Fall has been a busy time for new music (and midterms), and I am certainly not complaining (about the new music).
Adele is back. Young Thug is back with a punk album. Don Tolliver recently gave us his second full-length feature project, and the new Coldplay album has an EDM-style song. There is an abundance to listen to if you are looking to pass the time while the leaves begin to change colour and fall, so without further ado, this is what I have been listening to in the month of October.
As always, feel free to reach out and chat if you liked any recommendations, or if you know of any songs you think I might like. Or reach out if you hated my recommendations, I just like talking about music.
“New Faces v2” (feat. Earl Sweatshirt and Da$h) – Mac Miller
I will begin with a rather old song that was first released in 2014, but was only put on streaming services in the last few weeks.
This song epitomizes the era in which many of us grew to love the late Mac Miller. It was his “figuring out life” phase, and for many of us, it was also ours. That, for me, is part of the appeal of this song—it feels like a long interlude between the early days of Best Day Ever, and the final days of Swimming. You can hear the late Miller experimenting with new sounds and flows, which makes this song part of a special era in which he came into his own.
The Earl Sweatshirt feature is incredibly fitting over the beat—a beat that sounds like it could be out of Earl’s catalogue. Definitely worth a listen for fans of Mac Miller—may he rest in peace.
“Bubbly” (with Drake & Travis Scott) – Young Thug
Toronto has recently opened nightclubs to full capacity, and I can almost guarantee that this song will become a staple of the rejuvenated nightclub scene.
It is tough to miss when these three are working together on the same song. Young Thug does what he does best—creatively and effortlessly rapping, while setting the tone for the entire song. Travis Scott simply follows the leader, copying Thug’s flow with his signature auto-tune melodies.
It is at this point that Drake comes in. Only Drake could jump on a song with these two and find a way to integrate both of their signature melodies and cadences into his verse. He begins with a trademark Thug melody (“Me and lil’ Thugger on fleeeeeeeek”), and then takes bits of the cadence from Scott’s verse to follow up. This is a must listen for fans of modern hip-hop.
“Company Pt. 2” – Don Tolliver
Don Tolliver, the poster boy for Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack label, receives an instant boost on this song in the way of the production, done by none other than Metro Boomin. I am not an artist myself, but I imagine when you receive that Metro beat, everything else falls into place., and in this case, they certainly did.
Tolliver has such a unique voice and has an incredible ability to change the pitch of his voice. Metro sets the tone with a simple yet catchy beat and Tolliver does his thing rapping and singing smoothly on top of it.
This might not be a song for everyone, but if you like Don Tolliver or Travis Scott it is worth checking out.