Freshly Squeezed, Vol. 70: Fly by Midnight, Rue Snider, Brandy Zdan & more

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

Fly by Midnight hit their stride with their brand new album, Rerunning, tenacious and unrelenting. They stack hooks on hooks on hooks, sliced with caramel-smooth vocals, especially on standout “ILYA.” They’re known to wear their hearts on their sleeve, and when left to their own devious devices, they flex in wide-sweeping routines and even outplay such mainstream heavy weights as The Chainsmokers ⏤ with lyrics that feel far more organic. “Let me help you let it go,” the duo vow, flakes of delicious R&B swirling around them.

Rue Snider destroys homophobia and bigotry with a smoldering mid-tempo called “Orlando.” As a double-sided single, paired with “City Living,” the titular cut to Snider’s astounding record, released earlier this year, the slow-rolling indie-rock song cuts through the noise of our current social climate. “Brothers and sisters, I’m sorry for ever judging you,” sings Snider, his voice carrying the weight of the world. It’s a melancholic, smokey production but one that’s equally as dazzling and sharp.

Brandy Zdan re-records “Wild Fire,” from her blazing new record Secretear, which we’ve reviewed as one of 2018’s most important rock albums, in a live setting. She’s already demonstrated her strengths as a player, singer and songwriter, but there’s something magnetizing about her live performance style. It’s fuzzy-headed and intense, an electrical current rumbling just beneath the surface, from her guitar chords hitting hard and her vocal striking in quick jabs. She’s a force that we just don’t deserve.

Cruel Youth finally makes a long-awaited return with “Devil in Paradise,” a slithering and unnerving alt-pop incantation that gives lead singer Teddy Sinclair even more license to prance in the blacklight with a sinister bite. Girl Wilde continues to prove her musical reinvention is paying off in colossal swipes with “Nervous Breakdown,” and her voice is as potent as ever, assisted with a grunge-pop arrangement and a story that hits close to home. Folk noise-maker Pete Mancini delivers a toe-tapping throwback groove on “DUI Blues,” while Tiffany Hougton glides with sultry gusts on “Pretty Pretty.”

The playlist also includes gems from: Party Favor, Betty Who, Prince Fox, FRANKIE, Dustin Hensley, Magdalena Bay, LIZ, Paula Boggs Band, Petrie, Beth Wood, Kip Moore 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:

Follow B-Sides & Badlands on our socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram