MUST LISTEN 065
Every week, we’ll be bringing you Must Listen: a series that's a compilation of rising artists along with songs that must be added to your everyday playlist. This week’s playlist consists of emerging acts like Molly Burch, YUNHWAY, and Fleece. Turn on, tune in, and zone out.
Duo Anne and Bryce of Chinese American Bear are a marriage made in bedroom-pop heaven in more ways than one—they’re actually married! Their latest single “饺子 (Dumpling)” bends genre conventions as half heartfelt love song and half instructional video on how to make dumplings. All of their singles, of which there are three so far, are sung in both English and Mandarin.
Austin-based singer Molly Burch teams up with drag queen Cynthia Lee Fontaine in the diva-dream of a music video for new single, “Took A Minute.” Deviating slightly from the romantic rock vibes of her previous work, Burch leans a little more into disco-pop for the new track. Her new album, Romantic Images, drops July 23rd, 2021.
UK artist HIRA blends his talents in the audio and visual mediums to create a stunning visualizer for his new song, “Reminisce.” The lyrics travel through the haze of the ever-shifting emotional ties to our memories, while the production swallows you whole, immersing the listener in a surround-sound illusion. The track comes off the new EP, Pure Gas, coming this summer.
Listening to Lou Val’s “Catch 22” is like sinking slowly into a bed covered in silk sheets and being lulled into a sweet dream. It’s the first track on his latest EP, Tayo And The Dreamer—the title takes after a childhood nickname. On this track and others on the project, the Toronto artist muses over the turmoil of the past couple years of his life.
LA legends Chicano Batman are back with “Dark Star.” The four-piece, made up of Eduardo Arenas, Carlos Arévalo, Bardo Martinez, and Gabriel Villaare released the track along with it’s softer companion, “Pastel Sunrise.” The song is tough yet slightly psychedelic, laid on top of lyrics that present the challenge of working against the parameters that American society places on us.
There aren’t many people who could pull off a sound as eclectic as “aggressive elevator music.” Doing just that is Huntington Beach’s very own Cameron Lew, better known as Ginger Root. With the new single “Loretta,” Lew hits nostalgia on the nose and channels city-pop for a modern audience, setting up the anticipation of his new EP, City Slicker, out this August.
Cited as an EDM song gone elsewhere, Montreal’s Fleece ended up with a happy accident in new single “Bodies Lie.” The band’s usual line up consists Ethan Soil, Gabe Miller, and Jameson on their usual instruments, but here Megan Ennenberg takes on lead vocals from lead singer Matt Rogers for the first time on the track, which swells its way from a quiet beginning and builds up and out to a euphoric end. It’s the fifth single to preface their upcoming album, Stunning & Atrocious, out this August.
South Korean artist YUNHWAY can’t be defined by one genre or style. Her past works have all dipped their toes into hip-hop, R&B, and now pop-rock with the utterly refreshing new song “Because It’s You.” Perfectly encapsulating the feeling of summer, it’s the opening track of the new EP, aptly titled Mango.
North Carolina five-piece Weston Estate got their start in 2017 and have been going strong ever since. Members Srikar Nanduri, Manas Panchavati, Tanmay Joshi, Abhi Manhass, and Marco Luka come together for their latest, “Pears,” a track that is introspective and laced with longing and doubt. The band recently dropped a video for the acoustic version of the track, adding an organic fun to the moodier lyrics.