The Best Five Songs Released This Past Week, Pt. 28

Happy Halloween! I hope things get spooky for you this year.

Noteworthy album & EP releases:

LIVE.LOVE.A$AP, A$AP Rocky
=, Ed Sheeran
Live at Electric Lady, Japanese Breakfast
Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp, Lunar Vacation
The Path of the Clouds, Marissa Nadler
Something For Thee Hotties, Megan Thee Stallion
Strangers Forever EP, Maude Latour
I Don’t Live Here Anymore, The War On Drugs

“Bubblegum” – Quinn Christopherson
Release date – October 26

Back in 2019, Quinn Christopherson won NPR’s Tiny Desk concert with his entry for the song “Erase Me,” a song about his experience coming out as a transgender man. After some time off releasing music, he’s back with “Bubblegum,” a song with similar subject matter to “Erase Me,” but with more a universally understood message. “Bubblegum is about evolving and growing as a person. It should be celebrated to not know who you are…who I am isn’t written in stone waiting for me to unearth it. Things change and that’s the point.” He said about the track in a press release.

Christopherson is set to drop his debut album in 2022.

“No More Virgos” – CMAT
Release date – October 27

How could I NOT listen to a song that references astrology in the title?! CMAT, a self-proclaimed “Dublin Cowgirl” is the artist’s first single ahead of her debut album, set to drop in February 2022. The song was based on CMAT’s dating history, specifically, that “every single one” has been a Virgo. The song is fun, light-hearted, and witty, and I’m curious to see where CMAT, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, takes her music next.

“Vampires” – Tommy Lefroy
Release date – October 27

When I saw that Tommy Lefroy, a duo of two women who make their music transatlantically from Los Angeles and London, dropped music just days before Halloween with a Halloween-adjacent title, I knew we were in for a treat. I however was NOT ready for such a beautifully made song with unbelievably wonderful and lovely lyrics about loving someone and wanting the best for them. “Vampires” is probably my favorite song they’ve released so far, and I can’t wait for more. Just look at these lyrics!

You can fall in love a thousand times
I just want for you to love your life
I just want for you to not think twice
If somebody asks if you’ve been doing alright

But if ever you’re out there and can’t beat the vampires
Just know that I’ve got you
Just know it gets better

“Strangers Forever” – Maude Latour
Release date – October 29

Maude stans, rejoice! Our fave on-the-rise pop girly is BACK and better than ever. Fresh off the signing of a major record deal, once-independent musician Maude Latour is back with “Strangers Forever,” an upbeat, yet heartbreaking track about wanting someone who simply no longer wants you back. Would it have been easier if we never met? A question that I’m sure many of you have thought about after experiencing heartbreak.

The song is quintessentially Maude, with bouncy melody choices, Lorde-esque vocals, and gut-wrenching lyrics, but taken to the next level with its high(er) level production and what seems to be a lot of work on the track, considering she now has the power of a label behind her.

“Amor Fati” – Mike Posner ft. James Valentine, Jacob Scesney
Release date – October 29

If you’re hoping Mike Posner’s new song is a 2021 version of his 2020 smash hit “Cooler Than Me,” look elsewhere. I didn’t even realize this song was Posner before I was listening and wanted to know who was playing as I enlarged the Spotify app to take a look. After a quick Google search, I discovered that “Amor fati” is a Latin phrase that means “love of fate”or “love of one’s fate.” According to Wikipedia, it’s “used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one’s life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary.”

I love this sentiment and am really looking forward to see what Posner does next with his music, considering this song’s style is a bit more stripped-back, with more electric guitar and less hip-hop elements.

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