header image: michele lu by @sabrabinder
words: echowave hq
you know what time it is!
march is officially over and out. and with that, spring returns bearing fruits of fondness, self-realisation, and pure imagination – sentiments that this month’s soundwave spotlight is filled with.
check out our favourite tracks below.
michele lu — dull red
michele lu’s grungy new offering goes all-in on introspection. as revealed by the musician in a social media post, the song is a story of “love so big it hit the ceiling, and there was nowhere left to go but back down.” indeed, the track’s verses steadily build up to a fiery chorus that feels even more turbulent the second time around. lu’s gritty timbre soars alongside thomas lowrey’s punchy drum arrangement, working in tandem to set the stage for the track’s extremely cathartic bridge.
maya engen — jade
new york’s rising star maya engen returns with a dynamic single which proves that the success of her debut, ‘fool’, was no fluke. with a country pop-adjacent performance akin to the musings of miley cyrus during her younger now era, engen skilfully balances grand melodies and deeply personal lyrics: “oh, jade / You’re like a slow drive upstate / Jeans frayed at the hem / Whisper ‘I love you’ again,” she sings in the second verse, inviting the listener to experience romance that’s equal parts sweet and liberating – just like a carefree summer daydream.
girlsweetvoiced — tonight
an idyllic work of art at its core, ‘tonight’ was always going to stick the landing (and do it rather well), considering it features an iconic strumming pattern from joni mitchell’s 1971 folk track ‘california’. the fact that the sample was cleared by the canadian multi-instrumentalist herself is a testament to girlsweetvoiced’s boundless ingenuity, of which there’s plenty in this bluesy number; her lyrics sound like poetry, resulting in a work of art of the highest calibre.
irou — school night
fun, incisive, and unapologetically sincere – that’s irou’s ‘school night’ in a nutshell. a standout offering on the new york musician’s latest blue-haired girl ep, the self-produced track taps into the vigour of drum’n’bass to offer a glowing contrast to irou’s vivid narratives, which simultaneously employ elements of youthful, bedroom pop lyricism (“it’s getting kinda late / and i know it’s a school night, but do you wanna come over?”).
orca — soren
sometimes you stumble upon a song that sounds like it was recorded in a distant seelie realm – a place where magic is an unconditional reality, not a mere concept. ‘soren’ by dream folk duo orca, consisting of members mylena velasquez and daniel galloway, is one of those songs. inspired by the “vulnerability and letting go of parts of your part to move forward,” the mesmerising single follows velasquez’s vocal lead, which is encased in galloway’s ethereal production.
cherry bomb — digital girl
if you’re in dire need of a social media detox, look no further – the glitter-drenched ‘digital girl’ might just be the sense of escapism you’re after. released by pop sensation cherry bomb, a solo project from misterwives’ frontwoman mandy lee, the track is a pop song done right – where soaring production not only grabs your attention, but also lays the groundwork for an artist’s vocals and lyrics to carry intent.
“‘digital girl’ asks how far are you willing to go for your dreams and at what cost?,” cherry bomb revealed in a press release. “in this information age where the pressures of perfection and an unsustainable quantity over quality are constantly burning out not just artists but everyone who is plugged in, it’s impossible to not romanticise unplugging entirely.”
check out our ‘rising tide’ playlist xoxo
