16 Best Songs of the Week: Michael Kiwanuka, Future Islands, Soccer Mommy, MJ Lenderman, and More
Sep 13, 2024
Welcome to the 29th Songs of the Week of 2024. This week Andy Von Pip, Caleb Campbell, Jim Scott, and Scotty Dransfield helped me decide what should make the list. We considered over 50 songs and narrowed it down to a Top 16.
This week’s Songs of the Week covers the last two weeks. We didn’t do a Songs of the Week last week because we were too busy announcing our new print issue.
Issue 73 is out now. It features Maya Hawke and Nilüfer Yanya on the two covers and can be bought from us directly here.
To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last two weeks, we have picked the 12 best the last 14 days had to offer, followed by some honorable mentions. Check out the full list below.
1. Michael Kiwanuka: “Lowdown (part i)” and “Lowdown (part ii)”
Small Changes is Kiwanuka’s fourth album and the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s Kiwanuka, which won the 2020 Mercury Prize and was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album.
Danger Mouse and Inflo produced the album, as they did with Kiwanuka’s last two albums.
A press release says “Glimpse” focuses on “a family home burning down and coming to terms with the physical and emotional losses and coming to terms with the erasure of a collective history.”
Read our review of People Who Aren’t There Anymorehere.
Future Islands co-produced People Who Aren’t There Anymore with Steve Wright, who also mixed the album with Chris Coady. Future Islands is Samuel T. Herring (vocals, lyrics), William Cashion (bass, guitars), Gerrit Welmers (keyboards, programming), and Michael Lowry (drums).
People Who Aren’t There Anymore includes three previously shared singles. “Peach” was released in 2021. “King of Sweden” came out in 2022 and the band performed it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “Deep in the Night” was shared in August via a music video and it was one of our Songs of the Week. When the album was announced they shared another new song from it, “The Tower,” via a music video. “The Tower” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then in November they shared another song from it, “The Fight,” via an animated music video (it was also one of our Songs of the Week). In January they shared the album’s final pre-release single, “Say Goodbye,” via an animated music video. Then they shared a video for “The Thief” and performed “The Tower” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
This week, Soccer Mommy, the indie project of Nashville-based singer/songwriter Sophie Allison, released a new single titled “Driver” from her forthcoming album, Evergreen, set to drop on October 25th via Loma Vista Recordings. “Driver” showcases a rockier side of Soccer Mommy, blending addictive melodies with lyrics that explore Allison’s characteristic introspection and emotional complexity. The song reflects on flaws and the acceptance of them within a relationship, adding a cheeky twist to the theme.
Allison’s new album marks a return to more organic production, highlighting her songwriting talents. Written in the wake of a personal loss, Evergreen features a stripped-back, honest approach, reminiscent of her earlier work. By Andy Von Pip
4. MJ Lenderman: “Wristwatch”
Last week North Carolina singer/songwriter and musician, MJ Lenderman released a new album, Manning Fireworks, via ANTI-. Earlier in that week he shared one final single from the album, “Wristwatch.”
Read our review of Manning Fireworks here. By Mark Redfern
My Method Actor is Yanya’s third album and follows her 2022 album, PAINLESS, and her 2019 debut album, Miss Universe, (both released on ATO).
Yanya worked on the album with her regular creative partner, Wilma Archer, in isolation. “This is the most intense album, in that respect,” Yanya said in a previous press release. “Because it’s only been us two. We didn’t let anyone else into the bubble.”
When writing this album, Yanya was grappling with hitting her late 20s and dealing with the pressures of being an established musician. “For me, writing is definitely problem solving—in the way they say that dreaming is like problem solving,” she said. “You’re like, ‘Oh, that sounds good. That looks good. That makes sense.’ But you don’t really know why. You’re kind of using that part of your creative brain that doesn’t have to make sense.”
