Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week — and remember to subscribe to our Spotify playlist for all of our weekly picks.
Mac DeMarco & Jon Lent — I Was A Fool to Care
A mellow cover of James Taylor’s classic I Was A Fool To Care is the latest single to emerge from the famously open home of slacker rock hero Mac DeMarco. The musician crafted his version at home in partnership with keyboardist Jon Lent. The odd music video for the beautifully recorded track, which DeMarco dedicated to the memory of Prince, features a man in a dog mask who can be seen watching a classic James Taylor episode of The Simpsons at the end. It’s a funny little addition to an extremely solid cover.
Gary Clark Jr. — BYOB/Can’t Sleep/Shake
The latest trifecta of tunes from Austin blues musician Gary Clark Jr. is a grab bag of sorts, offering a taste of throwback soul, modern pop, and classic slide guitar over the course of a 10 minute music video. Shot in the hills of LA and featuring cameos from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Entourage‘s Jeremy Piven among others, the scenes do well to match Clark Jr.’s undeniably magnetic energy as a performer — a Hollywood outsider who constantly appears to be the coolest guy in the room without trying. This is the sort of video you put on before you head out for an evening, a compilation of sounds and scenes which makes everyone act that much cooler during their night on the town.
Young Mister — Pasadena
Songwriter Steven Fiore has a lot of experience writing hook-driven music, having spent his days penning songs for Universal Music for nearly half a decade. The Charleston native harnesses his skills to craft a classic-sounding pop number called Pasadena, written about time spent in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The first new cut from his new alter ego Young Mister is a summery jam, the kind of thing we can easily see accompanying a movie montage or playing in the background during a long drive to the coast.
Samm Henshaw — Our Love
Samm Henshaw may be from South London, but he sounds like he’s from Mississippi. A soul-loving vocalist who uses bluesy guitar and a four-on-the-floor beat to propel his latest single Our Love, the songwriter is positively gleaming with energy — the sort of performer you can tell puts on a heck of a live show. Henshaw’s got talent, and as a relatively recent addition to Columbia Records, this is likely not the last great song we will be hearing from him.
Florist — Vacation (and more)
Curators of gentle and introverted lullabies, Florist draw listeners into their layered sound with perfectly chosen lyrics. “I don’t know how to be/What I wanted to be when I was five,” sings vocalist Emily Sprague to start out their recent Tiny Desk Concert, immediately giving the audience something to chew on. This is the sort of song that defines Florist as a band — sharers of deeply personal thoughts which audiences can easily project inwards.
That’s it for now, but check back every week for more new tunes to stream!
