Some Songs & Some Joy
Some new music recs for your enjoyment
Hi y’all.
It’s been a couple weeks since my last newsletter.
In that time, I’ve weathered storms from within and without and emerged from them to experience joy in multiple ways.
Last week, my older sister visited me and gave me some respite from my depression and my caregiver duties. We ate yummy food and watched a lot of movies. We also rocked out to Meet Me At The Altar, one of my favorite bands. It was during this that I discovered the song “Dagger”, a song Meet Me At The Altar did with the band MisterWives. It’s an awesome middle finger to the toxic people you might encounter in life.
I was also delighted to see Willow release a deluxe version of her album Empathogen called Ceremonial Contrafact, which includes three new songs. Empathogen has been the soundtrack to my healing since I started therapy this summer and the new songs enhance the chill, introspective jazzy vibes on the album. Of the new songs, “Layers” is my favorite.
A friend recently put me on to the band Pale Waves, a band that has a lesbian lead singer (Heather Baron Gracie) and a nonbinary trans drummer (Ciara Doran). Sonically, they sound similar to Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morrisette. The song “Easy” is pretty sweet.
Somehow, YouTube’s algorithm realized that I like girls singing about girls and recommended me UMI, a Black-Japanese female queer R&B singer. Her song and music video “Wish That I Could” is a beautiful ode to queer love.
Last but certainly not least, Cinnamon Babe is a nu-metal band I found by chance while looking up modern Black female rock singers. The song “Rock N’ Roll Is Black” is a perfect middle finger to the racist naysayers who try to exclude and pigeonhole Black rock musicians and Black rock music fans like myself.
Honorable mentions:
The Warning- an all female Mexican rock band. One of my favorite song of theirs is “Sharks”.
Oceans of Slumber- a gothic metal band with a Black female lead singer, Cammie-Lee Gilbert. One of my favorite songs of theirs is “The Impermanence of Fate”, which serves as a fantastic demonstration of Gilbert’s soulful passionate vocals and growls.
Hope y’all found at least one new music artist to enjoy. See y’all next time and stay safe.
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