Happy Pride month! June is here, and it’s finally starting to feel like summer. As we settle into the new month, I’m taking a look back at some of the new music released in May. There were so many releases that stood out to me this month. I danced around my living room to Tacocat’s bubbly punk meditations on finding order in a messy, modern world, listened to Jamila Woods honor the legacy of artists and writers of color, and binge watched the Miranda July-directed video for Sleater-Kinney’s new single, “Hurry on Home.” Here are some of the other new releases that I couldn’t put down this May.
Slingshot Dakota turned up the volume on their latest album, Heavy Banding. The album’s first single, “Louder” delivers a defiant message to gate-keeping and discrimination in the music industry (with some help from members of Petal, Dikembe and Expert Timing): Slingshot Dakota aren’t going to back down, they’ll just “keep on getting louder.” To read more about the album’s focus on family relationships and self-growth, and to learn more about how Slingshot Dakota are fighting to make their music scene more inclusive, you can check out a conversation with singer/keyboardist Carly Comando.
The self-described “alt lo-fi punk” duo Stary (Marisa Bee and Adam Stary, who are currently joined by drummer Seth Props) made their debut with two singles this month, including the mellow “rainy.” “I hope it never stops raining in my head,” Bee and Stary sing in harmony over the strumming of a fuzzy guitar. Stary makes music out of Kansas City, MO and are preparing for the release of their first EP.
According to Rolling Stone, Carly Rae Jepsen wrote nearly 200 songs ahead of her latest album, Dedicated, before pairing the tracklist down to just fifteen. Fans have eagerly awaited the album, Jepsen’s follow-up to her 2015 breakout, Emotion, which broadcast the indie pop star’s talent for writing catchy hooks and nuanced love songs after the success of 2012’s “Call Me Maybe.” Dedicated feels like the butterflies in your stomach at the beginning of a new relationship; the excitement of diving head-first into something new.
May was a great month for new Twin Cities releases — rock band FLOWTUS released their debut self-titled album, and R&B singer-songwriter Lady Midnight explores healing and self-reflection on Death Before Mourning. Indie rock group Sass dropped the stellar debut LP Chew Toy, and Fiji-13 released an older song to support access to abortion. You can listen to these tracks, and the rest of May’s New Music Playlist below.
Pass The Mic 