New Music Sunday: The Best 5 Songs Released This Past Week Pt. 9

Happy Father’s Day 🙂

Noteworthy album & EP releases:

Get Lost In The Music, Ambar Lucid
One Foot In Front Of The Other, Griff
Back of My Mind, H.E.R.
Rebecca Black Was Here, Rebecca Black

In chronological order:

“Kill Me” – Indigo De Souza
Release date – June 15

If 2021 is not Indigo De Souza’s breakout year, then I will totally accept that I know nothing about anything. Last week, Asheville native Indigo De Souza announced her upcoming full length album, Any Shape You Take, is out on August 27, with “Kill Me” released as the first single. The song, co-produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee), was written several years ago when De Souza was coming to terms with “the reality of living with mental illness.” The song was initially recorded as a stream-of-consciousness before being produced as a single.

The video is NSFW – you’ve been warned!

“The Devil” – Banks
Release date – June 16

Banks’ first single in two years is here, and once you can get past the silly/weird/ridiclous feeling that the beginning of the track sounds like “Wait (The Whisper Song)” by The Ying Yang Twins, I think you’ll enjoy it. According to a profile in Vogue, Banks stated that the track is “about being stronger than the demons that haunt you…about rebirth and transformation into the forces of nature we were born to be.” I’m curious to see where this song, which gives me major Kim Petra vibes, will take Banks as she prepares to release a full length project later this year, and how her song will or will not fit the current landscape, as she faces some swift competition in this genre of electropop.

“HUH?” – Serena Isioma
Release date – June 16

Thanks to this week’s New Music Friday playlist on Spotify, I hope that many more people have been introduced to Serena Isioma, the 20-year-old Chicago-based artist who recently went viral on TikTok for their song “Sensitive.” Spotify’s weekly playlist was dedicated to Black artists this week to celebrate Juneteenth, and Isioma’s “HUH?” is a lovely addition to the list. The song is a positively-infectious showcase of self-love and confidence: “I will not stop with this gay shit, hater’s mad cause I’m young, Black, and famous.”

Isioma is set to support Omar Apollo at a Lollapalooza aftershow next month.

“2 You” – Mariah The Scientist
Release date – June 18

If you haven’t gotten Mariah The Scientist on your radar yet, NOW is the time! Though she first garnered some publicity after signing a deal with Tory Lanez’ label One Umbrella in 2018 and eventually releasing her debut album in conjunction with RCA Records in August 2019. Mariah was planned to perform at major US festivals in 2020 like Coachella and Pitchfork..but we know what happened there (she will be at Pitchfork this year, though). Thanks to a release with DaBaby in summer 2020, Mariah was able to keep the momentum she started building pre-COVID, and is set to release her next album later this year. If you like SZA or Doja Cat, I guarantee you’ll like Mariah The Scientist, too.

“Empathy – MUNA Remix” – Lauren Aquilina, MUNA
Release date – June 18

I’m a little bummed I missed the original drop of this song a few weeks ago, but (and no shade intended) I think I prefer the remix more! What first gravitated me towards hearing this song was the fact that MUNA, one of our faves, remixed it, along with the realization that I hadn’t heard anything new from Lauren in awhile, an artist who I discovered when I covered Sasha Sloan’s show at Schubas a couple years ago (she was the opening act). The song’s theme struck a chord in me, with lyrics exploring the ideas of taking everyone else’s stress and anxiety on as if it’s our own. This is something I can deeply relate to. I loved the upbeat remix element of the song compared to the slowness of the original: a technique specific to songs with sad subject matters that I’ve discovered to be one I love, thanks to artists like Robyn and Jack Antonoff.

This week’s playlist has over 60 songs! Check it out and throw us a follow: