Release Recap: Week of September 1, 2023

Welcome to the first release recap, where I will talk about my favorite new releases for about the last week or so. I was inspired to do this by all the great music that's been coming out in September, so for this first edition, I'm will go all the way back to the beginning of the month.

Watch this recap on TikTok here.

RAT TRAP 4: the burden

Royal & the Serpent

Royal & the Serpent is an indie electro-pop artist with pop-punk influences. She and her band have really great energy live, I saw them at Fenway this year when they opened for Fall Out Boy and Bring me the Horizon. My favorite of the three songs is probably separation anxiety.

At The Roadhouse

The Paper Kites

The Paper Kites are typically an indie-rock, folk-rock band. This album came out on September 1st, and I think it's more country than the rest of their music. That being said, it's a long album with lots of long songs, and some of them definitely lean more rock. I think Black & Thunder or June’s Stolen Car are two of my favorites because they've got a little bit more of a rock influence.

Door

KIMSEJEONG

To change gears, we have KIMSEJEONG, a K-pop soloist. This is her first full-length album, but I know her first from her acting in Business Proposal because I'm very new to K-pop, so this album was a great surprise. Maybe it's because I know she does other OST work, but it felt like a soundtrack. It had a lot of different emotions throughout and her vocals are great. I really liked the guitar solo between summer and winter and Jenga's tempo and vibe changes. That being said, it's just a really fun album overall.

I Love My Body

HWASA

Up next is another K-pop song; this one is a single by HWASA. It is so catchy. I don't even know if I liked it at first, but it's been stuck in my head after seeing all the TikTok challenges to it. I can't get the image of Psy and HWASA doing this dance together out of my head. But my favorite part of the song is definitely the popping noises in the back of the chorus, they really scratch my brain.

The One I Used to Love

Bad Suns

Bad Suns is a modern indie rock band and, one of my favorites. I've seen them live three times including last week, so I did get to see this song live shortly after it was released. This is just such classic Bad Suns, with great guitar riffs and great vibes.

Tight

Samara Joy

Time to change gears again. This is a jazz single by Grammy Award-winning artist Samara Joy. She has just an incredible voice, and this is truly jazzy jazz. I'm very new to listening to jazz, but it's a fun song, and she's incredibly talented.

Layover

V

While this falls under the broad umbrella of K-pop, I really do think this is more of a pop, R&B, jazzy EP with singing in both English and Korean. I really liked this album, I think it's romantic and heartbreaking and really captures who V is as a solo artist. I really liked the flute in Slow Dancing; that's probably my favorite part. But really, I have to recommend the live versions that he's done of the songs. His energy with his band and the live instruments really elevate all of the songs.

Bewitched

Laufey

This is a full-length album, it came out on September 8th, and I am just absolutely in love with it. It is jazz, bedroom pop, and a little R&B influence, but I love it. Every single song is so perfect it's really hard to choose a favorite. Love Sick sticks out, but again, they're all incredible. Laufey just gets it; she's an incredible songwriter, incredible singer, and she captures so much in this album, so really, really, really, go give this one a listen. If you like it, give her first album a listen as well: Everything I Know About Love. That one is equally incredible.

will

If you like any of this music or think we have the same taste, please recommend new music to me. I'll be back soon with more recommendations for the rest of the month.

Send suggestions to hearmeoutmusicblog@gmail.com or comment on TikTok!