Who needs an intro? Let's just listen to some songs together.
Local Picks
Dilly Dally Alley, “You’re Not the One”
Not as playful as their name suggests, this blue-eyed neo-soul sextet (trumpet and sax rounding out guitar-bass-drums-keys) are hardly solemn either. Follow up line to the title lyric: "You'll be the last one for a while." You can catch them every Tuesday night at the 331 Club throughout June.
These smoothly positive R&B siblings are taking off with a speed that suggests some connections—they played that $$$ Prince Celebration at Paisley last weekend. But their success isn't undeserved: This bubbles and soars like upbeat '80s Whitney, with most of the dated chintz flaked off.
The Prizefighters, "True Love"
Local ska heavyweights downshift to sweetened reggae with grooveful results. They'll be celebrating the release of their latest full-length, Punch Up, at the Turf on Wednesday.
Anita Velveeta, “Sonicsona”
What Velveeta calls "weirdo music" may not be as cheesy, synthetic, or gooey as her name suggests, but twisty-turny fun that knows when to hit the chorus. And anyway, Anita Bauer didn’t rhyme.
A warm voice, a sharp beat, and a lyric about being hooked on a runaround woman you're sure will settle down. Someday.
National Picks
Dave with Central Cee, “Sprinter”
Everyman Brit rapper Dave and Irish-Guyanese-Chinese-Arawak pal Central Cee raced (get it?) to the top of the UK charts last week with this relatively restrained celebration of new money.
Mark Ronson is no hack, and the Barbie soundtrack is shaping up into a nice little piece of product-plus: expert Dua Lipa disco rehash, Karol G skipping along to a reggaeton beat, and now this girlie-voiced lament for a lost boy with a great little unexpected fiddle breakdown and intermittent male woofs.
PUP, “How to Live With Yourself”
The only (pop-punk) band that matters returned with three new songs this week, and the most winning of the batch is a little bit mean to a girl that Stefan Babcock thinks should get over their breakup (he has after all). Included: all the spiky little melodic tangents that you expect from a PUP anthem.
Earlier this year, the Spanish pop star released an EP with her sweetie, Rauw Alejandro, and she seems to be yet in besotted mode—the title means "yours."
Sam Smith with Madonna, “Vulgar”
From its trashy, exotic synth-strings to its staccato vocal delivery, this team up is as ridiculous (which rhymes here with "meticulous") as the song title deserves. I applaud Smith's continued descent into the tawdry, and as for the b-i-t-c-h who can't stop dropping her own name, I appreciate how much she embarrasses the kids and also how she pronounces "bah-nah-nah."
Wanna get a local song considered for the playlist? To make things easy on both of us, email keith@racketmn.com with MONDAY PLAYLIST in the subject header. (Don’t, as in do NOT, DM or text: If I’m in a good mood, I’ll just ask you to send an email; if I’m in a bad mood I’ll just ignore it.)
