Welcome to RXCOMMENDS, where our team of music curators pick the best tracks released this week. What new music has been occupying our office playlist and what fresh picks are we programming for our clients? Find out below!
“Dawning of the Season” – Magdalena Bay
By: Michael Primiani
If you haven’t figured it out yet by tuning into RXCOMMENDS every week (Hi mom!) or the full article I wrote on here for a dedicated playlist that YOU LOYAL SUBSCRIBER should ask your music consultant for (I have instructed our Tech Crew to wake me up in the middle of the night to program this one myself) – I can’t get enough of dream pop. I have been digging the recent singles from this group, Magdalena Bay all year as I’ve waited for this full length. Mercurial World is here and it absolutely rips. It has that spooky, ethereal witch house edge for your spooky fall plans. It also has a timeless, inspired by the 80s but made for the internet age quality to it as well. “Dawning of the Season” features a bit of a disco edge, with bold synths and a groovy bassline. Mica’s whispery sweet but sultry vocals work perfectly with Matthew’s layered, dreamy (only had so many adjectives before having to use this one) production. This one will go on the Halloween programs but stick around for more late nights once the monsters have mashed and the ghosts have been busted.
“What If I” – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
By: Ben Birchard
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have released another single in advance of their fourth studio album The Future (set to drop Nov 5th on Stax Records). “What If I” lyrically asks the question “what if I can’t get my sh*t together?” and kind of musically answers the question “what if Van Morrison had kept his sh*t together?”
Jenny Lewis and Jess Wolfe (of Lucius) contribute some vocals here – is it just me or is Lucius featured on a new single every week these days? They are becoming a modern-day Toto’s rhythm section of backup vox.
This sweet mid-tempo groove can work in so many situations – but it feels like a great way to kick off happy hour, whether it’s with beer, bourbon, or wine, setting the table nicely for the barn burners surely to follow soon after.
“Pain” – PinkPantheress
By: Michael Primiani
PinkPatheress, who has been trending recently for going viral on TikTok, released her debut album to hell with it last week. It’s a sonic pop R&B nostalgic dreamscape that we’ve enjoyed getting lost in. The range of genres PinkPatheress pulls from are quite varied. From synth pop, to neo-soul, to the Japanese inspired electropop sounds of Kero Kero Bonito – it all works as a cohesive whole. “Pain” pulls from R&B but is heavily entrenched in the late 90s/early 2000s sound of UK garage music. Sampling the 2-step drums from Sweet Female Attitude’s 2000 single “Flowers”, this track and many others on to hell with it do a lot to bring back this oldhead genre to newhead music. I’d love to hear this one in a ramen joint, but also while sipping a cocktail. Anywhere I can chill out and indulge in something familiar yet complex. Or played on the popular UK garage radio station Kurupt FM. Although you very much need to be in the Brentford area to hear it.
“The Way You Make Me Feel” – The Kount, Marc Rebillet, Moods
By: Lindsay Bell
This silky smooth collaboration between iconic electronic artists The Kount, Marc Rebillet & Moods will have you grooving in your velvet robe while drinking a glass of deep bodied red. It’s got funky bass rhythm to keep your slippers tapping and smooth harmonies to hit you right in the feels. This would be perfect for a dark and moody lounge or a quiet night in at the secluded cabin.
For more tunes like this, check out our playlist Monday Mood | Vibey Velvet!
“Jump The Turnstile” – TV Girl & Jordana
By: Michael Primiani
TV Girl is a master of indie synth pop sampling. Here they team up with artist Jordana for an Avalanches plunderphonics style head bopper. Luscious strings combine with a vocal sample from the Beastie Boys track “3-Minute Rule” which was off their second album – Paul’s Boutique. The irony here is that Paul’s Boutique was also a plunderphonics samplers dream. Jordana’s vocals smoothly glide on top of this stitched together palette. This song and the rest of this EP Summer’s End is the perfect welcome to the fall by lamenting a version of this past summer that may or may not have existed. This one should be the background of a fun activity. Fall patio with shuffleboard or a bean bag toss, a driving range or even some bowling.
You can listen to the tracks we mentioned along with other songs our team has been enjoying this week in the Spotify playlist below:
