New Music Sunday: The 5 Best Songs Released This Past Week Pt. 16

Hey there, I’m back this weekend! Shoutout to Sean for taking over these past two weeks while I was traveling and covering Lollapalooza (recap here).

Notable Album & EP Releases:

Faking My Own Death, Allison Ponthier
ENDORPHINS, Evan Giia
Draw Down The Moon, Foxing
Good Dog, Bad Dream, Hippo Campus
Laura Stevenson, Laura Stevenson
Don’t Kiss Ur Friends, May-a
Am I Talking Too Much?, Oston
Struck By Lightning, Sara Kays
333, Tinashe

In Chronological Order:

“Sex Tape” – Hippo Campus
Release Date – August 4

Well, I guess Hippo Campus dropped a new EP! I had no idea it was coming, but I’m definitely excited to give it a listen. “Sex Tape,” the third track of the EP, feels like a stream of consciousness, and that’s because it is. Lead singer Jake Luppen explains via Indie88:

“The lyrics are a stream of consciousness, daring between my complex relationship with my father, a Britney Spears documentary, and some older men at Grumpy’s (my favourite bar in Minneapolis) who used to hit on me. The hook references my exit from the Mormon religion when I was 15 and the isolation felt during quarantine and the death of the dog my mom got me during my parents’ intense divorce.” 

Hippo Campus just announced two shows in CA next year: click here for more info.

“Faking My Own Death” – Allison Ponthier
Release Date – August 6

I can say with 100% certainty that Allison Ponthier is my favorite artist discovery of 2021 so far. Her debut EP, Faking My Own Death, dropped this past Friday, and I’m incredibly smitten with all of the tracks. “Faking My Own Death” tells the tale of an ended relationship and the desire to burn the bridges that take you back to thinking about what once was. The song, along with the rest of the EP, does an incredible job showcasing Ponthier’s intimate songwriting abilities: reminiscent of artists like Phoebe Bridgers but with the twang of Kacey Musgraves and The Chicks’ earliest work.

Ponthier is working on her debut LP.

“Beacons” – Foxing
Release Date – August 6

Brittany just reviewed Foxing’s brand new album, Drop Down The Moon, and holy heck I have to say not only is it a great take on the album, but the album itself is great. For a band that’s gotten a little bit TOO experimental for my taste in the past, Foxing’s fourth studio album is a solid showing of the band’s indie rock and emo music: 10 straight tracks of absolute bangers. “Beacons” happens to stand out to me, probably because its sense of familiarity: it reminds me of the indie music of the 2010s that made me the most passionate about music. Like Brittany stated in the closing sentence of her glowing review, “To my ears, it’s as if the band asked itself, “What if we made every song kinda catchy?” Whether Draw Down The Moon is Foxing’s transition from their emo and “post-everything” roots solidly into their grand indie phase remains to be seen, but this indie pop/rock album is definitely an opportunity for new fans to enter into Foxing’s unique universe.”

“Steal My Clothes” – Kito ft. Bea Miller
Release Date – August 6

Is it good or bad to see artists come out with music that automatically makes me think it will go viral on TikTok? Either way, that’s exactly how I feel about Kito’s new track with Bea Miller: I can basically see an influencer creating a dance to go along with the song. This isn’t meant to be a critique in any way: I find the song to be incredibly catchy.

Trying to date in the modern age is a confusing concept, especially when you’re trying to define what a relationship means to the other person in it: do they actually like me? Are they using me? For what? The questions are never ending. I can’t deny a bop that asks those questions but still makes me want to dance.

“Take My Breath” – The Weeknd
Release Date – August 6

I have a love hate relationship with The Weeknd’s music: one minute I find him incredibly talented and the next I’m completely bored. So when I saw that he dropped a new song (that to my understanding, was not expected, but I can definitely be wrong about this because I do not keep up with Abel’s release schedule), was co-produced and co-written by the one and only Max Martin, I knew we were in for a treat.

The song continues Abel’s journey into the ’80s sound he executed well on his 2020 release After Hours, yet there’s something about it that reminds me so much of the dance albums we got in 2020: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa and What’s Your Pleasure? by Jessie Ware, specifically. Both albums that were in my top list of the year, so it’s easy to see why I like this new track by The Weeknd. It certainly helps that I like 99.9% of whatever Max Martin does.

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