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Music I'm listening to (March 2021)

Lately I've been in a bit of rut in making music. Working on this Christmas album last year gave me two valuable things: a theme, and a deadline. "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations," as Orson Welles said, and I am feeling that absence. There are lots of possibilities - an endless infinity - and I just don't know what direction to go in.

From here I can see the appeal of themed, time-limited events like National Novel-Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) or game jams like Ludum Dare. Maybe I'll try out something like r/songaweek or Music Weeklies - if anyone has recommendations about groups like these I'd love to hear them.

Anyways, I figured I'd take the opportunity to share some of the things I've been listening to recently - maybe this will become a recurring post. Here are three:

Couch - self-titled EP

Spotify link | Website

Their voices, the horns, and really satisfying build-ups are amazing. I've been listening to this one on loop. At first I had a preference for the first track (Still Feeling You, reminiscent of half•alive's "still feel."), and the last track (Fall Into Place), but the other three songs in the EP really grew on me. They bring a nice balance.

Math Class - Sleepless

Spotify link | Instagram

High-energy, tight, and just fun to listen to. The melodic shift at the chorus continues to surprise me even though at this point I should know it's coming. This one came up in one of my Spotify discover playlists, and I was also surprised to find it had less than a thousand listens at the time. I hope they get more listens and release more music.

Logan Smith - Hold Me

Spotify link | Instagram

God, I wish I could sing like this. A lot more bare and angsty than the other music in this post. My one complaint - the lyric "Or can we at least be friends". If we're making desperate emotional pleas, we should go all the way.

P.S. I'm always looking for new recommendations, so hit me up if you've heard anything good lately.