#Girl Ray

[nofatclips-home]

Hold Tight by Girl Ray

#music #girl ray #video #music video #alex cantouris #angela moss #malcolm bates #Youtube

[musicforants]

Blame El Niño delivering some much-needed wetter, cooler weather this year for the playlist's late arrival, but now that summer is sweltering, I'm here with my 14th annual mixtape full of effervescent, sunny new indie jams to blast loud while your making all your summer memories. Click here to listen to this mix in its entirety via Spotify or Apple Music. Enjoy!

Summer (Or What It Sounds Like) Vol. 14

01. Small Black - Bad Lover (DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ Remix) 02. Marci - KITY 03. Girl Ray - Hold Tight 04. Blondshell - Joiner 05. Phoenix - After Midnight (ft. Clairo) 06. Overmono - Good Lies 07. Röyksopp - Let's Get It Right (feat. Astrid S) 08. Caroline Polachek - Smoke 09. Shalom - Happenstance 10. White Reaper - Pages 11. Grace Ives - Lullaby 12. boygenius - Not Strong Enough 13. Hudson Mohawke & Nikki Nair - Set The Roof 14. Beach Fossils - Run To the Moon 15. Romy & Fred again.. - Strong 16. Georgia - It’s Euphoric 17. Superviolet - Overrater 18. yunè pinku - Night Light 19. Shygirl - Firefly 20. Tennis - Let's Make a Mistake Tonight 21. Chromeo - Words With You 22. Girl Scout - Run Me Over 23. Flume - One Step Closer 1.4 [ft. Panda Bear] 24. Jenny Lewis - Psychos 25. Ela Minus & DJ Python - Pájaros En Verano 26. Róisín Murphy - The Universe 27. Coco & Clair Clair - Pop Star 28. The Beths - Watching the Credits 29. Sofia Kourtesis - Madres 30. The 1975 - Happiness

Spotify Playlist:

Apple Music Playlist:

#summer 2023 #spotify #mix #playlist #apple music #small black #blondshell #girl ray #overmono #caroline polachek #white reaper #grace ives #boygenius #hudson mohawke #beach fossils #romy #shygirl #girl scout #coco & clair clair #the 1975 #roisin murphy #chromeo #summer mix #summer #summer playlist #Spotify

[punk-chicken-radio]

ax trax of the week

girl ray - love is enough

-ax

#ax trax of the week #girl ray #love is enough #Youtube

[underachievers-please-try-harder]

Track of the day // Girl Ray - Hold Tight

From the album Prestige, out August 4th on Moshi Moshi.

#track of the day #girl ray #hold tight #music #new music #recommended #moshi moshi #prestige

[manysmallhands]

My Favourite Songs of 2023 part 1: 40 - 31

The route to this post has not been the smoothest. I've been working on this list since the end of November but I got Covid a few weeks ago and so writing became impossible for a while. Given the amount of time that's passed between then and now, it's become clear to me that some of my choices would be different if i did them over again. However, I am sticking to my original version of the list, a few ups and downs notwithstanding. This is because of one reason and one reason only: I am lazy and I don't want to do it again. My apologies to Troye Sivan and Baby Queen, who i'd probably have found places for amongst others. I can only imagine the streams these artists will lose by not being covered in my blog posts and I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

However! Every song here is still a banger and, even if I think there might be one or two that are better, surely that only adds to the fun of speculation: Which could it be? Which ones would I have left out? Don't imagine it's definitely the songs with the lowest numbers: my method of ranking is fairly haphazard and I might go so far as to say that these numbers are a load of old bollocks. Still, I've enjoyed myself writing this and, given the infinitesimal number of people who will read it, that is surely the thing that counts. I'm posting the songs in rounds of ten cos that's all that Tumblr will let me embed at a time. Let's go!

40. Girl Ray - Everybody’s Saying That

Girl Ray’s disco turn has in all truth been a bit ropey but Everybody’s Saying That is the best exception, all Nile Rogers shimmer and effortless Studio 54 cool. Poppy Hankin chimes in with the self confidence of the misfit (“Everybody’s saying that you could’ve done better but I really wanna end up with you!”), striking out with winningly frank charm against a backdrop of glittery nightlife

39. En Attendant Ana - Fools And Kings

En Attendant Ana’s third LP was a surprise critical hit but it was the more delicate songs which really stood out for me. Fools And Kings in particular ditches the jangly mathrock approach for a gentler, almost old style RnB feel, as Margaux moves to a more human level lyrically. I don’t think there’s another moment across the album nearly as touching as when she sings “Are you OK y’know?”, a question that we'd all benefit by hearing from time to time.

38. Cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada

This thumping remix of DBE and RAYE’s Ferrari Horses takes the original understated vocal performances and hammers at them with a full range of doofs, bleeps, icy synths and the general sense of being in the middle of a cocaine heart attack. The result was wedged in the top 3 for weeks this autumn and, while doomed never to top the charts, it still feels as bracing as the first time I heard it.

37. Maple Glider - Dinah

Maple Glider is one of the new breed of folky singer songwriters but Dinah in particular has the same light as air charm as the sweetest kind of indiepop. Lyrically though, the song tells a much darker story, a tale of sexual abuse in the church where the ingenuousness in her voice underlines the deeply uncomfortable places that it goes. There's an obvious sense of queasiness in that contrast but Dinah's tuneful charm manages to hold it all together.

36. Dimension - DJ Turn It Up

I’ve spent a lot of the last 6 months listening to Radio 1 and this sort of 90s style rave banger is the kind of thing they play a lot. DJ Turn It Up has stuck with me more than most though: maybe that's cos it was the one of the first that I heard, or possibly because of the way the vocal is used as a kind of rhythm track rather than the focal point, relying on the song's musical hooks and twitchy energy to wind up the listener. Whatever it is, DJ Turn It Up slaps: do as the lady says.

35. Talib Kweli/Madlib - Marathon Thru Babylon

Following on from last year’s excellent Black Star reunion (also produced by Madlib), Kweli’s solo project was just as good, with Marathon Thru Babylon providing one of the highlights. Madlib’s signature of grainy old soul samples and booming beats underpins Talib and Mechell Ndegeocello as they trade verses on the nature of time and its malcontents and throw in some conspiracy theory for good measure too. Mechell’s wake up sheeple ending may prompt me to crack a smile but in truth it all just adds to the song’s murky charm.

34. Charli XCX - Speed Drive

One could make the case that Speed Drive has been phoned in a bit - trashy lyrics, yet another interpolation - but every time Charli says “HOT!” it probably makes me happier than I’ve been during any other song this year. The general impression I get from Speed Drive is that, not only would Charli and Barbie be fantastic pals, but also that I will cheerfully listen to any old bollocks that she puts out these days.

33. Free Love - Open The Door

The Glasgow duo probably have fewer listeners than anyone in this list but they sounded like the band who were enjoying themselves the most in 2023. While their Insides album was a more eclectic mix overall, Open the Door sticks close to a Jean Michel Jarre-like template of the future, all laser shots and weird analogue FX, while Suzi Cook’s smartly accented vocals managed to keep an indie vibe within its razor sharp pop hooks.

32. Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young

Miley doing this kind of “looking back at my misspent youth” song aged 30 feels enjoyably transgressive in its own right but Used To Be Young is so much more than just its brilliant concept. A melodramatic power ballad with some fine turns of phrase, Miley stick two fingers up at the finger waggers and nails some genuinely colossal moments (her yelling of the title at 2.37 must surely become a karaoke staple) as the idea of Miley as ageing rock legend comes off as a surprisingly viable concept. 

31. Lana Del Rey - The Grants

There’s a gospel feel to the opener on Lana’s excellent Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard album, switching between a gloomy tone and something more redemptive as she contemplates reaching across the great divide. The effect is as uplifting as anything she's ever done, capturing that classic Lana space between the heartfelt and theatrical to create a secret third emotion that intensifies the whole idea. It’s another variation on her standard trick but what can I say, I remain easily pleased.

More tomorrow, if i get my act together.

#Youtube #Songs Of 2023 #Lana Del Rey #Free Love #Miley Cyrus #Charli XCX #Talib Kweli #Madlib #Dimension #Maple Glider #Cassö #RAYE #D Block Europe #Girl Ray #En Attendant Ana #Pop #Rock #Indie Rock #Hip Hop #Folk Pop #Dance Music #Best Songs Of 2023

[canonsfiring]

Favorite Albums of 2023

1. End of Everything - Mega Bog

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like Kate Bush meets Sparks? Actually, Mega Bog’s own website puts it much better, if perhaps a tad more aspirationally: “A seemingly disparate jukebox of sounds – ranging from Thin Lizzy, Bronski Beat, Franco Battiato and Ozzy Osbourne to 90’s house classics like Haddaway’s ‘What is Love’ and Corona's ‘Rhythm of the Night’...”

