BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition July 2019

The Playlist:
10
2
songs in heavy rotation at the BR offices right now
4
1
5
8
6 9
HAZELWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY - THE VINYL DISH
1
The Free Nationals
Time
(Ft. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis)
Mac Miller’s first posthumous
release couldn’t have been left in
better hands. The backing
band for his close friend
Anderson .Paak pairs
his laid-back drawl
with a shimmering
funk instrumental
and the smooth vocals
of R&B diva
Kali Uchis.
3
2 Selci
Truth In The Sea
A direct hit from this rising Calgary-based
pop star, Selci lays
down an ocean of entrancing electro-R&B
to set yourself adrift on.
The slowly ascending synths
weave around her delicate,
echoing vocals and surprise
whistle tones.
3
Taylor Swift
You Need To Calm
Down
The rebranded, pastel-coloured
Swift takes aim at her haters
on the second single from
her upcoming project. The
track features some
impossibly catchy
building harmonies
and some shoutouts
to the LGBT
community. We
wonder though, if
she’ll ever let that
snake emoji thing go.
4
The Dirty Nil
Astro Ever After
These prolific punks are building
momentum for their third album
with a track that alternates between
quieter verses showcasing
Luke Bentham’s passionate high
notes and a shockingly distorted
chorus. Headphone users beware
— or indulge. Whichever works.
Mariel Buckley
5 Casting Stones
The Albertan alt-country/roots artist
directs her earnest delivery and
poignant lyricism at political topics,
imploring people to give voice to
the voiceless. The extended bluesy
guitar solo only enhances her
powerful message.
6
Lower Dens
Young Republicans
An upbeat indie-pop satire that
paints the disillusioned youth
of the political party as some
kind of cannibals, frontman
Nate Nelson singing the lyrics
with wide-eyed joy over
a retro beat. This is definitely
one of the strangest
political tracks this year.
7
7 Dreamville
Down Bad
(Ft. JID, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG &
Young Nudy)
One of the first two singles released
from the massive compilation
on the way from J. Cole’s
Dreamville record label, this posse
cut is mostly driven by throwback
sounds and JID’s youthful voice on
the chorus - but we’ll give the best
verse to Cole.
8 Kindness
Hard To Believe
Fresh off of impressive production
work with everyone from Solange
to Robyn, the multi-talented singer-songwriter
teases the September
launch of his new album and
links up with two more dynamic
voices, Jazmine Sullivan and
Sampha, for a piece of chilled-out
synth-funk.
9 Notifi
Won’t Get Lonely
This track is so Toronto it’s a wonder
that Drake’s OVO label didn’t
immediately snap him up when it
dropped. An eerie alt-R&B track, you
could easily mistake this for the 6ix
God if you didn’t know any better.
Except this guy also produced this
hard-hitting beat.
10
The Underachievers
Wasteman
This up-and-coming Brooklyn duo
adopt a word from the UK grime
scene to throw at their detractors.
Absolutely nobody else can sound
this hard while making references
to Ariana Grande and Cyndi Lauper
hits within the same track.
JULY 2019 BEATROUTE 23