November Tunes

Hello friends. I hope you’re all being kind to yourselves. November was so kind to us with new music, and I was truly spoilt for choice with tracks to include in this month’s wrap up.

Here’s what I was listening to in November.

COTTON CANDY (Live) – Y$O, Aidan Fine, JARNA, Sam V: My lord, when I say NZ has so much untouched talent, this is precisely what I mean. This track is a combination of everything I love, and I’m so confident that you’ll love it too that I’ve put it right at the top of my November Tunes. I mean, aside from the vocals, that give absolutely everything they need to, let’s talk about the live band. Insane. The dirtiest, grooviest bass line I’ve heard in a long time, a drummer who holds it all down and keys and guitar that just swim beautifully amongst it all. There’s so much in this song to appreciate, you just have to listen to it to understand.

Tongue & Groove – Masaya: Surprise, surprise, another NZ band. This time a bit dirtier and gritty, but just as beautiful and melodic. Such an easy listen, if you enjoy Sticky Fingers or Ocean Alley, these guys are a strong recommendation.

OKWME – Amine: Amine released TWOPOINTFIVE. That’s all you need to know. I played this album through twice in once day during my drive to work and it made it so enjoyable. This is a bit different to what you might expect from him, if you’ve heard Charmander then you understand the vibe Amine’s going for in this new album. Not my favourite album from him, but still a great listen.

Smokin Out The Window – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: Silk Sonic made November theirs. Between this single and the album drop, they completely owned this month in my opinion. Everything about this song is smooth and rich and silky. Everything I love about these two artists is just emboldened and heightened when they come together like they have for this partnership and I love everything about their lil music child.

Ex For A Reason – Summer Walker, JT, City Girls: Another banger of an album to grace our ears this month. Still Over It is probably one of my favourite album drops this year, and this song is one of my favourites. It’s so groovy and something I’m not used to hearing from Summer. Add in City Girls and you have a track sent straight for the baddies.

System – Dave, WizKid: I’ve only recently started listening to Dave. Knew I’d love this song when I saw WizKid on it, but I enjoyed it far more than I anticipated. I have two of my cousins for getting me into Dave, and I’m very thankful but this is still my favourite.

sweet and sour – Amelia Moore: Amelia Moore popped up on my TikTok FYP earlier this year and she’s been teasing this song for what feels like months. It came out early in November and it completely lived up to the hype. So punchy and raw, such an impactful and impressive debut single.

Dat Right There – Summer Walker, Pharrell Williams, The Neptunes: So remember how I said that Summer’s album was one of my favourite releases this year? This song is my favourite. I listen to it at least once a day. My favourite thing is to put it on during my drive to work which has become substantially longer due to my new job and it’s the perfect track to hype me up for the day. I mean, a collab with Pharrell and The Neptunes? Say less.

Lady – D’Angelo: Every new and then I come back to another D’Angelo song that just hits. This month it was this track. Holy moly. Everything the world was treated to when D’Angelo shared himself with the world is packaged perfectly into this song. So smooth. If chocolate had a sound, it would be this song.

So Good – Destiny’s Child: I was really in my RnB pocket this month hey? Nothing like some old Destiny’s Child. Given, this song made it’s way onto my playlist after it popped off on TikTok but thank God it did.

Breaking Free – JANEVA: JANEVA is an Australian artist and in late October she posted a short cover of this HSM banger on her Instagram and we all went wild. I literally went back to her page daily to see if she’d released it on streaming sites and thankfully in November she did. Do yourself a favour and listen. This is one of my favourite flips of a classic childhood throwback that I’ve ever heard. Australian artists stay pushing the game forward.

could’ve been simple – Frank Sativa: I’ll admit, I didn’t listen to this song as much as I could have this month but I love it. It’s such a chiller, such a vibe and Frank’s an artist I think everyone should give a listen and show some respect which is why he’s made the cut.

Fly As Me – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: Possibly one of my favourite tracks on the entire Silk Sonic album but let’s be real…there’s absolutely no skips on that record at all. Because I can’t add in their entire tracklist onto this post, I’m putting in this one because I love it so much. The bass line, the cheeky lyrics, the guitar, the horns, the harmonies, I’m currently obsessed with everything about this song.

Vex Oh – KAYTRANADA – GoldLink, Ari PenSmith, Eight9FLY: Loved me some KAYTRANADA this month. Truly. Especially a GoldLink feature too. That’s all.

Throw It Away – Summer Walker: This was what we wanted when we waited patiently for this new Summer Walker album. No feature on this track could have rounded it out as perfectly as Summer does all on her own in my opinion. Everything blends so seamlessly. Summer’s writing is also A+ on this entire album.

wyd? – Larissa Lambert: Another Australian artist who’s made to take off. Larissa has been on the scene for a minute, but this song is one of the first things from her that has really caught my attention for this long. Everything you love about your favourite RnB songstresses, you’ll find in this track. So smooth, deep bass lines, silky writing and vocals, I love it all.

proof – PANIA: MORE AUSSIE ARTISTS!! Pania is an amazing artist from here in Melbourne and her latest single is possibly my favourite release of hers. Her vocals are really rounded out and full on this track and really give you a sense of how strong her voice is. That said, it’s also stupidly catchy. I find the melody stuck in my head on the daily.

Strangers By Nature – Adele: I can’t not talk about Adele. I’ll be honest, I was late to listen to the album but this was one of the first tracks I did listen to, and it capture my heart immediately. It reminds me of early Disney soundtracks, floating vocal melodies, super atmospheric and classic. Strings, keys, Adele’s rich vocals, it’s like it’s made to nestle within the score of a Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty soundtrack. It simultaneously makes me cry and puts me into a sleepy trance and I’m in love with it. This song is so tragically sad, my hopeless romantic heart is entirely owned by this song.

Please let me know what you were listening to this month. We got a lot of new music gifted to us and I’m always hungry for more!

x

Priya

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