(Photo by Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash)
Can something be fun and thoughtful all at once?
Yes, indeed it can and these five songs all manage to have some fun, four more than the remaining one which is darker than its post-mates, while taking some pretty incisive deep dives into what it means to be human and how to navigate the good and bad parts of being alive.
They are testament to how versatile and good pop can be, and how it can lift you up musically while giving your heart and mind time to linger on some essential truths which you need to hear, need to own and whose presence in your life must be acknowledged if you’re going to make the most of it.
All five are love letters to the power and truthfulness and innate attractiveness of pop which can be many things all at once as it soundtracks your life in ways meaningful and light …
“Freak Me Now” by Jessie Ware and Róisín Murphy
(courtesy Genius)
Pop music should be fun!
Well, not all of it clearly since it is usually FULL of emotions, but a lot of it; it should make you feel like you’re somewhere melodically removed from reality and escaping into the buoyant froth of buoyant diversion.
If you feel like that should be the case every time you switch on your streaming platform, meet “Freak Me Now” by Jessie Ware and Róisín Murphy, a bouncy slice of disco-fuelled giddiness that feels like two singers having a ton of fun together which according to the media release for the song is precisely what went down (via Pitchfork).
It is a huge honour to have the queen of disco, Róisín Murphy on “Freak Me Now.” I messaged her hoping she may be interested in featuring on the song and before I knew it she was in the studio. She recorded all her vocals for the track and sent them over to us. I have admired her work for so many years & respect her so much. To have her on one of the most fun tracks on That! Feels Good! Is amazing. I can’t wait for us to do this together live in the future! I know my fans are gonna go crazy about this, as am I. I still can’t quite believe we are on a track together and have done a bonkers video together. She is graceful, she is generous, she is pioneering, she is Róisín Murphy and she is on “Freak Me Now!” (Jessie Ware)
Jessie is just brilliant, a super talented songwriter and an amazing singer. She’s truly beautiful but she’s also very funny and never take’s herself too seriously. We’ve been talking about working together for a while. When she sent me “Freak Me Now” I just adored it and felt it was perfectly right for me to be on the song. We had mad fun dressing up on the day of the video, it was fashion chaos!! Like a high-class jumble sale, behind the scenes. We laughed at our ridiculousness and we were very silly all day! Just love her and loved everything about working with her. (Róisín Murphy)
That’s not hype by the way; the song is FUN, the clip is FUN and honestly you feel lightened and happy after listening to it with Dr Pop having done its job and lifted, even if temporarily, our existential burden.
“Crucified by U” by THEIA
(courtesy official THEIA Facebook page)
Snarling with some raw angry energy at the start, “Crucified by U” is a dark trip into the underbelly of organised religion, with New Zealander THEIA aka Em-Haley Walker, going all out, lyrically and melodically, to make it clear all that twisted belief will be the death of you.
A ferocious condemnation of the way in which holier-than-thou priests claim to worship and love God even astray defile “little girls” and strip them of their innocence as “they take and rape”.
That’s dark and heavy but necessary as it addresses one of the great scandals of our time.
“Crucified by U” in all its alt-pop glory declares that “Religion is a burden and I know it will destroy you” to music that brings the message with home, fury and a sense that THEIA is done being nice and it’s time to take no prisoners, her eye clearly on religion power to condemn and wreck even as it mouthes beautiful, empty words.
“the lyrics in this song are probably the most brutal i think i’ve ever written & i did think long & hard about whether they needed 2b softened. but 2 do that would’ve stripped this song of its power. ♥︎ this one’s for those of us who’ve been made to feel that our love is tainted or who have been silenced by oppressive belief systems.” ~ Theia (via Instagram via Acid Stag)
“HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan
(courtesy official Chappell Roan Facebook page)
Good lord Chappell Roan is pop perfection!
Possessed of a voice that nails all the emotions her songs have in spades, a queer sensibility is liberatingly good and a pop songs so strong they could lift a thousand lesser talented tunes without blinking, Roan has invested everything into the vibrantly upbeat fun of “HOT TO GO!” which celebrates being yourself in the most gloriously good of ways as Ones to Watch observes.
Roan will never shy away from committing to a theme and that dedication shines in “HOT TO GO!,” an ode to feeling hot and claiming it wholeheartedly. She even explicitly admits to making the song as a seduction tactic and further executes it with high-spirited vocal delivery and cheeky ad-libs. This self-love is then transferred to the audience in the chorus, when Roan teaches us how to also feel sexy and ready to show it off. Not only is she living out her self-proclaimed “cheerleader fantasy,” the audience is invited to partake as well. Every aspect of the track, from the lyrics to the production to the tangible energy seeping through every second, is a joyous celebration of self-love and pure, old-fashioned fun.
The song is accompanied by a video filmed in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri “featuring hometown hotspots, picturesque farmland shots, a monster truck rally, and even Chappell’s grandparents learning the choreography” and some local drag queens, all of it combining into a vivaciously joyous love letter to loving yourself and unconditionally embracing others.
It’s a JOY, it’s FUN and it will MAKE YOUR DAY, and yes, it all deserves ALL THOSE UPPERCASE LETTERS, and then some …
“I’m Confident That I’m Insecure” by Lawrence
(courtesy official Lawrence Facebook page)
“I’m Confident That I’m Insecure” is a clever, CLEVER song that winningly manages to be both quirky & fun and deeply meaningful that will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt they don’t have it all down, not even a little bit.
At one point the song by the eight-piece band hailing from New York City and fronted by siblings Clyde and Gracie Lawrence, references, rather playfully though with a keen eye on the emotional truth in the lyrics, that can feel like a million bucks at one point in the day, only to have it collapse into insecurity before and after.
It’s a truth of being alive, and while we all like to be world-conqueringly sure of ourselves all the time, and secure in just good we are, we usually aren’t, and Lawrence have captured it all brilliantly well, serving up some human truths in a song that radiates vocal power and a liltingly intense slice of mid-fi pop.
The song’s observations are universal as Atwood Magazine perfectly notes.
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are in your journey – whether you’re sitting at home in the dark, or out on the biggest tour of your life. We all feel deflated from time to time, and that’s okay.
Well, shucks, I think I need to go to therapy
But I’m tough, so I’m just gonna cry in bed for free
But enough, like maybe I’ve been
living in denial for a while
It sucks, my brain tells me to eat a bag of dicks
And I suck, at knowing
when my mind is playing tricks
Now I’m stuck (I’m stuck),
how come it didn’t dawn on me before?
I’m confident that I’m insecure…
“Diving” (ft. Holly Humberstone) by Bombay Bicycle Club
(courtesy official Bombay Bicycle Club Facebook page)
Bombay Bicycle Club (Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash) hail from Crouch End, London, and have long delivered incredibly fun but thoughtful pop.
Active since 2005, they keep making arrestingly good pop, with one of their latest songs, “Diving”, featuring a vocal collaboration with English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone, has been lauded by CLASH as a “beautiful duet”.
And indeed it is, the exquisitely lovely harmonies doing justice to both the Irish-tinged music and thoughtful lyrics of a song with Jack Steadman describes thus:
‘Diving’ is a song about that summer you have when you’re 15, the memory of which conjures up such a unique feeling. You’re discovering everything for the first time and the world seems as scary and exhilarating as diving off a tall cliff into a lake.
Holly is the perfect fit for this song. Her music perfectly captures those feelings of early life, and her voice gives the whole song so much emotion. (CLASH)