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

Is this a dance album or a poetry collection? Trick question! It is both. You can enjoy these songs effortlessly as experimental pop, but this is a dark (yet hopeful?) collection that takes some effort to untangle. Equally great on headphones sitting alone in an unlit room or blaring out of speakers on a sunny day. No album this year blends complex soundscape with complex lyrics in a way that mystifies and entertains me like this one.     

2. Life Under The Gun - Militaire Gun

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like a heavier, angrier, rushed version of The Replacements? Or a lighter, more polished version of Minor Threat? Am I flailing because this album is well outside of my typical comfort zone? I am! Maybe this album is what happens when a guy (Ian Shelton) who is a big fan of The Beatles and Guided by Voices makes angry songs with his bandmates.

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

It is pure catharsis. No song grabbed me by the throat this year like Do It Faster. It is a perfect album opener. It is the sort of album opener that lowers your guard for what is to come—which is most helpful when what is to come does not neatly align with the sounds you typically seek out. Shouty singing, as I will uncharitably call it, has never been my cup of tea. Then I come across an album like this and it stops me in my tracks and makes me wonder how I had it all so wrong. 

3. My 21st Century Blues - RAYE

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like if Nina Simone had been born in 1990s London? Like if Alicia Keys turned it up a few notches on the pop dial? Like if Beyoncé did not have all that baggage of being superhuman?

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

It is a vulnerable pop magnum opus. It is one of those albums where depending on my mood my favorite song shuffles among seven or eight of them. RAYE has lived a lot of life, both personally and professionally, for someone in her mid-20s and she is not here to fuck around. There is a weight to these songs even when they have you bobbing your head.

4. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You - Caroline Polacheck

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

What if Dua Lipa were a witch with voice spells who loves Enya and also the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

I don’t know, maybe I’m just impressed when someone unpacks the last 40 years of pop music and assembles twelve songs that are wholly original and wholly distinct from one another, but which somehow form a cohesive album. Dang indeed.

5. the record - boygenius

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like Neko Case, Chan Marshall and Feist started a supergroup. Or maybe like if Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus started a supergroup? Yeah, that’s more like it.

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

Everything. boygenius is the only supergroup I have ever cared about and long may they reign.

6. Prestige - Girl Ray

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like boygenius made a disco album.

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

It is pure pleasure. All of the albums above are pretty knotty, often heavy. This one just moves butts. Sometimes that’s more than enough.

7. Heavy Heavy - Young Fathers

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like Fela Kuti meets LCD Soundsystem. But not as earth-shattering as that sounds. Holy moly.

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

It surprises me every time I listen to it. Sometimes experiments go boom in a terribly unexpected way you want to forget; other times experiments go boom in a spectacular way you need to keep studying in order to try to understand.

8. Portraits - Birdy

Never heard it. What does it sound like?

Like if Kate Bush was in her mid-20s today.

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

Nostalgic synths, a powerful voice, good songwriting, some heartache, some longing. Simple pleasures.

9. Angel Numbers - Hamish Hawk

Never heard of it. What does it sound like?

Like Ben Folds meets Stephen Merritt, but very Scottish.

OK… but what do YOU love about it?

Ben Folds but Scottish was not enough? It is all about the songwriting. Hawk blends the observational skills of a novelist, the tenderness of a poet and the bars of a rapper. On top of that, singer-songwriter work that soars sonically like this is catnip for me. Sprinkle in some literary references and art references and I will be requesting an application to join your cult posthaste. Above and beyond all that, I find this album hilarious. This is not an opinion I seem to share with most critics, nearly all of whom have glowing things to say about the album. Some detect “a trace of flippancy,” whereas I see an ocean of it. I vacillate on whether this is a misread on my part. Ultimately, it does not matter. In fact, it only adds to my enjoyment of the album. What if me and The Hawk Man are speaking our own secret language? This is the way all of your favorite music should make you feel, is it not?

10. Life Is Infinite - Wings of Desire

Never heard of it. What does it sound like?

