Staff Pix 3/14
The Milk Crate staff’s favorite tracks of the week, presented with blurbs worthy of a promotional sticker on a jewel case. Tune in Sundays from 5-7 EST to the Staff Pix radio show.
Nat Szczepanski
Yellow Fever - Really From
Funnily enough I found Really From on TikTok through another great artist, Skatune Network. After listening to their literal days-old album, “Yellow Fever” stands out the most. From the very beginning, Michi Tassey’s vocals set the tone on this song: an almost subdued anger. Their songs typically deal with themes of racism, intergenerational trauma, and the immigrant experience and so “Yellow Fever” follows suit in dealing with some hard-hitting truths. The song itself draws on multiple genres, particularly emo and surprisingly jazz, combining both to form a truly unique sound. Perhaps some hints of math rock. I can’t help but wonder why more alternative music doesn’t make use of traditional brass instruments. Surely this is only the beginning of this Boston-based band’s journey and I’m glad to have found them.
Mica Kendall
Be Sweet - Japanese Breakfast
Since the release of her standout album Soft Sounds From Another Planet, Michelle Zauner, known as Japanese Breakfast has taken this 4 year break to focus on the release of her upcoming memoir “Crying in H Mart” and third album Jubilee. Her latest single off of Jubilee, “Be Sweet,” features a collaboration with Jack Tatum from Wild Nothing. “Be Sweet” radiates an exuberance of positivity within the first listen that causes one to automatically play it again or even have it on loop. Full of cascading keys, clean guitar riffs, and airy synths, “Be Sweet,” emits a comforting warmth making it the perfect track for the springtime. Zauner states Jubilee will focus on joy in contrast to her two previous albums centered around grief. Jubilee will be out on Dead Oceans on June 4th and “Crying in H Mart” will hit bookstands on April 20th.
Kyle Woolery
Describe (A. G. Cook Remix) - Perfume Genius
Last week, genre-defying singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas, better known by his pseudonym Perfume Genius, released IMMEDIATELY Remixes, a collection of tracks from 2020’s Set My Heart on Fire Immediately reworked by some of the most innovative and idiosyncratic voices in electronic music today. Among the electronic virtuosos recruited to reimagine the album was hyperpop pioneer and PC Music founder A. G. Cook, who adds his trademark glossy sheen to the song “Describe.” Cook transforms “Describe”—originally a cathartic, raucous, country-rock behemoth bookended by two minutes of tranquil ambience—into an ethereal, incandescent, breakbeat-inspired number that builds up to an explosion of distorted guitar riffs reminiscent of 90s shoegaze. Cook’s reinterpretation of “Describe” plays out like a mirror of the original track, starting out more soft and graceful before eventually becoming a glorious cacophony of noise in its closing moments. Both the original and the remix take the listeners on an impassioned emotional journey alongside Hadreas and stand out on their respective albums for all the right reasons.
Nia Tucker
New Beat (Instrumental) - Toro Y Moi
Toro Y Moi, aka Chaz Bundick, has released his second album of instrumentals from his discography. His second album, Underneath the Pine, is now getting a bare bones treatment and release just in time for the change of spring. His iconic mastery of creating funky, disco-inspired beats behind his soft, boyish voice, is stripped down, still providing a new experience as if you’re listening for the first time. My personal favorite, “New Beat” is the perfect track to walk down the street in chunky shoes, strutting in the bright sun with the changes in weather. As a longtime fan of Bundick, you learn to appreciate the different narratives he’s able to create with just a few strums of the bass guitar, synthetic claps, voice samples and somehow simultaneously futuristic and retro synth sounds. This song truly never gets old, with vocals or withou
Annie Wojnarowski
Thumbs - Lucy Dacus
A long time fan favorite, Lucy Dacus has finally recorded one of her most beloved concert songs. Taking the listener through a day during her freshman year of college, her intricate storytelling is something so behold. The play-by-play of her friend’s encounter with her estranged father is both incredibly heartbreaking and an immensely impressive time capsule into one day that changed everything for its protagonist. “I would kill him, if you let me” is a bold and honest lyric that is emblematic of the vulnerability that Dacus has mastered throughout her entire career.
Sarah Fournell
Leave the Door Open- Silk Sonic
Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak have managed to create one of the grooviest tracks of the past decade with “Leave the Door Open.” It is the first single off their upcoming release, “An Evening with Silk Sonic.” The combination of their talents is so organic, making the song flow effortlessly. Paak. and Mars bounce off each other so fluidly, with energetic verses and smooth choruses. They fuse funk, soul, and R&B in such a nostalgic way, giving the track a lively personality. Their love for music and performing is evident in their chemistry. With the first single being this strong, the release of the rest of the album is highly anticipated. The duo will be performing “Leave the Door Open” tonight at the 63rd Grammy Awards.