Freshly Squeezed, Vol. 69: Jonathan Something, Fickle Friends, Andy Kong & more

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

It’s not a mistake if you’re as obsessed with Jonathan Something‘s new album as we are today. Outlandish Poetica threads together various strains of pop, folk and indie-rock into a mesmerizing product, needled with a sweetly authoritative voice. Songs like “Tell Me,” “Out on Death Row” and “Happy Day” flex great brawniness in storytelling and musical accomplishment. But it’s “Thank you for the Violets” that rises to the top of an already exemplary stew. “Bought an apple fritter with a credit card / I thought it was delicious,” he sings, decorating an otherwise ordinary transaction as a life-confirming catharsis. “Though, a little hard, I’d say it sat out for an hour / No more than one hour or two / I ate half the fritter / And then I gave the rest to you / And you just smiled like you do.”

Andy Kong makes a splashy, but gently simmering, return with a ballad called “Just Friends.” Echoing winds of production cast a dark shadow across its soundscape, embellished with finger snaps, tip-tap rhythms and twinkling keyboard work. Kong’s voice is breathy but packs a punch that stings the cheeks and the lips. “You could have told me you loved me, too,” he sings, an aching fever growing in his gut. “But we’re just friends…”

Fickle Friends issue their second project within a year, this time taking a turn with a Broken Sleep EP. The titular cut bangs and clashes with their signature ’80s-style of bursting synths and a vocal that catapults across the night sky in gaseous emissions. Natassja Shiner remains a true vision, unmatched by most anyone else these days in mainstream pop music. Ivouries pushes up sunny pop daisies with a new track titled “What Did I Say,” while Talk Time bite off a bright and shiny new cut called “True North,” which seems to dance in the light all on its very own.

The new playlist also includes cuts from: Hayes Carll, RKCB, Noble Kin, More Giraffes, Cam Monroe, Dylan Gardner, Tritonal with Mozella, Lostboycrow, Zac Brown Band, Riley Clemmons, Sasha Sloan, Madison Beer, Lewis Capaldi and many others.

In all, we’ve got 30 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: Gabby Jones

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