Like U2 meets Cocteau Twins. Wow. That is perfect and also I deeply regret it. If that’s overwhelming and/or nauseating then let’s say Bloc Party meets Belle and Sebastian. Still no? Fine! Fill in your own blanks: soaring rock with pop sensibilities meets guys and gals wondering what it’s all about with pop sensibilities.

OK… but what do YOU love about it? You don’t even like U2, right? RIGHT?!

Is this the album on the list that I am most likely to distance myself from within a few years, maybe even months? Undeniably, yes. Is it also the debut of a band that is on the cusp of being a big thing? That would not surprise me at all. Isn’t it sometimes all a bit too much? No denying that. But does it have sonic and emotive qualities that make me want to stand up and proclaim, “MUSIC! I LOVE MUSIC!” over and over? Emphatically so. Well, surely with this level of enthusiasm the album must be released. I mean, I have heard it in full, right? Regrettably, no. It comes out on December 8, but enough of it has been released via singles that I am calling my shot.

#mega bog #militaire gun #RAYE #caroline polachek #boygenius #girl ray #young fathers #birdy #hamish hawk #wings of desire

[thejokebox]

Everybody’s saying that you could’ve done better, but I really wanna end up with you.

#girl ray #everybody's saying that

[radioalpes]

#Girl Ray #prestige #up #pop #rock #indie #london #happy #Bandcamp

[fleuvien]

#girlhood #girlblogging #girlblogger #tumblr girls #old tumblr #fleuvien #this is what makes us girls #girlblog #it girl #just girly things #girl interrupted #lana del rey #black swan #hyper feminine #locally hated #ldr #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #lanadelrey #ultraviolence #nfr #bambi doe #doll #pinterest #just girly thoughts #just girly wishes #im just a girl #cinnamon girl #coquette #cool girl #tumblr girlies

[chiekodivine]

girlhood never stops we just evolve…

#girlblogging #girlblog #coquette #girly tumblr #fawn aesthetic #girlblogger #pink pilates princess #lana del ray aesthetic #bambi beauty #aging gracefully #clean girl aesthetic #dollette #tumblr girl #tumblrina #baby pink #goalsetting #lily rose melody depp #fiona apple #feminine energy #divine feminine #that girl #whisper girl #law of attraction #2014 tumblr #beauty in old age #the sacred feminine #feminine beauty #wise woman

[plnkbow]

These movies made me who I am

#lana del rey #coquette #lizzy grant #girl interrupted #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #pink #ultraviolence #pinterest #aesthetic #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #the virgin suicides #black swan #jennifers body #marie antoinette #sofia coppola #kirsten dunst #priscilla movie #priscilla presley #the lisbon sisters #lux lisbon #nina sayers #2000s #90s #fashion #daisy randone #lisa rowe #susanna kaysen #girl interupted syndrome #this is what makes us girls #girl blogger

[bambiali]

#girlblogging #just girly things #female manipulator #female hysteria #just girly posts #gaslight gatekeep girlblog #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #quotes #hate men #poem #poetry #quoteoftheday #female rage #manic pixie dream girl #coquette #lisbon sisters #lily rose depp #palo alto #i love old men #sweet little nymph #the feminine urge to #girl interrupted #cinnamon girl #lana del ray aka lizzy grant

[battlebattleofthebands]

listen to Girl Ray - psych-tinged indie pop, r&b, disco-pop (source: kexp)

listen to Metric - electrosynth pop punk (source: reddit)

#girl ray #metric #indie pop #r&b #disco pop #electrosynth #pop punk #bigbandboogiepolls

[cutenervousyoungthing]

time for bed !

#girlblogging #lana del rey #female hysteria #aesthetic #lana del ray aesthetic #90s aesthetic #cinnamon girl #coquette #light academia #sadgirl #ao3 #fanfic #pinterest #spotify #winona ryder #alana champion

[rrinnna]

the realization this brought me made me cry actual tears.. [not mine]

#brittany murphy #uptown girls #girlblogging #girlcore #hell is a teenage girl #this is what makes us girls #girl interrupted syndrome #just girly thoughts #just girly posts #the virgin suicides #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #lana del rey #girl blog #girlblogger #lily rose depp #manic pixie dream girl

[yurinullification]

#save me girl ray #girl ray #girl ray save me #Spotify