Nashville to K-Pop to K-Rd to DC Hardcore - Song Crush spans the global gamut this week. Hold on tight, it’s a bumpy ride. Your captain Kirsten Johnstone is joined by attendants Katrina Batten and Ellliott Childs.
Lillie Mae Photo: Misael Arriaga
Lillie Mae - You’ve Got Other Girls For That
You couldn’t get a more country music name than Lillie Mae, and she’s got bluegrass pedigree, having played in the family band from age 3. But on her second solo album Other Girls she’s not limiting herself to the narrow confines of any sub-genre, taking us into unexpected territory musically.
Lillie Mae’s siblings Frank and Scarlett Rische were her band, in-demand Nashville producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson) was on the controls, and Jack White’s Third Man records put it out.
This is the opening song, and I’m reminded of Chris Isaac, Dolly Parton, and Lana Del Rey in the way all can create visceral characters in their voices and lyrics. She’s contemptuous about her promiscuous lover, but she’s not losing face over it. And the heights of these harmonies gives me shivers. KJ
New Pornographers - Falling Down The Stairs of Your Smile
The New Pornographers are a Canadian power-pop super group, featuring the talents of musicians such as Neko Case, AC Newman and Kathryn Calder. Over their 22 years of existence they’ve put out seven critically adored albums of densely layered and expertly produced indie rock, with an eighth on the way.
Newman and Case’s voices work wonderfully together and their mere presence on the same songs is a lot of what makes the New Pornographers great. ‘Falling Down The Stairs of Your Smile’ is a great example of how those two vocalists blend so well sonically and what a joyous and fun band the New Pornos can be. EC
BTS - Boy with Luv feat. Halsey
BTS are a seven member South Korean boy band - a K-pop phenomenon - formed in 2013. They’re worth more than $3.6 billion to South Korea’s economy each year, and are hugely successful worldwide, breaking records for sales and audience engagement all over, with their flash choreography, flawless and androgenous faces, and infectious songs.
While I’m not the target demographic, I am a pop girl at heart and this appeals to me somehow - the moves, the relentless positivity, the cuteness of it all.
They’re having a break at the moment due to touring exhaustion but they all have to do their compulsory military service at some stage so that might have to be taken into account in the future. KB
SoccerPractise - Younger Looking Skin
SoccerPractise is a minimalist, bilingual, electro-punk band from Auckland, and while comparisons can be futile, this latest song (from their forthcoming album Te Pō) sounds a bit like The XX.
I love the breathy, frosty panpipe sounds, pulsing beats, delicate guitar parts, and the nostalgic feeling Geneva Alexander-Marster’s lyrics conjures up. There’s also a little wonky melodic line that sits at a diagonal, creating tension, like walking on a cliff edge. But this is a band who will never be comfortable or predictable, and it makes me glad they exist. KJ
Denzel Curry & Bad Brains - I Against I
A decade and a half before rising hip-hop star Denzel Curry was born in 1995, Bad Brains had thrashed their way into rock history with their unique blend of Hardcore Punk, Heavy Metal and Reggae.
On this Spotify Session, Curry stands in for the band’s singer HR, whose mental health struggles have made his performances patchy and sporadic in recent years. In his day HR was a formidable stage presence, screaming and howling with his signature nasal growl, which Curry channels brilliantly. ‘I Against I’ is one of the bands most visceral and captivating songs and Curry’s version loses none of that intensity and vigour.
Hear the full songs and catch up with more recent song crushes here
