“October” – The Helio Sequence
It is here, people. Decorative gourd season. Motherfuckers.
“Perfect Me” – Blossoms
First off, these dudes don’t sound like your typical Manchester band. I would have guessed Southern California first. Then, they said this song is a homage to their love of Abba, Bruce Springsteen, and The Killers. I hear some Killers, the other two? Not so much.
“Drop Me Out” – High Vis
If it doesn’t work because I’m not smart enough to make it work, there should be a GIF of Beavis and Butthead headbanging and yelling “YES!!!!” here.
“Under A Cloud” – Susanna Hoffs
Ms. Hoffs is releasing an album called The Lost Record that features tracks she recorded in her garage 25 years ago. This one eventually landed on the Bangles 2011 reunion album Sweetheart of the Sun. There isn’t a ton of difference between the songs. This one is a little funkier. The Bangles’ version has slightly more dreamy harmonies. Oh, and Susanna is a national treasure that should be protected by an act of Congress.
“On The Floor” – THUS LOVE
I don’t know much about the Vermont post-punk scene. I do know, though, that when I want to listen to post-punk music from Vermont, this is the first band I think of. Like all good post-punk, this song could be from 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014, or 2024. It is brand new, for the record.
“Dangerous” – Liz Stringer
I’ve been down on Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist lately. However, a few weeks it spit out this remarkable track and it kind of makes up for all the other crap. Stringer is a bit of a cult artist in Australia. Other artists love her, but she hasn’t had a ton of commercial success. Musically, this could be a Ryan Adams song from 10 years ago. Her lyrics are fantastic. I need to dig into her music more, as I’ve read a couple interviews with her and it seems like she’s had quite a life and has written a lot about what she’s been through.
“Edge of Town” – Middle Kids
Speaking of Aussies, my current favorites released a surprise live album last week. I’m not normally crazy about live albums, but I found this one to be quite good.
“Out of Touch” – Daryl Hall and John Oates
I told you there were some big songs left, and some weeks where it was going to be tough to choose what song to share. This week I could have selected Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” or Tina Turner’s “Better Be Good To Me,” which both cracked the Top 40 at #32 and #34 respectively. However, I couldn’t ignore one of my all-time favs. In just its second week in the Hot 100, it landed at #38. In December it would spend two weeks at #1, the duo’s sixth and final US #1. I will never, ever change the station or hit the skip button when it comes on. Dance on your knees!