top notes from this new music friday

rachel chinouriri

spotify needs to try a bit harder to get to know me. it didn’t even put the 1975’s new live album release on my release radar??? good thing i had my matty-obsessed friends posting about it to remind me.

let’s start with the 1975’s new live album from the ao arena in manchester. there is something so sacred about hearing the 1975 perform live. the energy is incomparable, and the performance is something that will stick with you long after (i was luckily not at the raw meat show). live albums have become some of my favorites to listen to all the way through. they remind you of that feeling you get right before the main act walks out on stage or when you hear the first chord of your favorite song. that is what happened to me when i played you this morning. you has been one of my long-time favorites from the 1975. there is something nostalgic about the melody that has always drawn me to this song. i am thankful to have grown up with the 1975 as a soundtrack for my teenage angst, but also to have watched a band grow outside of themselves and push every creative limit. i feel very lucky.

next up, rachel chinouriri’s can we talk about isaac? wow! i have followed along with rachel’s journey as an artist for two years now, and i am always so surprised by her. i want to scream rachel’s name from the rooftops. this song is the perfect friday release—all it makes me want to do is skip down the street. i have a feeling we will see a lot more of her soon.

the last release that stood out to me was butterfly by marina. i have the softest spot in my heart for marina. she raised me! that’s mother! there was a time when she was all i would listen to. the stories she tells in her music are so beautifully written, and she always seems to know exactly what i need to hear when she releases something new. butterfly is so fun and carefree; it feels like an ode to the og marina that i have loved for so long, but also with a touch of new, cleansing energy.

other honorable mentions would be new blondshell, dora jar, and obviously new lady gaga. talk about mother. it felt like we were in a lull with new music, and i am hopeful this is the start of a new season of music.