If 2020 has done anything, well apart from driving us to drink, despair and an unending stream of feel-good animated movies, it’s reminded us how much we need stuff that matters to us.
When life is busy and frantic, it’s all too easy to get caught in all kinds of light and fluffy stuff which, while fun, ultimately doesn’t really add much to our lives.
But 2020 has been all about breaks and taking stock and being quiet, and while we’ve all ached to get back to life as normal, that hasn’t really been possible and so our only choice, beside firing up Netflix, has to been to sit back, think about life and work out how we feels about it all.
Which is perfect in a way because these five artists have done that and out it to gloriously good music, the of-the-moment soundtrack to a time when going deep and thinking and feeling bad is all but inevitable.
“Sleeping on my Dreams” by Jacob Collier
British singer and composer Jacob Collier is an immensely talented young artist.
Influenced by classical and jazz genres and with an ear for a delectable catchy hook, Collier has poured all his prodigious talent into “Sleeping on my Dreams”, drawn from the third of his Djesse volumes, released on 14 August this year, described by Atwood Magazine as “the closest thing to a pop record Collier has made”.
The magazine goes on to say that “it feels laughably prescriptive to identify his music as any one thing” and that feels very much true for this insanely infectious track which is pop, classical grandeur and jazz vivacity all poured into one exuberant package.
Packaged with a sunny, technicolour and benefiting from Collier’s dusky vocals and impish sense of fun, “Sleeping on my Dreams” is a highly-listenable, accessible song by an artist who clearly knows his way around music that makes an impact.
“Devil’s Advocate” by The Neighbourhood
Formed in Newbury park, California in 2011, The Neighbourhood are an American rock band who want the simpler things in life.
Well, that’s the idea behind their song “Devil’s Advocate” (drawn from new album Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones) which lead singer Jesse Rutherford explained to Northern Transmissions:
“It’s about getting back to being a simple man rather than trying to chase a designer brand. I’m attracted to designer stuff, diamonds, and the good life, but there’s nothing like finding greatness in the simple things.”
The song is lo-fi upbeat slice of gently moving but energetic pop which GSGM describes this way:
“Devil’s Advocate’ kicks off with a funky drum rhythm tapping away instantly, and it drives the track forward. A combination of sounds then appear with a synth melody echoing around the track with delight.”
“Talking in my Sleep” By Heather Sommer
“Talking in my Sleep” is a guitar-driven piece of pop perfection.
Written and performed by Heather Sommer, who has made quite a name for herself in the New York and L.A. music scenes, the song is a dreamy confection of heartfelt melodies and lyrics that gets right into your soul.
It’s a beautiful song that should go a long way to adding to the 40 million-plus streams the artist has already attracted on Spotify.
It’s easy to see Sommers is increasingly popular – she crafts songs that carry passion and insight with them, offering up musical experiences that don’t just sound good but are meaningful in ways that a lot of pop simply isn’t.
An unsigned, fully independent singer-songwriter who hails from New York, Heather Sommer is exactly what we need right now – a creator of music that delights the soul as much as tantalises the ears, someone who understands music must have meaning as much as it has melody.
“Surreal” by Dan Croll
There are songs that come along that totally and completely steal your heart the moment you hear him.
They don’t necessarily have to be big, loud, hugely noticeable songs either; take English singer-songwriter Dan Croll whose gorgeously chilled song “Surreal” is a masterfully-executed exercise in a laid-back that can’t be noticed thanks to an affectingly pretty melody, acoustic delivery and insightful lyrics.
It comes with the perfect video too, in which Croll sits strumming his guitar on a beach, the rolling in and out of the waves the only accompaniment to his emotive vocals.
Here, via DIY, he explains why he chose that location for his video:
“Where better to finish a trip through L.A. than the beach? Everyone has their ideas of what ‘making it’ is, and most would associate it with riches and fame, but for me it felt great just to make it to the end of a year in LA. Uprooting my life and making such a big move is something I’m very proud of, even if it was tough at times, and for me I feel it most when I’m sat on the beach, so it felt only right to film ‘Surreal’ there.”
“Always the Rain” by Lev
A singer-songwriter who hails from Los Angeles, Lev seems to pour his heart and soul into songs like “Always the Rain”.
This song, which works off a guitar-driven upbeat pop melody, is suffused with all the emotion you could possibly for, documenting the stark reality that not every relationship is headed for a happy-ever-after.
In fact, as Lev ruefully admits, he and his significant other, “were always the train headed straight for a brick wall”, a frank and honest admission that all the good intentions and attraction can’t make up for a relationship that is on life support before it even really gets going.
The track is the perfect marriage between insightful, truthful lyrics, emotionally resonant vocals and a melody that works in upbeat mode because of the intensity of the emotions it encapsulates.
SONGS, SONGS AND MORE SONGS EXTRA!
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