1. Archie, Marry Me by Alvvays
Archie, Marry Me is one of those songs that consistently shows up on Discovery Weekly’s and Spotify song radios. It’s become a near-classic of modern indie pop, but for years it’s never struck a chord with me. And then suddenly I heard it again this week and something finally clicked: after skipping it all this time I now can’t get enough.
Rolling Stone got it right when they once praised it as “three minutes of uncut indie-guitar bliss…the fuzzy-cardigan ‘Drunk in Love’ we never knew we needed.” A critical take on ideas of romance and marriage (“you’ve expressed explicitly your contempt for matrimony”), the song has such a freeing contrast between the cinematic grandness of the chorus and the singer’s playful teasing.
I’m only further pulled over the fence knowing the band is Toronto-based.
2. The Killer Was A Coward by Dermot Kennedy
I’ve been hooked on the YouTube version of Dermot Kennedy’s The Killer Was A Coward for a while, so it was disappointing when the song didn’t make the cut on his debut album (not that it was really possible to be disappointed by the album – it’s superb). But sometime in the past few months, Kennedy added on a few bonus tracks to the end, and sure enough this was finally among them.
With the added quality of studio production, he leaves the acoustic version for YouTube and lets his band's music and usual electro beats paint its edges.
Both a song of comfort for heavier days and of triumph for when they pass.
3. You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine by Lou Rawls
Turning back the clock, also on loop this week has been Lou Rawls’ You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine – the 1976 hit that proved to be the artist’s big break. There's such a cool confidence to this groove – not so much a song of love as one warning a lover of how much they’re giving up (“you’re gonna miss my lovin’”). Perfect for an old school sway.
4. Woo! By Remi Wolf
Back in the present day: Remi Wolf is one of the most exciting artists I’ve been introduced to this year, and her song Woo! is about to colourfully distract you from any quarantine blues.
With its release, Wolf described – “I literally wrote ‘Woo!’ as one stream of consciousness and don’t even remember what I wrote. It’s fun and cute and sparkly and INTENSE. The song is an ADHD explosion of my feelings on LOVE.”
And that's exactly how it sounds. Her lyrics might be forgettable but her songwriting is a perfect mix of funky and goofy and altogether pretty relatable (“I don’t know what I really wanted and fuck I think I lost my wallet”). This song is quirky and saturated in all the right ways – and its psychedelic Willy Wonka-inspired video could not be a more perfect fit:
Listen on Spotify to all 'Songs of the Week' here.
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