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Another month, another set of songs that I'm listening to!
As a reminder of the format, I'm writing one of these columns and filling it with songs from a variety of genres of music. I don't expect anyone to listen to all of these songs! Some months, you may even not be interested in any of them, and that's fine! However, it is my sincere hope that some of you might find some new songs and artists that you like. All of these songs are widely available on streaming services and by doing some quick searching on Youtube and such, and if I want to highlight something harder to find, I'll include detailed instructions on how to do so.
Here are my picks for this month:
Dearest Sarah --
Goodnight, Texas
This band is billed as a folk rock band, but this song in particular is extremely, strongly slanted towards the folk side of that equation. It's basically a musical retelling of a Civil War soldier's letter to his wife, and his grappling with the twin feelings of knowing that what he is doing is best for his country, but also the longing and sadness of knowing what his absence will do to his family. There's a very strong somber tone to the song that makes me think of it as ghostly in many ways.
As for the band itself, they have a number of songs that I enjoy and would recommend. If you like this song or this style of music, definitely give them a deep dive! A lot of their songs are haunting bits of Americana, but with an emphasis on storytelling and a vibe that a lot of similar bands fail to hit.
The Mummers' Dance --
Loreena McKennitt
This is the perfect time of year for this song: the tail end of April, leading to May, as the world wakes up from winter once again. The song's first lyric, "When in the Springtime of the year," says it all! This song just hits all the right notes for an upbeat spring tune, but, being Loreena McKennitt, it maintains an ethereal quality that tempers the happiness of spring with the transient, fleeting nature of the season. If you're looking for a great song to do spring chores or some early gardening to, this is a fantastic choice!
Loreena McKennitt is a name that I would guess a fair number of readers know, but in case you don't, she's another Celtic-style pop-fusion style artist like Enya and Moya Brennan with a long discography.
Coppertank Island --
Fair to Midland
Temperatures warming up? How about a warm, sunny rock tune! Coming in at a brisk three minutes, this song is an uptempo bop the entire time, with a strong focus on groove. There's a lot of rich layering to the song as well, which makes it an effective earworm that benefits from repeat listens.
This song was a recommendation to me some years ago and got added to one of my playlists, but I don't know much about the band themselves. A quick search reveals that they parted ways nearly a decade ago after a few albums.
Back in a Moment --
Angelzoom
I absolutely love this song. I love all of these songs, but this is way up the list of my personal favorites. A delicious slab of German (but English-language) synth-pop with a heavy focus on orchestration and choral elements, one of my favorite aspects of this song is the tempo of it. It's rich and deep, but with a gentle tempo and amazing piano intermissions that really set it apart. And while Angelzoom's work in general is something that I am quite fond of, Joachim Witt's guest vocals really, really elevate this particular song.
If you like this song, I'd definitely recommend checking out the album it's from, "Fairyland," both for that title song and also for her amazing covers of Blasphemous Rumours and Crawling, originally by Depeche Mode and Linkin Park, respectively.
A Sailor's Tale --
Orbit Culture
I frequently use the one-a-month metal slot in this column to demonstrate how metal isn't what you might think it is -- how it can include sweeping orchestrations, a wide range of vocal styles including clear sopranos and operatic choirs, and so forth. This song, on the other hand, is probably exactly what you think of metal as. It's driving, pounding and aggressive with largely harsh vocals, but it also features soaring, grandiose swells in the background, some brass elements and a back-and-forth style chorus that all work together to make you feel like you're experiencing a nautical adventure.
The song shifts abruptly after a soft lulling section near the five-minute mark, with the final minute and a half of the song recounting the trauma of the namesake Sailor's Tale: a giant squid or kraken that presumably destroyed the sailor's ship and killed most of his crew. If you have the attention span to listen to the song while following along with the lyrics, it's definitely worth it and adds to the experience!
Orbit Culture is a Swedish melodic death metal group with a fairly deep discography and consistent output. Their music is great for working out or doing heavy tasks outdoors when trying to clean up after the winter, so if you're in the mood to get motivated and get some stuff done, check them out!
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Arianna McKee is design editor for The Express.