Freshly Squeezed, Vol. 63: SHAED, Kari Arnett, Bright Light Bright Light & more

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

Why are SHAED so damn good?!? The electronica trio of lead singer Chelsea Lee and producing brothers Spencer Ernst and Max Ernst go for broke on their second EP, a long-awaited return to acrobatic and roaring form. While they do dish out their sticky-sweet hooks they’ve become known for, they explore more ambient and stylized pop, particularly with standout “Keeping Calling.” Lee’s voice remains as strong as it ever has, but she allows more nuance to seep into her phrasing, ash she caresses the melody amidst a flurry of swirling but soothing production.

While she’s issued a pair of EPs over the past few years, Maggie Rose makes bold moves with her first long player in five years. Change the Whole Thing sees the vocalist charm and dazzle with blues-infused pop-country, and even when the arrangements whirl with classic synthetic-organic hybrids, the songs remain grounded and pinned to the soles of her feet. She shoots for the sky, her voice boomeranging across the baby blue ocean with penetrating precision. Rose continues to be one of the best, most underrated storytellers of her generation. “Magic Man” brings out both her quaking soul and a starched vulnerability.

Americana musician Kari Arnett offers up an insightful and smokey toe-tapper called “This American Life,” which sheds light on “this land of broken promises” with compassion and power, a cut from her debut record When the Dust Settles. She takes great care to frame the sorrowful tale with understanding rather than in anger or thrashing bitterness. Instead, her performance is warm but carries with it devastating losses that hang in each exasperated breath.

Say what you will about The Band Perry, but they’ve finally arrived on a pop sound that feels authentic and unfussy. “MARFA PRADA,” from their new Rick Rubin-produced EP, COORDINATES, explodes somewhere between Britney Spears’ Blackout, Taylor Swift’s Reputation and Rihanna’s Rated-R. And that’s a good thing. Kimberly Perry sure can spit some verses like a cobra flicks its forked tongue, and her dark side would give Maleficent a run for her purple-hewn money.

Finally, Avril Lavigne makes an impressive return with “Head Above Water,” a stunning and viscerally-tempered piano ballad. Her voice has never been so emotional, and considering her well-known battle with Lyme Disease, it’s certainly a powerful statement piece. Even when the drums pound hard and the strings gurgle to a remarkable frenzy, it’s never overwrought or needlessly saccharine. Her pain is on full display, and we’d be well advised to just listen.

The new playlist also includes: Christine and the Queens, Kristina Murray, Bright Light Bright Light, Lostboycrow, Hannah Stak, Askling, Allie X, Posh Hammer, The Sedonas, Rosanne Cash, Bobbie Gentry, morgxn, St. Lucia, Loote and many others.

In all, we’ve got 31 new songs spin and spin and spin some more.

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

Take a spin:

Photo Credit: Nicole Mago

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