DETROIT – Happy Friday!
5 songs we have on repeat this week:
Recommended Videos
Goodbye 2 Heartbreak -- 93PUNX
I debated whether I should put another 93PUNX song on the Friday Finds, but I love "Goodbye 2 Heartbreak" so much that I had to use it.
Rapper Vic Mensa dove into a new style earlier this summer when he debuted an alternative rock and rap project, 93PUNX.
"Goodbye 2 Heartbreak" opens with Mensa talking about love that is gone, and how they should have never said goodbye, before listing off things he wants to say goodbye to.
He mentions everything from jealousy and comparisons to racism and taxes.
"On the topic of farewell: a list of good riddances / I wanna say goodbye to fear / Goodbye to love don't live here anymore / Goodbye to addiction/ Goodbye to violence."
Mensa has incorporated news and current events into the album, while also taking a political stand.
Mariners Apartment Complex -- Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey made headlines last week, but not just because of her new album. She was in the news for slamming NPR writer and critic Ann Powers for her in-depth look at Del Rey's new album. Honestly, if it wasn't for that critique and Del Rey's hate for it -- I would have never bothered listening to it. But I'm glad I did.
The first time I heard Del Rey it was the summer that "Summertime Sadness" started making its rounds. I loved it. Then the club remixes started popping up, and it lost its flavor. I tried to keep up with her, a few songs from "Born To Die" pulled me in (e.g.: "Dark Paradise") but I just sort of put her music on the back burner.
From her new album, I gave "hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it" a chance early on, but it didn't instantly draw me in. I like moody, moving music -- but for some reason I just personally never felt pulled toward Del Rey. That being said, she's talented, just not usually my style. "Norman F****** Rockwell!" stands out though. The second song on the track, "Mariners Apartment Complex" is exceptional -- she originally released it a year ago, on Sept. 12, 2018. Del Rey's voice cascades over a somber melody as black and white footage of the ocean dances across the screen.
"You took my sadness out of context / At the Mariners Apartment Complex / I ain't no candle in the wind / I'm the board, the lightning, the thunder / Kind of girl who's gonna make you wonder / Who you are and who you've been"
How It Feels To Be Lost -- Sleeping with Sirens
Sleeping with Sirens recently released their sixth studio album. One of the standout songs from the album is its namesake, "How It Feels to Be Lost."
The song comes out swinging, a hypnotic melody pulls the listener in close so the lyrics can land an emotional gut punch.
"Life Is walking on a tightrope / With nothing but a blindfold / It's a long way, it's a long way down / I'm, yeah I'm a little crazy / But can you really blame me?"
Hold on tight, because just as the song feels like it's slowing down -- it picks right back up. The chorus hits hard. It's catchy, clever and something worth listening to again and again.
"It's like a knife right in the back / Like a bullet to the head / Why can't I understand? / The blood is on my hands / Now I'm standing on the edge / With nowhere to go / This is how it feels, this is / how it feels / How it feels to be lost"
The vulnerability and emotion beat steadily as the song progresses. It's a theme that's pulled through the entire album. Something Kellin Quinn touches on in an interview with hmv: "This is the most personal record I've ever done. I didn't try to sugarcoat anything. I wrote down how I was feeling. This has been very therapeutic. The theme is me overcoming the darkness and finding a light through my struggle. That's why it's named how it feels to be lost."
Father of All -- Green Day
Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer announced a massive tour this week. With the announcement came a new track from each band.
On "Father of All," the title track off an album due out Feb. 7, 2020, Green Day switches up its sound, something lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said he was trying to do after their last album.
"I knew I wanted to do something different," Armstrong told Rolling Stone.
The song blends more pop sounds into it than the group's most recent music. While some could see such a move as a bad thing, Green Day makes it work, while still managing to stay relevant years after they hit the music scene.
Green Day will perform at Comerica Park on Aug. 19, 2020, during the Hella Mega Tour.
Open Heart -- If Walls Could Talk
Michigan's If Walls Could Talk released a music video for a track from their June album last weekend.
"Open Heart" is a song driven by piano. The music video itself is simple, but the song and video are both powerful.
"Please, just, listen / And let it set you free from the prison / Man, I hope that one day we can step away / And see the truth that my eyes have seen."
Twenty One Pilots is one of the band's influences, and that is obvious in the song. While it definitely has TOP vibes, it's an original track that is catchy and rather beautiful.
If Walls Could Talk released "Because It's Love," an album full of, well, love songs, on June 7.
Other songs to check out:
- I Really Wish I Hated You -- Blink-182
- The End of the Game -- Weezer
- Dear Future Self (Hands Up) -- Fall Out Boy feat. Wyclef Jean
- Take What You Want -- Post Malone feat. Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott
- If She Ever Leaves Me -- The Highwomen
Upcoming shows:
- The Avett Brothers at The Detroit Masonic Temple in Detroit on Sept. 19 (Thursday)
- Sponge at Rockin' the Shores in St. Clair Shores on Sept. 21 (Saturday)
- Motionless in White at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit on Sept. 26 (Thursday)
- Wage War at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit on Oct. 3 (Thursday)
- Senses Fail at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit on Oct. 4 (Friday)
Friday Finds: Sept. 6, 2019 --
Email us with local music suggestions and events at aainsworth@wdiv.com or kclarke@wdiv.com