The Detectorist: Let's make the "song of the summer" something more meaningful
The "song of the summer" is usually a puff of cotton candy. Here are some new candidates for a much more substantial and meaningful summer of 2024.
The "song of the summer" is usually a puff of cotton candy. Here are some new candidates — songs that I’m playing and savoring frequently — for a much more substantial and meaningful summer of 2024.
For your consideration…
Mavis Staples — “Worthy”
I dedicate this to children of God who are suffering the scourge of the heartless today — especially
every unhoused soul who is told by the state that it's illegal for them to sleep in public places;
every child of God who is denied a job because they don't conform to an organization's prejudiced definition of worthiness;
everyone who is branded as “unworthy” by a church that sings the name of Jesus;
everyone who is an immigrant or a refugee unfairly branded as one of "the worst" people by hateful racists.
anyone in danger of being swept aside so others are not inconvenienced in their privilege and prejudice.
You are all worthy of God's love. The last will be first, and God promises you everlasting joy in God’s kingdom. Those who dismiss you in the here and now commit a failure of imagination and demonstrate that they have not yet perceived or enjoyed the boundless glory of God's grace.
Making people move, both physically and spiritually, is Mavis Staples‘ speciality. On her latest single “Worthy,” the singer channels the aura of her collaborations with Prince during the Eighties for the upbeat record filled with gentle reminders and self-affirmations. The artwork for the record features an image of Henry Taylor’s painting “The Darker the Berry, The Sweeter the Juice,” revealed in 2015.
“It’s a pick-me-up song — it’s a celebration, and you can’t help but move,” Staples shared in a statement. “Certain songs just cover you, and this song is just so sassy and fire. It’s got me fired up.” The record was written and produced by MNDR, who laid the groundwork for the singer’s soulful performance as she offers words of encouragement, singing: “Smiling, shining / Beaming like the sunshine / Rising, climbing / Grinding through the hard times / Growing, showing up like you’re a star / ’Cause no matter where you stand today / I hope you know you are / Hope you know you’re / Worthy.”
Wilco — “Hot Sun,” from the new EP Hot Sun Cool Shroud
It doesn’t mean much to say Hot Sun is the best EP Wilco have ever made, because there’s not much competition. It means more to say that it feels complete, like a haiku.
Opener “Hot Sun” practically melts from the heat, guitar notes bending and warping as Tweedy sings about the physical pleasure of sunlight hitting skin. With that sensation comes a nagging doubt, possibly about climate change: “Shouldn’t I be doing something?” he asks himself. “What can I do? What can I do?” These two oppositional feelings sit in the song as equals, not just as things to experience, but to write about. “What’s the word I want?” Tweedy sings, as though concerned he might not fully convey either the joy or the fear. Few artists can break the fourth wall of a song so eloquently without sounding too clever.
With summer as a general theme, Hot Sun is structured in two acts, each side of the 10" featuring an instrumental bracketed by two vocal-centric tracks. In this setting Wilco sound more focused, the songs tauter in their melodies and more purposeful in their arrangements, even when those arrangements seem designed to be disorderly.
Loma — “Unbraiding,” from the new album How Will I Live Without a Body?
From the Paste Magazine album review:
The music Loma makes is spatial. It’s not spacey; if anything, the Texas-born trio always sounds locked in. It’s not always spacious; it usually feels closely held, like a kitten or a secret. Vocalist Emily Cross’s spectral voice plus Dan Duszynski and Jonathan Meiburg’s careful drumming, guitar work and keystrokes are a recipe for immersive, evocative music that feels like an icy breeze. It emanates like vapor, leaving droplet impressions on every surface. Over two albums—2018’s Loma and 2020’s Don’t Shy Away—Duszynski and Cross, who once performed in a duo called Cross Record, and Meiburg (of Shearwater and Okkervil River fame) have exhibited uncanny chemistry producing haunting, oddly relaxing indie. Their third album, How Will I Live Without a Body?, is a snowy, self-assured listen, another understated installment in Loma’s life to date.
Historically, Loma’s sound has felt indebted to the rolling prairies surrounding Austin, where Duszynski maintains a recording studio free from the distractions of urban Texas. “Black Willow”—off their self-titled record—exudes this energy between vocals reminiscent of a dramatic chorus and strategic key flourishes over a no-nonsense drumbeat. The Loma of How Will I Live Without a Body? is similarly reserved, but with a flair less becoming of the sparse grasslands and more suited to an English forest: verdant and full, yes, but presenting a solitude all its own. Loma spread field recordings, synths, guitar, percussion, clarinet and more across 11 tracks with careful precision, refusing to let any song get too bombastic or celebratory.
Jon Hopkins, “Ritual (evocation),” from the upcoming album Ritual
Jon Hopkins will release a new album, Ritual, on August 30, via Domino. The record is a 41-minute “ceremonial epic,” according to a press release, and an excerpt of it soundtracks the video for “Ritual (Evocation).” Hopkins worked on the video with director Dave Bullivant and its star, the aerial rope performer Bryony Louise Fowler.
Bonny Light Horseman, “Keep Me On Your Mind” and “Lover Take It Easy”
A double-album that’s currently a top contender for my Favorite Album of 2024 pick comes as the third full-length release from Bonny Light Horseman, a band led by Anais Mitchell (who was already one of my favorite singer/songwriters, and who is the artists responsible for blessing the world with the awesome Orpheus folk-rock-opera and Broadway sensation Hadestown).
Here are the first two tracks of a beautiful and consistently brilliant two-disc record.
Which of these is your favorite?
And… do you want to recommend a “song of the summer”? Post your pick in the comments!