ICYMI is a series featuring new and notable releases you (and we) may have missed
Art by Enne Goldstein, you can find more of their work here
Groupie – “Daleko”
Earlier this month, Groupie put out a new single as a part of You’re Gonna Be Great – A Compilation in Support of IntegrateNYC. The song is called “Daleko,” and it was written collaboratively by bassist Ashely Kossakowski and her mom. Her mom came to the US to escape communist Poland when she was 20 years old, a couple of months after her husband. It’s a song about the distance and longing you can somehow feel for a place you never got the chance to know. A verse, translated from Polish, reads:
Distance, time, longing, forgetfulness
This is how people are,
we must go forward
Broken heart,
But after a moment, forgetting
Why the distance
must always divide us?
The proceeds for the whole compilation, which includes music from Frankie Cosmos, Laura Stevenson, Screaming Females, Paisley Fields, and many many more, will go to Integrate NYC. Integrate NYC “is a youth-led organization that stands for integration and equity in New York City schools.” Buy it here at Steakhouse Records
— Grace Eire, Associate Editor
Aalok Bala – “Moon Juice”
Aalok Bala’s “Moon Juice” is kind of like if you mixed FKA twigs with a little bit of Lianne LaHavas, make it a little more 8-bit, and shook it all up together with some super trippy visuals (which she made on her own). It’s meant to be something of a calming mantra amidst the chaos of the world, and the video really will take you away from all of the rigamarole of life. It came out last month as the second single from her forthcoming debut EP, Sacred Mirror, which will be out later this year.
— Grace Eire, Associate Editor
Wyatt Wadell – “You”
Multi-instrumentalist Wyatt Waddell is what you’d call a spiritual awakening. He has built an immense presence on social media with his remarkable instagram loop videos and has now dropped his soulful R&B track “You”. This track is about heartbreak and the frustration of giving your all to something that never existed.
— Aricka Moutlry-Davis
Whitney – Candid
Summer 2020 is one of covers and Whitney’s Candid is definitely a highlight amongst those. A perfect spin for setting on your fire escape, watching the sunset, and enjoying a drink.
The Mountain Goats – “As Many Candles As Possible”
I’ll be the first one to admit, it’s been a minute since I’ve been into The Mountain Goats. Their earlier albums were ones I’ve continuously gone back to, but I’ve shied away from their newer stuff. This I’m into, though. It has the same distinct, folk component to it, but has a greater drive and darker undercurrent to it, even veering off into an 80s-esque bridge.
