ask for new music from your friends and ye shall receive

June 14 – June 26

Rein Me In — Sam Fender & Olivia Dean

the melody, pianos, and duet are reminiscent of late 80s/early 90s piano dad rock. a rework of a song featured on his feb 2025 album People Watching features warm vocals from Olivia Dean

we never dated — sombr

a straight rip of Arctic Monkeys but i’m not mad about it

Mystery Girl — Bad Suns

i’ve been following this band since 2013 and they haven’t fully broken out, but have a dedicated fan base that keeps them going

Scab — ash tuesday

this carries the bedroom-produced quality that i’ve been craving lately. it’s emotionally raw and imperfect

fell out of heaven — daine

the Apple Music editors described this as “futuristic pop, laced with hazy electro and emo fire” and i couldn’t think of anything more accurate

Wound Up Here — Wednesday

i love their voice and their use of tension leading to big buildups and soul-nourishing resolutions

Ring Around the Rose (feat. Tiffadelic) — Delores Galore

1981 is calling and i’m picking up

Fickle Feelings — Yukon Blonde

the distorted bass will get you locked in as soon as it starts

Goodbye Glitter — Absolutely

this is cinematic, dramatic
automatic
systematic
hydromatic
why, it’s grease lightning

Test Driving Toothless — John Powell

speaking of cinema…my movie taste isn’t as refined as my music taste so when i tell you that How to Train Your Dragon was a 5-star movie, you’re not obligated to believe me

Geezer — Kevin Abstract & Dominic Fike

stoner rap/indie rock perfect for summer

Crooked Salesman — Shreea Kaul

she must be a student of Lady Gaga and Beyonce

Not Like I Used To — Jake Worthington

at first, i was pretty upset that the GRAMMYs were inventing new categories to exclude people from the Country genre, but this song may be the textbook example of what a “Traditional Country” awardee may sound like

YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Thanks & Recommendations

Shout out to for their June 22 playlist that introduced me to a few songs featured on MAL this week. If I ever miss a week, pop into their Substack! They have similar music taste and aren’t confined to genre.

Thank you to aka for recommending Shreea Kaul. If you used to read the liner notes from your CDs (or you’re curious about the intersection of food and music), follow along with his work!