Summer Staff Pix: August

The Milk Crate staff takes a break from their sun-soaked summer breaks to select their favorite songs released during the month of August. Listen to our choices for the perfect move-in playlist!

Sophie Severs

Orpheus by The Beaches

Released Aug. 25, The Beaches’ “Orpheus” serves as a contemporary retelling of the classic Greek myth, in which musician Orpheus determinedly charges into the underworld to bring his deceased lover, Euridice, back to the land of the living. As the two make the ascent out of the underworld together, Orpheus mistakenly looks back at Euridice, and she then disappears, never to be seen again. The Beaches put a spin on this narrative — instead of being a glamorous idol, Orpheus is just another ordinary guy playing with his band in his basement. Even so, The Beaches fall head over heels with him, but after their whirlwind romance comes to an end, they realize that “There's no point in looking back / If there is something you cannot get back to / Time is faster than you know / And feel those things run nothing but right past you.” Originally beginning as a woozy keyboard-led ballad, the song has transformed into a dreamy track driven by a snappy drumbeat, allowing the band to embrace the fun in getting over someone. The four encourage listeners to squeeze the last drops out of the summer, saying “get in your car and drive for hours with this on loop.” So, hop in the front seat, start the car, play “Orpheus,” and most importantly, don’t look back!

Sarah Fournell 

Be Careful With Yourself by Julia Jacklin 

Julia Jacklin’s newest release, Pre Pleasure authentically confronts her anxieties surrounding twentieth century life, disillusionment with religion, and craving for tenderness and intimacy. Her signature breathy drawl inflicts a certain level of poignancy in each song, providing every lyric a high sense of conviction. Her latest single, “Be Careful With Yourself” perfectly verbalizes every worry I have surrounding the friends I wish would treat their precious lives with concern that I have for them. With each cautionary line, Jacklin gently grabs her loved ones by both shoulders and begs them to consider the importance of their role in her future plans. Thankfully my reckless pals have fallen victim to Jacklin’s charms, and are tossing their vapes into the river and looking both ways before they cross the street.

Will Ingman

Guided Meditation by GEL

If the last ten hate5six uploads are anything to go by, the “it” sound in American hardcore right now is low-tuned, fast-paced, and dripping with wooly, slashed-speaker-cone distortion. New Jersey band GEL (yes, in all-caps), certainly fit that bill, with their latest EP, Shock Therapy, squeezing four songs into six unrelenting minutes — but, like the subtle reverb on their lead vocals, it’s the precise, meticulous touches that put GEL atop a long list of stellar one-word “-core” bands. “Guided Meditation” may seem like another 180-beats-per-minute beatdown track on first listen, and while the pummeling drums and clanging, down-picked bass certainly conjure images of nauseatingly fast circle pits, there’s a shrewd sense of composition on display here too. GEL knows exactly when to let amplifier feedback drown their guitar signal, and their pursuit of divine musical brutality never supersedes their respect for rhythm and contrast. “Guided Meditation” is a deceptively complex track, aggressive but never self-indulgent, full but never too busy, easy to lose yourself in but cohesive enough to appreciate, and presents a clear, realized vision for the future of hardcore punk.

Julia Norkus

A Month or Two by Odie Leigh

“A Month or Two” shares a story we all know and love: one of a post-breakup reality. Longing gazes out windows, staring into your cup of tea until it tells you something meaningful, maybe getting lost in thought on a late night walk because of the nightmare of sleeping. Not only is this feeling emulated by the song’s layered string elements (which is probably the most magical part about it - who else is able to compose a piece that makes violins sound like the tears streaming down one’s face?), but in both lyrics and vocals. The opening guitar and Leigh’s voice seem to bounce in a way that feels reminiscent of a repetitive thought pattern, like the things we see in our minds while looking out that window or into that cup of tea. Leigh also references the challenge in forgetting this person that used to matter so deeply, “I got an ad on the internet/For ceasing smoking cigarettes/Isn't it fun how I'd forget you/If fate allowed me to.” There’s a recognition of the challenge, of the way that everything feels difficult after something meaningful ends. Odie Leigh reminds us that not everything is going to feel healed right away and that it won’t always be easy, but she ends the song with the mantra, “Give it some time, time, time, time, time, time, time.”

Lily Hartenstein

Soul Searching by Kokoroko 

The long awaited debut of eight-piece jazz fusion Kokoroko refuses to buckle under the pressure of its hype, instead delivering thoughtful and simultaneously soothing and energizing instrumentation. Following the viral success of their 2018 release “ABUSEY JUNCTION”, the London-based group has delivered a myriad of delightful EPs and singles, but none compare to the cohesive totality of Could We Be More. Each song effortlessly flows into the other, yet each track brings in new infusions. It’s akin to classical compositions from the romantic era, where composers would take listeners on a journey, such as down a river through their country; Kokoroko carries us on the wings of a bird across the many influences of London. “Soul Searching”, my favorite, feels like a journey through a busy and familiar market, with its gently funky baseline, lifting horns, and an effervescent feeling.

Lily Hartenstein

There’d Better Be a Mirrorball by Arctic Monkeys 

Oftentimes when artists with such dedicated fans as the Arctic Monkeys release music which (even slightly!) deviates from their infamous sound, there’s uproar. And I, ever the contrarian, love to defend an artist’s right to evolve, even if the evolution isn’t good (my review of The Slow Rush, an album I haven’t bothered to listen to in years, haunts me to this day). But the latest development of the Arctic Monkeys sound isn’t one I see being debated and forgotten. There is a worn-in sound inherent in their latest single, an amalgamation of the musicians previous work in this band and other projects, the most notable comparison being The Last Shadow Puppets. Turner’s voice is grown, no longer cocky in that youthfully contrary way that took over Tumblr, but in the confidence of truly knowing one’s craft. The single leans into the nostalgia of age, with delicate and emotional strings impacting a devastatingly ambiguous feeling: joy? sadness? resignation? Some combination of everything. The Arctic Monkeys have grown, we all have, but they still hold the power to grab a listeners attention with total power, and they don’t need any heavy bass or power riffs to do so.

Karenna Umscheid

Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj

Trending on Tiktok before the entire song was even released, the latest Nicki Minaj single represents what is nearly a renaissance of her party hits. Not that she had ever lost her touch for a girly pop anthem, but she seems to recapture the pure, addictive magic in mainstream tracks like “Super Bass” and “Roman Holiday” here. Minaj’s masterful wordplay is exceptionally fun as always, a personal favorite line of mine being “I’ve got a princess face, a killer body, samurai mind.” The return of the hot girl semester brings in a plethora of opportunities to scream at the top of my lungs when the opening sample starts to play, and I cannot wait to blast this year round.