Freshly Squeezed, Vol. 71: Ward Davis, The Magnettes, Lo Lo & more

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

You’ll never go wrong with some Ward Davis, a troubadour who just can’t be tied down to convention. “Could Just Be a Fool,” lifted from his brand new EP, Asunder, finds him wrestling with feelings of angst and overwhelming uncertainty. He’s a man suffocating from his own fault lines, exacerbated from a throbbing heartache that haunts his dreams and comes to him in flashing lightning bolts. Guitar and drums toss and tumble beneath his deep tenor, as if ghosts of their own gliding through the here and now. “It could be I’ve gone crazy from just feeling too tied down / Or maybe some old memory still lingering around,” he sings.

The Magnettes‘ Ugly Youth was dubbed one of the best albums of 2017 here on B-Sides & Badlands, and for good reason. The alt-pop trio offered sage and cutting insight on womanhood and savage sexism. The Swedish rabble-rousers make a big splash with an incisive and unapologetic new single called “ANX,” an ’80s-blushed club banger that marries signature synth-work with frantically boisterous arena hooks. “I’m dying, I’m dying in here,” they sing, looping together fiery nervous energy into a blood-soaked rallying cry. Even if they feel a bit more mainstream than before, they haven’t lost their grit.

Jesse Denaro delivers up a heartfelt confession with “Garden,” masked behind a wall of guitar and ambient production, creeping along each grey stone before infecting your brain. “Think of me at night when you’re alone,” he whispers, a delicate but commanding instruction. Darkly-laced synths bounce in shadows underneath, and Denaro’s voice feathers outward as it pulls you tighter to him. “I’m losing sleep all over you,” he later confesses, emotion crackling like kindling in some campfire hidden in the mountains.

Indie-rock band Northern National gets us in the mood for the holidays with a hyper-moody reworking of Christmas classic “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” complete with a sticky drum loop and hand claps. It’s ethereal and undeniable; and OK, we may not need yet another cover of a holiday song, but they sure do make it their own. Christmas spirit, officially unlocked!

The playlist also includes: Pieter Oliver, Call Me Loop, Lo Lo, Boo Ray, Møme, Beerjacket, Discrete, Stalking Gia 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:

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