Friday Finds: New music to check out – Dec. 13, 2019

DETROIT – Here’s some new music to get your weekend started.

5 songs we have on repeat this week:

VANDALS -- FEVER 333

FEVER 333 dropped an aggressive new track last week.

“VANDALS” blends hardcore, hip-hop elements and dark themes into a heavy anthem.

“I learned to be let down when y’all was learning 'bout them fables / Got accustomed to them wars while I was laid up in my cradle / You got the (expletive) nerve to tell me that I’m unstable / Now what the (expletive) you doing to put food up on my table?”

The group throws politics into the mix, even taking aim at President Donald Trump with an impeachment reference:

"And if you ever really thought to even practice what you preach / Then we wouldn’t be here screaming out, ‘Impeach, impeach, impeach’”

It’s not surprising, really, as the group’s website’s tour page calls concerts “demonstrations,” and many of FEVER 333′s tracks are political in nature, at least to an extent.

The song “Made an America,” a track that addresses what lead singer Jason Aalon Butler calls “dark history,” is nominated for the Best Rock Performance Grammy.

Million Pieces -- Bastille

Bastille collaborated with The Chamber Orchestra of London for version of “Million Pieces” from Doom Days -- and it is truly magnificent.

Bastille’s album “Doom Days” was released on June 14, but this month they released an extended version of the album. “Doom Days (This Got Out of Hand Edition)” was released on Dec. 6.

The orchestra version of “Million Pieces” is deeper, more personal. It’s reminiscent of the end of the song “The Descent” from Bastille’s “Other People’s Heartache (Pt. 4)”

“One of the highlights of our year was recording this ReOrchestrated version of ‘Million Pieces’ with The London Chamber Orchestra at the iconic Abbey Road Studios. We’re so happy to have it out on 'DOOM DAYS, THIS GOT OUT OF HAND,’” the band said on Facebook.

This version seems to carry more emotion than the original. Dan Smith’s voice is incredible and blends well with the skill of the orchestra, really taking the song to the next level. Listening to the original, it’s a good song, but Smith’s voice seems to get lost in this synth-pop vibe that really draws you away from the power of his voice.

“It breaks my heart into / A million pieces / If it’s gonna break me / Won’t you let me go / Leave it 'til the morning / I don’t wanna know / Breaks my heart / Breaks my heart into / A million pieces”

When I Watch The World Burn All I Think About Is You - Demo -- Bastille

I thought a bit about whether the Friday Finds should have two songs from the same artist in the same week, but when I heard Bastille’s new music, the answer was obvious ...

So, alas, another Bastille track because they are great.

The demo track, “When I Watch The World Burn All I Think About Is You,” consists of a chorus that was the intro to the song “Doom Days,” though the demo song is a much slower, more emotional work.

It’s a simple song about unrequited love and the pain associated with falling in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same, a feeling seemingly so overpowering that it is more distracting than other issues going on in the world.

“Well it (expletive) me up when I fell for you / I shouldn’t have let me fall for you / The world is ending on the news / But here in my head I’m drunk on you / My love, my love, unrequited / My love, my love, undecided”

Even When You’re Home -- Ben Kessler

Emerging Nashville-based artist Ben Kessler released a new single “Even When You’re Home.”

Kessler’s sweet-tempered voice combines with a gentle beat to create a graceful song. Kessler wrote and produced the song himself.

“Surrounded by familiar faces / But I’m seeing in silhouettes / Trying to color in the empty spaces / Oh I don’t recognize where I am / Foreign to the ones I love / Maybe all the love has been depleted / Staring at the ceiling above / Maybe there ain’t a place I belong in”

Last month Kessler opened up on Twitter about what it felt like to work in New York City. He said he had been going to the city for music since he was in high school and never felt like he deserved to be there. But last month, for the first time, “I felt like I deserved to be in NYC. Don’t know exactly what’s changed -- but I’m thankful to be in rooms with people who really believe in what i’m doing for the first time."

Cash Machine -- Oliver Tree

Oliver Tree, the singer known for his eccentric style choices, tackles greed and materialism on “Cash Machine.”

On the surface, the song could come off as silly, especially when watching the music video, but there’s so much more to it.

Tree questions the purpose of accumulating things and calls out people who use their wealth to try to hide insecurities or flaws.

“Smile show your golden teeth / That’s how you cover up your cavities / You’re glowing like a diamond ring / I saw you bought some other things / You’re spending like a cash machine / To cover up your insecurities / Don’t front, no need”

Tree’s album, “Ugly is Beautiful,” is due out March 27, 2020.

Other songs to check out:

• Finally // beautiful stranger -- Halsey
• I’m With You -- Mayday Parade
• Not Another Christmas Song -- blink-182
• Comatose -- Too Close To Touch
• Have a Cigar -- Foo Fighters

Upcoming shows:

• Boston Manor at St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit on Dec. 17 (Tuesday)
• New Politics at St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit on Dec. 18 (Wednesday)
• State Champs at St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit on Dec. 19 (Thursday)
• Sum 41 at 21 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids on Dec. 21 (Saturday)
• Hot Mulligan at The Croftoot in Pontiac on Dec. 21 (Saturday)