I know what you’re thinking – we just got a singles edition post for new music! But friends, there’s more!
Declan McKenna
“Nothing Works” – I was under the assumption that with a tour and now two new singles that McKenna was going to have a new album out really soon. Turns out it’s going to be in February, but I’m still excited about it! The new album is going to be call Where is the Beach?, and the second single is somehow more fun than the first. I’ve had the chorus stuck in my head for the last two days and I don’t think it’s going anywhere soon. This is a kind of song that has such a fun energy and I find myself picturing chaotic movie montages featuring best friends running around to it. Future movies, take note. I really enjoyed the lyric “it’s not like I’m up and coming anymore.” True, he’s come a long way from his hit”Brazil” at just fifteen years old, but I think he’s more than proven himself since then.
Don Broco
“Birthday Party” – Holy shiiiitttt! New Don Broco just a month before I see them again?! Yes, please! Though I am sad that this means it’s kind of the end of the Amazing Things era, this new song has me hyped for their future, and I truly hope we don’t have to wait too long into 2024 to get it. Firstly, the promo for this song, and subsequently its music video, is creepy as all hell. The graphics are something you’d see from someone who’s trying to make something awful and it just looks like it crawled out from the bowels of hell. Anyway, that has no impact on the song itself really, and I loved it! It’s quite different from anything they’ve released before, though it sounded like a natural progression from Amazing Things. Lots of Matt singing! And there were some really interesting vocal treatments throughout the whole song, really. I can’t wait for more!
Olivia Rodrigo
“Bad Idea Right?” – I can’t remember if I’ve reviewed a song of hers before, but I have to say, I don’t hate her. With this newer track and a few of her older ones, she’s managed to mix pop music successfully into a rock/grunge sound. In a recent interview I heard her say that 90s and grunge are her “aesthetic,” but she’s done a good job of bleeding that sound into her work. The chorus actually reminded me a lot of the new Declan McKenna track, at least from a vibe perspective. I can only think of chaos montages. This song, too, has some fun vocal treatments with more spoken-word verses and almost like a cheer/yell for the chorus. I give her props, most pop music doesn’t catch my ear these days.