Ever since my first job at MTV working as a music programmer, I can't stop trying to match people with music they might like. So, I wrote a book called Record Collecting for Girls and started interviewing musicians. The Music Concierge is a column where I share music I'm listening to that you might enjoy, with a little context. Get everything I've recommended this year on Spotify, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and leave a comment below telling me what you're listening to this week.
Cate Le Bon "The Light"
Let's slow it way down and start with this seductive track from Cate Le Bon. Its ballroom-inspired tempo paired with her unique voice and a guitar lick that travels down the scale have been stuck in my head this week and they won't shake free. The thing that makes "The Light" so appealing is that it defies expectations of a melody — your mind doesn't quite know what's going to happen next in the song. It's novel without being trivial, which isn't not a trick everyone can pull off.
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Baby Rose "Borderline"
Meet the artist that SZA (and Kehlani and J. Cole) have been out there tweeting about and hop on board before she blows up. Her voice is somewhere between the delivery style of Anhoni and the deep pitched, soulful vocals of a Lalah Hathaway. This song needs to hit your playlist, ASAP.
Lauren Early "Out of Style"
Lauren Early wrote this song about moving from the L.A. and San Francisco girl-friendly scenes to New York City, where she found rock music overrun by dudes who just wanted to relive the early '00s — an era deeply defined by male musicians in the city. The lofi aesthetic of her song is reminding me of what I hear from Snail Mail and Camp Cope, and I dig it. The '90s, when women helped define indie rock, are my favourite era — you can keep the Strokes.
Pearl Charles "Sweet Sunshine Wine"
Summer is almost here and Pearl Charles wants to be at the top of your summer jams of 2019 playlist so she dropped this infectious bop of a track. It's got all the hallmarks of a great '70s track straight out of Lauryl Canyon and run through the Starland Vocal Band's hit machine. It's a song born simply of the idea of passing around sunny California vibes and it nails the aesthetic. Sometimes a bop is just a bop.