Spring is in the air, and our summer playlists are heating up with these new offerings. We’ve got the best new metal, indie, pop-punk, and rock finds that just dropped in May. From Moody Joody to Arcy Drive and beyond, these new songs will be your fave new listens.
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Moody Joody — “Little Blue House”
Fresh off their run supporting The Maine, Moody Joody is gearing up to release their debut album…but first, they dropped the nostalgia-inducing bop, “Little Blue House,” and it’s ideal for your summer playlist. “This song evokes the nostalgic feeling for me of a day of riding bikes with friends in the cul-de-sac, daydreaming about what’s going on in the neighbors’ house, and then laying on the bedroom floor pressing play on a silver boombox with an LFO CD,” says vocalist Kayla Hall. “‘Little Blue House’ feels like something completely different than anything we’ve put out thus far and is a little Easter egg towards our album!”
Feldspar — “Good Kids”
This Rome-based band uniquely intertwines hardcore and pop-punk with bright pop, crafting a true breath of fresh air. And yes, it’s a track you’ll want to play over and over again. Feldspar says of the track, “‘Good Kids’ is dedicated to all the young kids we’ve met throughout our lives—and to ourselves among them—who, despite being driven by the best intentions, ended up making the wrong choices. Some mistakes can be repaired and help you grow; others have cost the lives of truly beautiful people. This one’s for them.”
Arcy Drive — “one‘n a million”
Arcy Drive just made their Atlantic Records debut with a new single, “one’n a million,” and it’s a must-listen. The band’s sonics feel straight out of a mid-aughts romance movie, and it’s pure bliss. The band says, “We made this song a little over a year ago. We were in LA for a couple of producer meetings, and on this one particular day, Nick showed us what was to become ‘one’n a million.’ Typically, when we get into the studio with producers/engineers/whatever, we usually have all of our parts sorted and have seen through every possible direction for the song. This process was a little bit different. No one in the band had heard the song before this session. We played off pure instinct, and it worked. In 4 hours, we came out with a pretty solid song and then honestly forgot about it. We were on to the next song.”
They continue, “It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that this song was brought back into our lives, and the first time hearing it again, we thought, ‘this is a fucking banger.’ It’s crazy how, when you’re so in it, you truly cannot take yourself out of your creations. But that full year of time away from the song, it felt refreshing again. Like we were really hearing the song for the first time. We like to think it’s another side of the band that we haven’t shown yet. A more relaxed summer vibe, but we still punkify it at the end, which makes it feel originally ours. Cheers.”
Night Talks — “People Pleaser”
Night Talks is adding a little funk-tinged indie to your playlists this month with the release of “People Pleaser.” Vocalist Soraya Sebghati notes, “‘People Pleaser’ is a celebratory song about overcoming your tendencies to put everyone else first, and not wasting time with a person who makes you bend for them constantly. Lyrically, we wanted it to be vague whether it’s about a friend or a partner, since this kind of dynamic can apply to any relationship.”
Guitarist Jacob Butler adds, “We tried to create something more sparse than songs we’ve done before, with fewer layers that each serve to either be either funky or percussive; even the acoustic guitars feel more like shakers in the track.”
Common People — “Blue Eyes”
Immerse yourself in the dazzling indie sonics of rising act Common People, you definitely won’t regret it, especially as it comes to their new offering, “Blue Eyes.” Frontman Nicky Winegardner shares, “‘Blue Eyes’ is the song that kind of started this whole thing. It was our first time working with Brad [Shultz], and seeing what we could do together. There’s an innocence to the song that comes from where I was when I started writing it. Making sense of what love does to you and means to you feels like a shared experience of youth. It can feel good to realize that something is actually bad.”
Catch Your Breath — “Control”
Catch Your Breath has had an exciting month so far, with the announcement of their upcoming LP, Not Broken Enough, due out August 28 via Thriller Records. Plus, the group just unleashed the raw single “Control” alongside official visuals. Band vocalist Josh Mowery says of the release, “This song is for anyone who’s ever given their whole world to someone, only to realize they’ve accidentally handed over the keys to their own prison. It’s about that devastating moment you realize the person who was supposed to be your safe harbor is actually the one keeping your head underwater.”
