pick of the week, we have another movie soundtrack song with OneRepublic’s contribution to the Disney+ Original Film, Clouds. It’s titled “Wild Life” and wow just wow, this is another amazing song from the Grammy-nominated group.
Early reactions from the comments section on YouTube say this feels like a Native track and I agree! The beginning sounds similar to their deep cut “Au Revoir.” The orchestral sounding, anthemic feel to it gives me the chills and by the chorus you just feel totally immersed with this world they beautifully paint. Everything from the waves of notes being played to lead singer, Ryan Tedder’s signature vocals, it’s simply spectacular! A well produced/mixed track, all thanks to their collaborator and mixing engineer, Jeff Nathaniel. He also co-written/co-produced the band’s previous singles, “Better Days,” and “Lose Somebody” with Kygo.
From a lyrical standpoint, this feels like a quarantine song because we’ve all had a crazy 2020 thus far and it’s extremely likely that all of your plans for the year have been altered in some shape or form. We all want to just be free, spread our proverbial wings, do the things that make us happy in life and be our unique selves. But in difficult times like this one where we can’t go out as much as we used to, it’s easy to feel let down by things you can’t control. Our dreams may be on hold right now but staying hopeful and optimistic will lead to brighter days ahead and I love how the band conveys that in this song. New plans can be made and new experiences will emerge once we get through this health crisis and a widely available and safe vaccine is distributed around the world.
From a visual standpoint in the lyric video, you’ll enjoy the song even more as you witness the beauty of the ocean waves crashing along the rocks and shoreline, the cries of seagulls flying all about and the lush forest trees grouped together from both perspectives, high atop and on the ground. Feel free to close your eyes when you replay the song. Simply awesome!
The band’s upcoming album, Human was suppose to drop earlier this summer but was put on hold as the band felt it wasn’t right to put out during a global pandemic. Hopefully a new date will be revealed soon, but for now, this soundtrack song will keep us waiting patiently at what’s to come in 2021.
“Magic” by Kylie Minogue
Dance-pop singer Kylie Minogue really knows her bread and butter! She just released her second tasting from her highly anticipated new album, Disco this week and it’s pure magic!
If you could use a serotonin boost right now, look no further to Minogue’s “Magic.” Also, if you’re pleased with your current status of your love life whether it be your first year dating or several years or more together, then you will connect well with these lyrics which depicts someone who’s literally living on cloud 9 right now and doesn’t want that sheer bliss to stop.
I have a feeling that this track will be heavily played in a post-pandemic world at clubs and parties all across the globe! But for now, you’ll have to enjoy it and dance along from the comforts of your own home.
“survivin'” by Bastille
English rock band, Bastille dropped a new track this week to the surprise of many of their fans. I feel this is their quarantine jam and I’m happy to report it’s an amazing song!
Face it, 2020 has been out of the ordinary. It seems like we’ve established a new daily norm of just getting out of the bed and just getting through each day, week in and week out. The boredom and monotony has settled in for the time being for most of us. You start or already are questioning the current state of the world. If you’re feeling that way, then this song is for you!
This track follows their other surprise drop, “WHAT YOU GONNA DO???” ft. Graham Coxon back in July. That song was more on the rock side of things while “survivin'” is more relaxed and contemporary. Both sound like a departure from their previous hits like “Pompeii,” “Bad Blood,” & “Flaws.”
I’m eager to hear what their upcoming fourth album will sound like. I love it when a band explores their sound and experiment in new genres or sub-genres. They don’t force themselves to be in just one box. They’re truly an authentic band to listen to.
The accompanying lyric video will leave a great impression on you. The generally positive vibes vocally speaking is overlayed on trippy backgrounds of clouds and lava lamp-esque colors. A true visual delight!
Sonically, I was caught off guard by the sax solo parts. I don’t know about you, but I thought it was a cool and smart decision they made. You can thank their touring member Rittipo for that contribution!
“Lowkey As Hell” by Waterparks
Pop-rock band, Waterparks is back with a new song called “Lowkey As Hell.” While it sounds like a positive upbeat track, the lyrics are quite a downer as lead singer, Awsten Knight expresses throughout this short but concise 2:15 song. He delves into topics of success, loneliness and overall mental health. Of course the work they put out is resonating with fans, but at what cost? He ponders, does it make sense to keep making heart breaking songs?
“I guess at least my work is working, right?
I think people like me better when I’m hurt inside
They say it’s not true, and they hope I’m alright
But their eyes probably rolled at the first line”
An interesting nugget about this song is the fact that he changed parts of the “Watch What Happens Next?” pre-chorus and post-chorus lines from, “I like cool shirts, I like cold rings/I want a big house, I want nice things.” to “I like cool shirts, I like cold rings/I want a big house, but I’m hiding.” That shows just because you’re rich and famous, he’s still human just like all of us.
Like what Demi Lovato and Marshmello advocate in their new song “OK Not To Be OK,” it truly is okay to not feeling okay as long as you open up to others so that you could get the support you need. In this case, it’s Knight cathartically revealing to the Parxies, he never had a day off since his blue hair days (Double Dare era) and that he should call his parents more often to let them know he’s fine. Hopefully in quarantine, he’s gotten the rest he needs and he’s spending some valuable personal time with the fam away from the hustle and bustle.
The band has come off their most successful album cycles yet with Fandom in 2019 and then the pandemic hit and ever since then ’til now, it’s been lowkey and highkey a challenging time for them. Knight really misses his friends and going out on tour with the band. They had to halt all touring this summer, so they’ve lost the ability to play live in front of their fans.
Knight went dark on his socials for five months only to finally emerge just this past week on Instagram Live with an acoustic session of older hits like “Rare,” “Lucky People” and “Dream Boy” and subtly hinting at the new era by playing a snippet of this song while not so subtly cutting off his neon green hair to the listeners’ surprise. That basically confirmed the Fandom era was over.
It remains to be seen what the new “G” era will sound like. The band will likely continue that tradition of naming albums in consecutive order. But expect the band to pivot in all sorts of directions sonically speaking in the new record as they too do not like to sound the same in every album.
With their new label, 300 Entertainment which mostly caters to hip-hop artists, perhaps we will hear more hip-hop and trap vibes spliced in with their rock roots moving forward. The future continues to look bright for these guys!
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