Freshly Squeezed, Vol. 148: Arlo McKinley, Caylee Hammack, Yavin, and more

Welcome to Freshly Squeezed, a weekly new music playlist: spanning country, pop, EDM and urban, mainstream and other.

“For the first time in a long time, we were alright,” aches Arlo McKinley. It seems fitting such a mournful ballad would kickstart his solo debut, Die Midwestern, released on Oh Boy Records. “We Were Alright” feels like a collective sigh around hardship, pain, and misery ⏤ and that’s been exactly what 2020 has wrought. McKinley’s voice unzips his heart with a tangy sweetness, as if he has finally resigned to how things were, letting it fall away from him, and his acceptance that nothing stays the same forever is invigorating. With songs, and albums, such as this, maybe we’ll be okay after all.

Is the world ready for Caylee Hammack? Her debut LP, If It Wasn’t for You, is rich, effervescent, and right out of the earth. “Your love is a drag,” she ponders with “Looking for a Lighter,” a plucky downtempo of great contemplation. Her voice sidewinds over the words, and her heartache puffs up like purple smoke. Her performance is bewitching, and even her acoustic guitar appears entranced by her presence. And to be totally honest, the whole record goes down just as smooth.

This week’s playlist also includes wolfi, Yavin, Great Peacock, Parker McCollum, Orville Peck, Michael McArthur, Karen Jonas, Joshua Hyslop, Sugar Fitz, Lindsay Ell, Mo Pitney, Sam Fischer, Jon Pardi, and many others.

In all, we’ve got 30 new tracks to soothe your mind during these terrible pandemic times. Insert heart emoji.

Each playlist will be refreshed every Friday or Saturday. We reserve the right to update anytime during the week, so make sure you bookmark this page.

Listen below:

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