Category: Single Of The Week

Single of the Week: “Cause Of Death” by Fake Fruit

I LOVE Fake Fruit. They really are the best Bay Area band of the moment, and they simply keep getting BETTER. “Cause Of Death” is a killer little post-punk tune driven by one of the most interesting sax tones I’ve ever heard. And that video is a captivating piece of cinema filmed at The Chapel, which might be my favorite place on Earth. 

“Cause Of Death” is the third single off Fake Fruit’s upcoming release, Mucho Mistrust, coming your way August 23rd. They will be appearing at Stern Grove on August 4th alongside Alex G and J Boogie. FREE Tickets are up for grabs at 2pm on July 4th and can nabbed here. 

Single of the Week: “Any Way” by L’Impératrice featuring Maggie Rogers

Ooohh… Maggie Rogers can sing ANYTHING, and it will send my head swimming in all the right ways. She is the thing that makes this song really hit. “Any Way” is a sexy spy movie banger. Only the spy movie sits entirely in your imagination. Rogers is having a killer year, and this collaboration with L’Impératrice is just the icing on the cake. 

“Any Day” is the latest release from L’Impératrice album Pulsar, which is available TODAY in all the usual places. 

Single of the Week: “Any Day Now” by Kate Bollinger

Kate Bollinger has been dropping GREAT singles for years now. Seven years, to be precise. Yet, somehow, she’s yet to get a proper “Single Of The Week” shout out. Even more suprising is that she has yet to release an actual LP! Well, the has come and “Any Day Now” is the first single from her debut record, Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind, coming out September 27th. It’s a twee pop confection, and it makes me feel good knowing that the next generation of bright and sunny indie rock is in safe hands with Kate. 

Single of the Week: “Lucky” by Raveena

At the core, “Lucky” is a stunning little R&B ballad that could’ve come out anytime in the last 50 years and it would’ve felt just as timely and timeless. The song is both light and sexy, and even without this video, I would’ve really dug it. But THIS VIDEO?!?!?! It’s hands down my favorite movie of the year at this point. This video is visually stunning and tells a complete story in 3:44. Anyone who tells you their movie needs to be 3+ hours should watch this piece of art. 

“Lucky” is off of Raveena’s upcoming full-length, Where The Butterflies Go In The Rain, coming your way June 14th! 

Single of the Week: “touchdown (4-track) by dear francis

I’ve been following the music of Jennifer Francis Clavin for a long time now… I believe I first heard the music of Mika Miko while working at a chain music store in 2006, when I would play anything the Kill Rock Stars would send us, and fell in love. Her band after Mika Miko broke up, Bleached, immediately became my favorite band. In the passing years, Clavin’s songwriting seemed to mature with me. Were we psychically connected? Or is she just that good at conveying her own emotions in a way that feels like “mass empathy”? Does any of this even make sense? I don’t know, but “touchdown (4-track)” is a her debut solo single (under the moniker “dear francis”), and, man, this song just tingles the soul. 

“touchdown (4-track)” is just the beginning of a whole new side of Ms Clavin. The track can be streamed and saved and purchased and all that good stuff in all the usual places. Expect more news in the coming months! 

Single Of The Week: “HIND’S HALL” by Macklemore

I was looking for a good single-of-the-week contender, and there have been quite a few. But I wanted to check out the new Hinds before committing to something. When I went to search for it, this track came up. I rarely give Macklemore much time, although I always appreciate him. That being said, I wasn’t expecting THIS. Of all the major traumas in this world, folks are struggling to make any big, bold statements about the treatment of the Palestinian people. “HIND’S HALL” is that. I have yet to hear such a bold, heartfelt, earnest track. This song needs to be everywhere. We will be studying these lyrics for generations to come. 

“HIND’S HALL” can be streamed in all the usual places. The single’s proceeds are being donated to UNRWA, so stream often. 

 

 

Single of the Week: “Going Blue” by Victoria Bigelow

I put this track on and was immediately entranced by this voice. I hear the phrase “honey-soaked” used rather liberally, but Victoria Bigelow sounds like sonic honey. But within the sweetness is rich, emotionally dense delivery. And the lyrics? “Going Blue” is such a vivid autobiographical tale of addiction that is both personal and widely relatable. This one is a stunner. I expect tears when I finally get to see her live. 

“Going Blue” is a track off Bigelow’s upcoming release, Songs For No One, Vol 2, out May 10th! 

Single of the Week: “Like I Say (I runaway) by Nilüfer Yanya

Many years ago, there was a Saturday Night Live sketch about a DJ who refused to let the beat drop. It was presented as a bad thing, but I kept imagining a song where the tension continuously builds without release and thought- “YES!” And Nilüfer Yanya does it on “Like I Say (I runaway),” and it’s better than I could imagine. 

This also means that Nilüfer Yanya is active again, and I can’t WAIT for the rest of the album, a tour, and everything else. For now, you can enjoy “Like I Say (I runaway)” in all the usual places. 

Single of the Week: “The Kill” by Maggie Rogers

OK. I’m not entirely sure if this is an actual “single,” but she played it on The Late Show, so I will pretend it is one. Anyway, I LOVE the new Maggie Rogers. I am very late to jump on this ship, but everyone to experience something for the first time? I was captivated by her set at Outside Lands last year, but this song is just a warm joy of an earworm. It’s firmly rooted in the Fleetwood Mac school of earnest soft rock, and there is no shame in that. Sometimes, you need something that’s just unapologetically nice and optimistic. 

“The Kill” is a track off Maggie Rogers’s recently released Don’t Forget Me, which is available in all the usual places NOW! She’s also playing ARENAS!! Tour dates are here, and she’s even doing a fancy thing where the first allotment of tickets is being sold ONLY IN PERSON. For my fellow Bay Area folks, the Chase Center date on November 1st will have a special, box office-only sale THIS SATURDAY, April 20th, from 10 am – 1 pm. Yes, that is Record Store Day, so you gotta make some hard choices. Or find a store that opens at 8 am. 

Single Of The Week: “AA BOUQUET FOR YOUR 180 FACE” by Saya Gray

Normally, the Single Of The Week is a new release for that very same week. BUT- I missed this one. And now I can’t go more than a few hours without listening to it repeatedly. Saya Gray is clearly the living definition of being “post-genre.” In many ways, she’s a descendant of Bjork- eccentric yet accessible. She is unafraid to experiment and unworried about alienating people because creativity seems to ooze from her. “AA BOUQET FOR YOUR 180 FACE” is the first single off her latest release, QWERTY II. The whole thing is one lovely journey that spans genres and emotions the human brain has never before conjured. 

QWERTY II is out now and ready for its place in your 2024 Top 10 lists.