Claudelle

Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, ‘Nothing New’

Genre: Pop
Duration: 4 minutes, 18 seconds

On her latest album re-recording, Taylor Swift released a brand new track featuring Phoebe Bridgers. The combination of Swift’s matured voice and Bridgers’ soft vocals mix to create angelic harmonies. The song feels like a warm hug on a cold winter’s night– almost like a lullaby to lull you to sleep. My favorite lyric is, “The kind of radiance you only have at seventeen”. This line in the bridge highlights Swift’s analysis of the way women in the music industry are treated as they age. She comments on her fear of losing her novelty and importance within the industry as she gets older and leaves her younger years behind. It is truly a beautiful song that will feel like a punch to the gut no matter how many times you replay it.

Leith Ross, ‘Everyone I’ve Never Met’

Genre: Indie Pop
Duration: 3 minutes, 11 seconds

Leith Ross opens their debut album with this great track. Ross’s vocals shine through this song because of the simple and almost acoustic production of the track. The leading guitar and soft piano create a warm and comforting atmosphere for the listener. The harmonies are soft and essentially bittersweet due to the prevalent sense of woe. Additionally, Ross’s lyricism strengthens the song with their heavy use of imagery. My favorite lines are, “I get my food delivered / And my books sent to my door / And I don’t talk to people anymore”. The song highlights the ever-growing preference for isolation within a post-Covid 19 world. For some, they would rather avoid social interactions and get their needs just individually sent to them. 

Hana

The Polar Boys, ‘Nothing Has Changed’

Genre: Indie Pop
Duration: 3 minutes, 34 seconds

This song sounds familiar and nostalgic in a way. My favorite version of this song is their acoustic version for Sugarshack Sessions. My favorite lyric is “Just break the clock and make it stop”. The bridge is really good too; I love when songs have a slow part with a focus mainly on the vocals, and then they bring it all back with one last outro with the overlap of the vocals and a revival of the upbeat music. The outro definitely makes you want to bop your head along with the song.

Peach Pit, ‘Drop the Guillotine’

Genre: Modern Rock
Duration: 3 minutes, 28 seconds

Peach Pit’s album “Being So Normal” opens up with this new rendition of ‘Drop the Guillotine’, which is a more upbeat, more guitar-driven version of the song from their first EP, “Sweet FA”.  The first version of the song is more mellow and relaxed, but I definitely like the newer rendition better. Peach Pit is known for their strong guitar parts, and ‘Drop the Guillotine’ certainly does not disappoint. Upbeat songs with sad lyrics always strike a chord in my heart. My favorite lyric is “You sure know how to drop that guillotine on me / Though you would never want to see me bleed.” I love the continued motif throughout the song of how someone is ‘dropping the guillotine’ on the singer, despite never having the intention of harming the singer.