New Music Friday - 6/11/21

It’s time to mix things up a bit on the blog and on New Music Friday. Introducing the Picks of the Week – a song and an album that have caught my attention and something I think you, my valued reader would enjoy as well. So let’s get to it…

Today’s featured single is “Solar Power” by Lorde. I declare it the beginning of summer with this song.

What a fun, beautiful surprise the song is – quite the change from when we last heard from her (on 2017’s Melodrama). Backed by some amazing friends (Jack Antonoff, Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers) the song pines of simple pleasures that we’ve missed for a while – warm sun, warm sand and dancing on the beach with friends (see the video). Bravo Lorde! This one will be top of my Summer Mixtape.

Today’s featured album is NOIR from Jesse Markin

The Finnish rapper-turned-singer-songwriter has gained a reputation in his brief career for exploring songs and sounds through indie-pop, Rap, RnB, and African folk – never limiting himself. His second full-length release is no exception. Markin stated in an interview, “NOIR is a journey inside oneself where all boundaries are redefined. I wrote this album trying to understand the reasons behind my emotions and actions.” I love an artist that you can’t nail down to one genre – Markin takes you on a journey with standout tracks like “This Is (A) Testament”, “Stars in Your Eyes” and my favorite, “Hemostasis”.