The Best Songs of August 2024 // New Music Friday!
"Lonely is the Muse" // Halsey
I am continuously blown away by Halsey's stunning artistry and vivid world-building in their music. "Lonely is the Muse" is so powerful and sharply written, sonically drawing from rock and grunge aesthetics of the 1990's. That is a style that I always felt suited her best, especially after the incredible If I Can't Have Love I Want Power in 2021. The song is about the way she always falls in love with artists and creative types, only to realize that time and time again she ends up feeling commodified and put on a pedestal as a means of inspiration for that person's art. I never heard this described before in a song and it truly gives me chills every single time I listen. Dare I say "Lonely is the Muse" is her best song yet?
It is so poignantly written, so many lyrics stand out to me as among their greatest ever. "I will exist in every second just to decorate your life and when you're done, you can discard me, like the others always do and I will nurse my wounds until another artist needs me new" she sings in the bridge, "And I will always reassemble to fit perfectly in view for anybody that decides that I'm of use, lonely is the muse". Another notable lyric that blows me away every time I hear it is "I've inspired platinum records, I've earned platinum airline status, and I mined a couple diamonds from the stories in my head, but I'm reduced to just a body here in someone else's bed".
Halsey also recently announced her upcoming fifth album titled The Great Impersonator, which is due to be released later this year. It is going to be a concept album where she puts herself into different eras of music and gives her interpretation of who she would have been as an artist in the 70's, 80's, 90's, and 2000's. She has always been a musical chameleon and has experimented with so many different sounds and styles already, I can't wait to see where this album takes us. If the first three singles are any indication, this is set to be their best and most personal work yet.
"Guess (Remix)" // Charli xcx & Billie Eilish
Charli and Billie are the duo I never knew I needed and am so happy exists! The "Guess" remix featuring Billie came as such a surprise and quickly became one of my favorite songs of the summer. "Guess" is so different than anything Billie has ever made and somehow it suits her so perfectly. It is also so rare for her to collaborate with other artists and producers, so this was so cool to see her and Finneas experiment a bit on this track. Billie matches Charli's energy so perfectly on her verse as she sings, "Don't have to guess the color of your underwear, already know what you've got goin' on down there". One of the most iconic lines of the remix is, "Charli likes boys, but she knows I'd hit it," at the end of Billie's verse, "Charli, call me if you're with it". It is all very funny and playful and so unserious - which are all of the reasons why it's so great! BRAT and all of the subsequent remixes have just been genuinely iconic, and so well executed. Billie is so brat and I was very happy to see her be a part of this record too. What a perfect end to brat summer!
Check out my full review of BRAT by Charli xcx!
"Sharpest Tool" // Sabrina Carpenter
It was so hard to choose just one favorite from Sabrina Carpenter's new album Short n Sweet, but one that I currently have on repeat all the time is "Sharpest Tool". She has such a talent for blending witty one-liners with so much sincerity and deep emotion, "Sharpest Tool" very much encapsulates both. Her vocals are also just so stunning on this song too, especially as she sings "we never talk about it" repeatedly.
I also had so much fun earlier this month going to a special midnight release party for the album at my local record store! I loved getting to hear the album for the first time there and get to buy it right away on vinyl - plus get some other super cute freebies! I have been loving every song off of Sabrina's new album and I can't wait to share all of my thoughts in a full review very soon!
"Diet Pepsi" // Addison Rae
I have been saying for years that Addison Rae is the future of pop music and each release is just hit after hit! "Diet Pepsi" is probably her best yet, she is fully embodying her strongest influences of Britney Spears and the classic Americana aesthetics of Lana Del Rey's early music, which I of course love. I kind of think of it as the sister to "Diet Mountain Dew" by Lana in a lot of ways. Addison is so talented and makes music that is just to fun and infectious, I can't wait for her to finally put out her debut album!
"For Cryin' Out Loud!" // Finneas
Finneas recently announced his new album For Cryin' Out Loud! and alongside released the title track as well. This song is so catchy, yet still so emotional and heartfelt - it's been on repeat for weeks already! I've been such a big fan of Finneas' solo music for so many years and have been anticipating a new release from him for some time so I can't wait to listen to the rest of the album this October! Soon after the album's release I am also going to be seeing him and Billie on tour which I am SO excited for too!
"Blackout Drunk" // Suki Waterhouse
"Blackout Drunk" is the latest single from Suki Waterhouse off of her upcoming new album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. The song details the aftermath and emotional turmoil she experienced after a night out. I have been loving all of the music she has released this year so far and the full album is finally set to be released this September which I am very excited to hear!
"Brooklyn Baby - Spotify Singles" // Clairo
Clairo recently covered one of my favorite songs by Lana Del Rey for the first release of Spotify's new series "reblog", which is highlighting artists of the Tumblr era as they cover each other's songs. This version is so beautiful and I am so excited to see who else is a part of this series next! The possibilities are truly endless!
"Die With A Smile" // Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga
Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga recently collaborated for the first time on the gorgeous ballad "Die With A Smile". They are both incredible artists and this collaboration was so exciting to hear. For now, I don't think this is known to be a part of a full album for either of them, but I hope to hear more new music from Bruno and Gaga soon - it's been too long!
"Too Close" // Ariana Grande
This month marked a decade since Ariana Grande released her breakthrough sophomore album, My Everything. To celebrate, she released a special anniversary edition featuring the previously unreleased "Cadillac Song" and "Too Close" - both of which are incredible. I never heard "Too Close" before and was particularly blown away by it - she was absolutely Mariah Carey in the studio that day!
Check out my full anniversary review for Ariana Grande's My Everything!
"Wild Heart" // Bleachers (A Stranger Desired version)
Earlier this summer, Bleachers celebrated ten years of their debut album Strange Desire! To celebrate this milestone, Jack Antonoff and the rest of the band are re-recording and re-imagining the album with a new release called A Stranger Desired. That is set to be released in early September, but the first glimpse we got into this new record is the updated version of "Wild Heart", track one on the album. It is generally a more stripped back version of the original, which really highlights the emotional lyricism of this song and shifts the meaning of it a bit for me. I am very excited to hear the rest, I love that album so much!
Check out my full review of Strange Desire & A Stranger Desired by Bleachers here!
"Screen Cleaner" // George Daniel
George Daniel of The 1975 recently released his debut solo single, which also features Tove Lo and TimFromTheHouse. He is such a talented and innovative producer who has worked on so many of my favorite songs ever, both with The 1975 and without. "Screen Cleaner" is also the first release under his new electronic label imprint, dh2. I am looking forward to what this exciting new venture brings for him!
"Flower Child" // Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves recently went deeper into the well with the release of the deluxe version of her latest album. "Flower Child" was my favorite of the six songs she released this month. I love the message of embracing your true self and working to reach your full potential in life. Her music is always so calming and inspiring to me, I love that she released so much more new music already. It is a great extension of the original album's track list!
Check out my full review of Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves!
It's hard to believe that August has once again slipped away into a moment in time! There was so much great music that was released this summer that I almost can't even keep up with writing my reviews for them all! Expect to see a lot more posts in the coming months that I am working on now and am excited to share. I hope you had a wonderful summer, I hope to see you back here soon!
Thanks for reading! If you'd like to read more, check out my favorite new songs of June and July - plus more from my ongoing New Music Friday series!
brat by Charli xcx // Album Review
My Everything by Ariana Grande // 10 Year Anniversary Album Review
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish // Album Review
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? by Billie Eilish // 5 Year Anniversary Album Review
Comments
Post a Comment