1. The One by Jorja Smith
Right from the eerie beginning of One, there's something so siren-like about it – not in small part thanks to the instant allure of Jorja Smith’s voice. When the sway of the rhythm first enters a minute in, it completely wraps itself around you, feeling all-the-more like a James Bond opener when the strings intensify two minutes in.
I love the strange ambiguity of it all: the lyrics have a certain empowerment – this desire to stay independent and unattached (“I’m tryna find who I am”) – but there’s so much sincere sadness in the dark melody.
A bit of a stretch, sure, but the sentiment sort of reminds me of the iconic scene from the newest Little Women, in which Jo (Saoirse Ronan) finally admits her loneliness to Marmee. It’s this desperate fight between a woman’s strength in selfhood and yet her desire to 'give in' to romantic love. For three minutes, Smith draws you into that feeling of vulnerability.
2. Tommy’s Party by Peach Pit
I’ve never heard another song that so perfectly captures the post-party blues the way Tommy’s Party does. This track will make you feel like you’re standing alone in the corner of a smoke-filled room – an awkward wallflower observing the goings-on of the party before you in slow motion.
I recently saw someone describe Being So Normal – the album for which this song is the 6-minute stand-out closer – as “the perfect soundtrack for my dramatic yet mundane life.” Such a good description – and one that fits Tommy’s Party specifically so well. Its lyrics have two friends recalling the night before, with lines so comically specific and relatable you’ll feel like you’re there in the moment, on the other side of the conversation (“Did you see me feeding all my drinks to Cam?” / “I’m sorry to have ditched out but I was pretty high”).
But the song digs behind the mundaneness of the chat to the heavy emotion behind it. There’s so much lonely nostalgia in the way he sings “but I happened to see without even tryin’ how she laughed with you, just like I used to." You’re brought back to all of those sharp moments of sadness at parties past and their angsty mornings-after – especially during the two-minute instrumental solo at the end.
I feel like Tommy’s Party is sort of an ode to your young years – to all of the hangover slumps that are eventually so irrelevant, but that at the time feel filled with very real existential dread. It really is the perfect song for our dramatic yet mundane lives.
3. Soledad y el Mar by Natalia Lafourcade
Mexican singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Natalia Lafourcade writes poetry through and through --- she just happens to also fill it with beautiful music and a spectacular voice. The lyrics of Soledad y el Mar could read as a piece of art on their own, and the colourful setting that she creates for them through the music then adds ambience.
Whether or not you understand the meaning of her words, there's such timeless beauty here. For the past decade or so, Lafourcade has been exploring her Mexican roots and weaving the influence of this history into her music.
In Soledad y el Mar, this shines through in the sweet airiness of her voice and the gentle arrangements of her accompanying band, Los Macorinos. The rhythm and guitar strumming is based in the historic tradition of Latin American folk, with added cello grounding the melodies.
The song has such artful simplicity, painting the image of the singer looking out at the sea “despidiendo últimamente todo lo que sucedió” (“letting go of everything that’s happened”). I get chills every time the music comes to a slow halt as she sings about “esta soledad tan profunda” (“this loneliness so deep”). The imagery is so moving; you find yourself sitting exactly in her position, looking out at the water.
4. Stranger by The New Basement Tapes
The New Basement Tapes: a group made up of super-artists Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James and Rhiannon Giddens – all brought together in 2014 to make songs out of some rediscovered 1967 handwritten Bob Dylan lyrics. It was bound to be good.
After having been sent Dylan’s lyrics, they each arrived at the two-week recording session with tunes and ideas in hand, ultimately recording 40 tracks – including multiple adaptations of the same lyrics. Of those, 20 were included on their collective album Lost on the River, a beautiful collaboration in which the artists continuously swap their vocal and instrumental roles.
There are so many standouts on the album, but for this week I'm choosing to highlight Stranger. Its tune was written and sung by Mumford who, as always, brings so much life to his performance.
The chorus begs for the listener to belt along, with the harmonies gorgeously breaking in to add depth to the melody. Mumford’s voice and the tidbits of fiddle add a folksy feel, while the rock element is upheld by the spectacular electric guitar – especially when it steals the spotlight for a brief solo (around 2:50). The lyrics also add such a playlist spirit to the song – “Never fall in love with a stranger / But I can’t help it if she falls in love with me."
Overall: a brilliant collaboration of musical minds.
Listen on Spotify to all 'Songs of the Week' here.
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