Playlist of the Week 1/22
Curated by: Ella Rustin
For this playlist, I decided that I wanted to highlight some tracks I enjoy from some of my favorite semi-recent releases. I also wanted to cover a few genres within this one playlist. The playlist begins with a slow-paced track from The Smile. The band’s latest single “Friend of a Friend”, is written about frontman Thom Yorke’s time in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Next on the playlist is a song from London band caroline, who released one of my favorite albums of 2022.
Gradually changing pace, the playlist segues into tracks by artists including Disq, Maruja, and Protomartyr. The track “Blind Spot” by Maruja is one of my favorite tracks released in 2023 and covers the topic of the United Kingdom’s refugee crisis. Their 2023 EP Knocknarea, was my favorite EP to come out of 2023, and the band’s sound is a refreshing and unique take on post-punk.
To finish off the playlist, Mandy, Indiana’s “Pinking Shears” is an energetic and riveting track off of their debut album i’ve seen a way. The lyrics express singer Valentine Caulfield’s “frustration at the state of the world…the myriad of inequalities, everyday aggressions, and grievances that plague our existence in late-stage capitalism“. (Joyzine 2023). This was in my top 5 songs of 2023 and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.
Give the playlist a listen and I hope you like it!
ELLA RUSTIN | If the circuits don’t work, the music collapses | KXSU Program Director