1. Castaway by Yuna, Tyler, The Creator
I can't get enough of Castaway these days, off of Yuna’s 2019 album Rouge. The Malaysian soul artist sampled the track’s main guitar melody and rhythm from Barney Kessel’s 1970 track Lison, and teamed up with Tyler, The Creator to infuse it with dreamy R&B.
Their voices complement one another’s flawlessly, and Tyler's takeover for the funky fourth verse makes for a perfect (and needed) change of pace given the repetition of the rest of song. Happy grooving!
2. Bell Bottom Blues by Wesley Schultz
It’s rare that The Lumineers split to work on their own projects (still miss you @Neyla Pekarek), but Wesley Schultz decided to briefly go solo for a recent cover of Bell Bottom Blues. Originally recorded by Eric Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominos, the song's always been beautiful but the rough quality of Schultz’s voice makes his an ideal adaptation.
He completely strips back the rock edge of the original and leans fully into the heartbreak ballad at the heart of it instead. I never get tired of hearing him sing, always able deliver the emotional intensity that a song calls for, and with Bell Bottom Blues he perfectly captures the pain of trying to cling onto a love that’s fading.
3. Et annet sted by hubbabubbaklubb
It was the name of this band that first caught my eye. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find where it comes from, as the origins of hubbabubbaklubb remain a complete mystery – so elusive that I’m not even sure who exactly is in this band. What I know so far is that there are five members, and they’ve been working together to create original music for many years.
In an interview, one member Morten Skjæveland described that a long-time mantra of the band has been “let it simmer”: “We work until it’s done…and if it’s only in ten years time, so be it.” After all, it actually was almost ten years of work before they released their debut album in 2018, drømmen drømmerne drømmer – with a title even harder to read than the band’s name (at least for a non-Norwegian).
The wait was worth it, though: letting their art ‘simmer’ allowed for the complex intricacies of the music to flourish. “We’ve been talking about this album for so long,” Skjæveland explained. “You can like it or dislike it, but you have to acknowledge that there are layers there.”
I love it, and from the album, Et annet sted stands out to me above the rest. Just when you want to label the song as one thing – a bouncy electronic mix – it takes a beautiful turn, highlighting all kinds of different instruments along the way. Just as the artists describe, there are so many layers to listen for: the strings, the keys, the bass, the various harmonies, the core rhythm. I got so entranced by the music the first few times I listened that I didn’t realize I wasn’t understanding a single lyric (all sung in Norwegian).
4. Holy by Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper
I’ve never been much of a Belieber, but I think I might be partial to what Justin’s self-dubbed his “new era” of music. He’s turned this new leaf with the help of Chance the Rapper, releasing their latest collaborative single Holy this past Friday.
The duo has collabbed many times in the past – including I’m The One in 2017 and Confident four years earlier – but Holy sounds completely different and fresh. Incorporating gospel-charged vocals and quasi-religious lyrics, it’s fitting that Bieber brought Chance in on the project: the American rapper is one of the most outspoken openly Christian pop artists today.
Bieber’s been reconnecting with his faith as well over recent months, and pretty publicly on social media: he posted on Instagram earlier this month about the spiritual emptiness he’s experienced in his career, and the vital impact his faith has had on his marriage and general happiness.
Holy is one of those songs that can be about girls or God, depending on your interpretation, but it doesn’t really announce the ‘new era’ of Bieber as a Christian pop star. Instead he mixes themes of faith and romantic loyalty, complete with the occasional cringeworthy play on words (“I don’t believe in nirvana, but the way that we love in the night gave me life, baby”).
But the lyrics are just as catchy than they are cheesy, and the energy of this song makes for such a FUN listen, pumping you up every time the beat drops in the chorus as Bieber belts “Oh god! Runnin’ to the altar like a track star” with a choir of voices behind him.
Listen on Spotify to all 'Songs of the Week' here.
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