Freshly Squeezed, Vol. 90: Harrison Wheeler, RØYLS, Mokita & more

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

If you’re anything like us, you probably haven’t gotten Harrison Wheeler off your mind since his tragically-early ouster on American Idol three years ago. He’s got a neon-pulsating heart that explodes with kaleidoscopic colors with his new single “Up All Night,” provoking a midnight fever-dream of ’80s-glittered euphoria. His voice works the disco-synths into overdrive, often fading with an angelic flourish before crashing back into the mix and leaving you breathless. He’s been a regular around here, ever since 2017’s sweltering “Dream” sequence. We pass the addiction on to you, dear listener. You won’t regret it.

Stormy blues-rocker Sam Johnston certainly has a lot to say on his front-porch pickin’ new jam session. With “Isabelle,” a gospel-pinned musing on forlorn love and the nature of rose-tinted nostalgia, the Nashville transplant firmly situates himself for one helluva breakout as he allows his granular voice to knock you off your feet amidst electrifying guitar licks and lashes. “You’ll be one tough act to follow,” he sings, a sly smile curling the corners of his lips. He gathers up the past as a way to move forward, and while that heartache might have troubled him mercilessly for a time, he’s now ready and willing to let it all go to the wind.

Matthew Pinder finally issues his debut long-player, a fountain of heart, deeply-visceral songwriting and production broiled in summer heat. Give Me Some Time is a cathartic release, by all accounts, and he’s dedicated the project to his late mother. From the sterling “Golden Hour,” for which we premiered the video earlier this year, to the absolutely gutting “Flooded,” appearing on our playlist this week, he takes no prisoners as he explores the darkest of his psyche. “Don’t call me tomorrow,” he weeps onto his acoustic guitar. He lets the dam break under the weight of unimaginable pain, and his performance is both raw and seemingly polished under a honeyed lampshade. Quite simply, Pinder is a vision, and we should all be paying attention to his truths.

The brand spankin’ new playlist also includes: Shovels & Rope, Anna of the North, Leon Else, RØYLS, Nicholas Mudd, Daniel Norgren, Mokita, Lee DeWyze, Fly by Midnight, Indianola, GoldenOak, Sarah Beth, Alissa Griffith, Kyler Slater, Jeremie Albino , LSDREAM with Leah Culver, Hey Violet and countless others.

In all, we’ve got 30 new songs to go to live drives along the coastline or out into the country to.

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: Curtis Millard

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