Hey! Did you know that there’s an entire aspect of KCRW music discovery that you might be missing out on? Fear not, because our 5 Songs to Hear This Week newsletter is now a weekly feature on our website. Watch this space for rundowns of the five songs that you need in your life immediately, curated by KCRW Music staff. Don’t want to wait for your latest taste of fresh tunes? Sign up for the Friday newsletter here, and always be the first to know.
Anjimile – “The King”
We here at KCRW music just love when a song feels like a score. And this epic tale from Boston alt-folk musician and natural mononym Anjimile will invite you on a fantastic journey, complete with mystery, mythology, and FLAMES! Peppered with instrumental choral enhancements and bursting with “Phantom of the Opera” energy (given the organ of it all), this theatrical track is the cathartic piece of musical poetry you’ve been needing to kickstart your next creative phase.
Pip Blom – “Is This Love? (Feat. Alex Kapranos)”
Ready for a carnival kaleidoscope? Get on board and buckle up. Pulling together disparate influences from across the musical spectrum, this track is the pleasantly surprising dancefloor-mover/arena-rock combo of your dreams. Hailing from Amsterdam, Pip Blom make deeply playable indie pop/rock on the relatable realities of life — just the stuff you wanna sing about out loud. Recognize a familiar X-factor in the mix? Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos contributes his signature bellows, rounding out a full bodied, LFG romp down the midway.
King Krule – “If Only It Was Warmth”
Archy boy, how ya been?! English rapper and producer Archy Ivan Marshall, known as King Krule, exploded onto the indie scene in the early 2010s and maintained the heat with 2017’s The OOZ, which hit hard on our airwaves. Going off this new single as a temp check, he’s now taking a softer approach, bringing jazz fusion and shoegaze elements to the forefront and pairing them with a mellower, more contemplative vocal style. We’ll wait patiently for more — his new album Space Heavy is out next week.
Bully – “Lose You (Feat. Soccer Mommy)”
Don’t even start reading yet — just click play, and revel in that fuzz. Man, we’ve missed rock n’ roll. This excellent and perfectly hard-edged single from Bully, the solo project of guitarist and singer Alicia Bognanno, recalls so much of what we love about the indigo-hued indie rock of the ‘90s, and brings it into the vastness of now. The creative and performative collaboration with alt-rock prodigy Soccer Mommy takes this lovelorn-but-triumphant track to the next level. Throw this one on high volume repeat to discover the pleasure hiding deep inside your pain.
Brittany Davis – “So Fly”
Let’s end on a high note! Dive headfirst into this joyful, inspiring disco-jam track from Seattle producer and musician Brittany Davis. A musical expression of self-love and reflection, this layered tune carries the energy of spontaneous creativity, hitting hard with fully-formed character, just like a first-act ‘90s-era Disney theme song. Brittany Davis calls themself a “sonic vessel” — as a musician born blind, their relationship to sound has deep roots. Tap into more on last year’s EP I Choose To Live, crafted and released on Loosegroove Records — the independent label of Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard.