Lydia Kaseta – “I’m not in love with you”
-The heart of this song is remarkable. The line “you shaped me into something that you thought that I could be.” Wow. It goes on developing this theme. It’s a song about someone falling in love with a version of you that doesn’t really exist. It’s fascinating and emotionally powerful. The production style allows for a lot of reflective space, which is much needed for this kind of track. It’s a remarkable piece of songwriting and a really promising rising singer songwriter in Kaseta.
SYML – “Lost myself” ft. Guy Garvey
-The energy of this track is enigmatic and satisfying all at once. It’s got a lightness to it that allows the listener to feel like you’re floating and I can’t quite explain how or why that is – musically – that the song creates that feeling. The sincerity in the different vocals really works well; it’s not that they contrast, really, but more so that they have a complimentary blending style to them. The vibes here are absolutely magical, though, and I hope a lot of fans of folk singer songwriters will take some time to immerse themselves – to lose themselves, so to speak – in this exceptional song.
Noah Derksen – “Maybe next year”
-I had to go back and look — it turns out this is the tenth track from Noah Derksen that we’ve covered on this site, going back to 2017. That’s a pretty impressive run. In that first track I said that Derksen’s music was the “genuine article.” I agree with that sentiment to this day. Derksen has a pop-rock-flavored anthem on this latest track. The energy is high with an optimism that’s conveyed equally in the melody as well as the lyrics. Having lived through 2020 and 2021, this “maybe next year” idea certainly is a welcome hopefulness. This year hasn’t been ideal for most of us, but… you know, maybe next year will be!
