WILT_2023-31

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 30 Jul 2023 to 5 Aug 2023.

1. Just The Way It Is, Baby – The Rembrandts
2. Personal Reflektor – Promiseland
3. Is This It – The Strokes
4. On My Own – The Rembrandts
5. You Got The Music In You – The Prproject
6. Perfume – monopolice
7. Pleaser – LORY
8. I Should Probably Go To Sleep – Noa Mal
9. Happiness is a DEAD Fly – Noa Mal
10. Don’t Be Nostalgic – Noa Mal
11. Sleep – Noa Mal
12. Factory Machine – Noa Mal
13. Arterial – Lusine

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2023-31

Notes

We start of with The Rembrandt’s Thats Just The Way It Is, Baby as a follow up from what I mentioned in last week’s notes. The guitar work and musical arrangements were interesting enough, but I’m not sure if the rest of their catalogue was able to convert me into a new fan of their music. There’s also On My Own from their latest album as of August 2023. It’s pretty standard fare, but the melodies were and arrangements reminded me of some Sister Hazel records from the 2000’s and I suppose there will always be a nostalgic spot for that kind of music. 

I also attended the Strokes concert that they played last Wednesday. Promiseland opened for them and Personal Reflektor stood out for me with its dark synthwave sounds and smatterings of art punk. He’s a pretty energetic performer as well, and the routine goes well with the music. 

The Strokes were of course a delight to watch and listen to, although I couldn’t quite enjoy myself because I was still nursing some strained intercostal muscles. Still, when This Is It started playing it reminded me of how innovative their sound was at the time. Combining punk rock and post punk elements, all with a signature nonchalant drawl by Julian Casablancas to create that classic Strokes sound.

From here, the algorithm took over after playing the entirety of Is This It, and lo and behold, a rearrangement of New Radicals’s You Got The Music In You by The Prproject. I have never heard of them, but a stringed arrangement of the song is always a nice bookmark to have.

Next up, Perfume by monopolice was released as a new single on Friday. I had gotten to know some of the band members during my time in Cebu, and I’m still grateful for the experience because it puts me in touch with a scene outside of my local base. And what a joy, because the song and it’s arrangements and delivery is so beautiful. The musicality on this song is so measured, and every flourish and delivery sounds like it is in service to the lyrics. You can sense that every musician was invested in creating a magnificent song.

From here, the algorithm surfaced a few more Filipino acts in my direction. LORY stood out with their crisp indie and shoegaze leanings, and Pleaser is a fine example of this. 

Then came Noa Mal whose music and aesthetic I just got sucked into. I Should Probably Go To Sleep is so non-plussed and warbled and demo-like that I just had to notice. Perhaps that’s what an internet of 20 years or more can do to self-publishing. If you don’t gate access to your art, it really is there waiting to be accessed. In all their songs, I don’t find that they care that much about how they sound, but they just want to get a sound out. Some kind of pure, innocent expression, and maybe for a moment in time as well.

And finally there’s Arterial by Lusine. I was revisiting a track, Follow Me by M|O|O|N from a Facebook memory, and Arterial came on through the recommendations. It was a breath of fresh air because I had not heard the producer’s music for a long time, and I am reminded that I do enjoy this style of electronica a lot.