New Music Sunday: The 5 Best Songs Released This Past Week Pt. 17

Happy Sunday! Lots of new releases to check out. I don’t think I could have picked a more eclectic list of five songs to highlight this week, so I hope my choices keep you on your toes during your listening experience!

Noteworthy album & EP releases:

Fits of Laughter, Bendigo Fletcher
MOTOR FUNCTION, binki
misery lake, Blackbear
There’s Always Going To Be Something, Jackie Hayes
Different Kinds of Light, Jade Bird
All of The Time, Jungle
Pressure Machine, The Killers
Counterparts, Mallory Merk
Model Citizen, Meet Me @ the Altar
Chew The Scenery, Oscar Leng
If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is, Still Woozy

In Chronological Order:

“Seeing Things (MUNA’S Version)” – Charlie Hickey, Muna
Release date – August 11

Saddest Factory’s newest label signee, Charlie Hickey, is back: this time collaborating with Staged Haze longtime favorites Muna, who jumped on a remix of Hickey’s song “Seeing Things.” It’s incredible to hear how effortlessly Hickey and Muna’s Katie Gavin’s vocals mesh together: they both have similar tones to their voices, making for a beautifully done duet. Interestingly enough, there are moments in the track where Hickey’s vocals remind me very much of Ed Sheeran’s. I don’t see Sheeran taking his music this route, especially after the release of “Bad Habits,” but that’s neither here nor there. We have a feeling you’ll be seeing a whole lot more of Charlie Hickey in the next year or so.

“Apology” – Dana Dentata
Release date – August 11

If you’re not into music when there’s screaming involved, I’m just warning you now that Dana screams almost the entire bridge of this song. The music video also has its dark moments aesthetically…watch at your own discretion! Regardless, when I first heard this song on NPR’s New Music Friday playlist, I was instantly hooked and completely blown away. There are rare moments when songs render me speechless when I first hear them: but this was absolutely one of them. “Apology” weaves hyper pop, electronic, and rock seamlessly: and after I realized that 100 Gecs’ Dylan Brady cowrote and coproduced it, it all made sense. Though I’m not super into 100 Gecs’ music, I enjoyed hearing Brady’s influence on this track. Be sure to keep Dana on your radar this year.

“Pretty Places (St. Lucia Remix)” – Aly & AJ, St. Lucia
Release date – August 13

Though Erin gave Aly & AJ’s 2021 album a pretty positive review, I am still not entirely convinced by it. Though it certainly has its nice moments, something about it lacks the energy that I feel existed in previous bodies of work dropped by the sisters. However, I was super amped to see that their song “Pretty Places” was being remixed by St. Lucia: a band that 1) has been MIA for awhile, but 2) have arguably never released a song I dislike. The remix does the song immense justice: picking up the energy where it’s needed and making it feel more fun and laidback: it takes itself less seriously. I think it goes without saying that I find this version to be better than the original.

“Rumors” – Lizzo ft. Cardi B
Release date – August 13

Lizzo is BACK! Cardi B is wasting no time jumping on another highly anticipated single, and though I feel like I haven’t been seeing a TON of buzz about this song, I have to say I enjoy it a lot! It’s a natural direction for Lizzo, who hasn’t released new music since her breakthrough album, Cuz I Love You, in 2019. Interestingly enough, I do feel like the song, minus some “Lizzo specific” lyrical content, could have been produced by another popular artist of the summer, in the duo Silk Sonic. “Rumors” producer Ricky Reed also worked on Lizzo’s “Good As Hell,” so it’s easy to see what vibes they were going for with this track.

“Runaway Horses” – The Killers, Phoebe Bridgers
Release date – August 13

Considering how much Phoebe Bridgers has been doing over the last year or so, it’s pretty wild to see that she’s even managed to have the bandwidth for more projects. Phoebe’s contribution to The Killers’ new song, “Runaway Horses,” feels like it was almost written for her. I’m not sure if that something that Brandon Flowers does when he writes music, but it is so fitting as a duet between the two of them, I can’t imagine hearing someone else in Phoebe’s place that could do it justice in the same way. I haven’t heard the rest of the album yet, but if this song is indicative of what the rest of the album sounds like, I think I will enjoy it.