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.
Hinds "Riding Solo"
I am nothing short of obsessed with this song. Hinds return with their first bit of music since 2018 and it's a complete bop. If you forgot about how cool it is to be in a girl band, this group is back as a giant reminder, and just in the nick of time. I'm already tired of sad holiday songs about being alone and this song is the antithesis of all that. Consider it on repeat.
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Kali Uchis “Solita”
Here's what you already know: Uchis make haunting, enthralling, and stunning music. Here's what you need to know: about this track, Uchis described it by saying, "I’d rather dance alone than with the devil." So, you won't be surprised when you hit play on this track and hear something that's both sexy and dangerous. So, when's that next album dropping already?
POLIÇA "Forget Me Now"
Anyone who has noticed a pattern in their life of the same sort of people committing the same sort of atrocities, from small to large, will feel a pang of recognition while listening to this song. It's just a little hint of what's to come on their 2020 album, which singer Channy Leaneagh started writing while she was healing after falling off her roof while clearing ice in the winter of 2018. Nothing brings the light of reflection through more clearly than having all the time in the world.
Allie X feat. Troye Sivan "Love Me Wrong"
Allie X's evolution continues, and this iteration has my full attention. Her latest, a duet with Sivan, is first of all absolutely gorgeous. I could get drunk on this song for days. It's pop maximalism: the strings, the synthy drums, and their voices at their finest and fullest. It gives you that feeling of looking forlornly into a bottomless dark pool of water and the sense of foreboding that comes when you realize you just have to break up with someone. It's everything.
La Roux "Gullible Fool"
Why yes I was looking for an early '00s sounding dance track inspired by elements of Yacht Rock, thank you to La Roux for delivering. Seriously though, if you want to dance your way through the holidays please slip this track on. Elly Jackson, aka La Roux, is a pop genius and this is a take on the "fuck you" song that I haven't heard a lot of: joyful.