In a month when the UK began to open again after the lockdown, the music was flowing and getting me through as always. This week’s caption comes from Ella Henderson in the track Billie Holiday from her 2014 album Chapter One. 19 year old me was obsessed with this album, and in a nostalgic frenzy of adding this track to my playlist this month, I’m still just as obsessed six years later. The jazzy, almost gospel elements of this song, no doubt inspired by the namesake, make it a feel-good, catchy end-of summer, out-of-lockdown hit!
Keep scrolling to see what else I've been blasting this July!
Big Red Machine – I Won’t Run From It
When I first heard this song (and every time for two weeks after) I thought it sounded remarkably like Justin Vernon, the lead singer of Bon Iver. I thought, ‘a free Bon Iver song that isn’t a Bon Iver song, amazing!’ However on later research it turns out this really IS Justin Vernon, this time teaming up with founding member of The National – it’s like a supergroup of sorts! This song, along with an album, dropped in 2018, but here’s hoping this collaboration return with more soon!
Kim Petras – Malibu
This May release is another slow burner for me, but another stellar pop banger from up-and-coming German pop princess Kim Petras. Following in a similar vein and style to the worldwide hit Heart To Break, Malibu is a strutty, sexy, summery song that will have you humming the hook for hours. Check out the music video too, filmed during lockdown, featuring a whole host of famous faces.
IDER – Body Love
It’s a bold statement, but I think IDER have to be my favourite English harmonising cross-genre music duo EVER! Comprised of Lily Somerville and Megan Markwick, their 2019 LP Emotional Education has become my soundtrack to chill evenings. This month I’m highlighting the beautifully constructed Body Love, a melancholic-sounding song about both self-acceptance and self-doubt, with uplifting lyrics and gorgeous harmonies that are going to leave you with no choice but to play the whole album.
Picture This – Unconditional
I’m a huge Picture This fan, and have followed them since their debut album was released in 2017. An Irish alternative group, they have had huge success in their home country, and show no reason why they won’t be storming the charts here soon too. Unconditional is their latest release, and is a song about expressing love and wanting to keep it forever without it getting tarnished. Frontman Ryan Hennessy’s vocals, as always, sound gorgeous in this track, and gives the song a very honest, stripped-back feel.
Wingtip – Take Me With You
Some sweet easy-listening indie now, in the form of Nicholas Perloff-Giles, better known by his stage name Wingtip. While new stuff is coming from him very soon, Take Me With You is from his 2018 Ghosts of Youth EP. The song is about holding on to somebody because you need them, a simple but romantic message which makes this track a cute one to listen to with a loved one. This is the first toe I’ve dipped in the Wingtip catalogue, but I can’t wait to keep an eye out for what he does next.
*Special Mention – PRIDE*
Sadly, as with so much we had planned in 2020, the Pride parade in London this year was cancelled due to coronavirus. While I was really excited to finally go this year, this wasn’t possible for anybody, but I did spend my time continuing to discover music from LGBTQ+ artists, and my playlist this month is sprinkled with queer music in every direction.
As well as the banging Kim Petras song I mentioned above, some of the biggest US Drag Queens are featuring too: Miz Cracker with their debut She’s A Woman! (On Top of The World) and supergroup AAA (comprising of Courtney Act, Willam and Alaska Thunderfuck) with a song of the same name. Two great tracks to totally jump around to freely and without judgement. Sam Smith’s One Last Song is
also sounding gorgeous this month, taken from their second studio album The Thrill Of It All. The last track I want to mention comes from American singer-songwriter pronoun with everybody knows. A lovely slice of alternative here, taken from her 2019 album i’ll show you stronger. Please feel free to comment with more queer artists or groups for me to check out in the future, I think it’s so important to continue to discover and share these underrepresented artists and celebrate their beauty.
Listen to the full playlist and follow me on Spotify by clicking the link at the top of the page! See you next month!
