BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition - March 2020

The Playlist
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NOBRO
Don’t Want To Talk
About It
The all-female
Montreal punk
quartet dubbed
this track “as
close to a love
song as we’re
going to get.”
Frontwoman
Kathryn
McCaughey
screams out the
joys of finding
someone new
over crunchy
guitar chords,
but the entire
track is quickly
taken over by
an absolutely
virtuosic drum
solo in the
middle before
the final chorus
roars back in.
Phoebe
Bridgers
Garden Song
Bridgers often
performs
while wearing
a skeleton
bodysuit, which
also appears
on the album
artwork of this
new single. It’s
appropriate
for just how
vulnerable many
of her songs
get. Singing over
a quietly plucked
acoustic pattern
with her paperthin
vocals, she
reflects upon
the passage of
time and the
little moments
that matter.
Kelly Lee
Owens
Melt!
The Welsh
electronic
producer
creates a
slick piece of
environmentalist
techno that
actually samples
the sounds
of glaciers
melting. A voice
repeatedly
whispers “ice”
over a heavy
deep houseinspired
beat
that’s meant to
act as a frantic
call to action,
punctuated
with the more
pleasant sounds
of shimmering
icicles and skate
blades slicing up
a rink.
King Krule
Cellular
On the opening
track of his
latest album,
Man Alive!,
the jazzy
superproducer
gets lost in
his mind in an
interconnected
world that feels
so isolated at
the same time.
With a weary
voice and halfrapped
lyrics,
King Krule links
the divisive
headlines
he reads to
a personal
romantic fallingout,
giving in and
calling her back
in search of
connection.
Billie Eilish
No Time To Die
On paper,
someone
with the quiet
eeriness of
Eilish didn’t
seem like a
natural choice
to record
something with
the dramatic
gravitas of a
Bond theme,
but the teenage
wunderkind
steps
comfortably
into a long line
of legends. Her
aching vocals
soundtrack the
suited superspy
dealing with a
betrayal as the
classic string
patterns swirl
behind her.
PARTYNEXTDOOR
Loyal (Remix)
(Ft. Drake & Bad
Bunny)
This remix of the
latest hit from
the two Toronto
titans adds
some Spanish
flair as Bad
Bunny, the king
of Latin trap,
hops onto the
track, speeding
up the rhythms
of the laid-back
alt-R&B cut with
his extended
verses closing
out the track.
Though there’s
still not much
that can beat
Drake, firmly
in his feelings,
softly crooning
“you’re my best
friend.”
Allie X
Susie Save Your
Love (Ft. Mitski)
Two of indiepop’s
most
celebrated
female artists
finally team
up on a track
to swoop in
together and
rescue poor
Susie from an
undesirable guy;
of course, with
the implication
that she should
be involved with
someone like
them instead.
Featuring a
funky synthpop
explosion
of a chorus,
the two softspoken
sad girls
blend together
beautifully.
The Weeknd
After Hours
The Weeknd’s
fans have been
clamouring for
him to return
to the sleazy
and mysterious
figure with dark
and unsettling
lyrics that he
burst onto the
scene with, and
this six-minute
slow burner
is about as
close as we’re
going to get.
Except this time,
he’s really in
love, perfectly
blending the
rumbling bass
and vocal reverb
of his past with
his upbeat pop
present.
Big Freedia
Chasing Rainbows
(Ft. Kesha)
Two of pop
music’s most
notorious
party people
link up once
again, this time
for Freedia’s
single, on a truly
triumphant track
where they ride
away from all
the haters on
a rainbow. The
Queen of New
Orleans Bounce
mixes up the
track to better
resemble her
signature sound
with some
rapid-fire flows
and calls to the
dancefloor.
Dizzy
Sunflower
The Junowinning
indie
band returns
with a summery
and upbeat pop
track where
they remind
themselves
to snap out
of the cycle
of mundane
everyday life and
start facing the
sun. Sampling
a choir the
band overheard
rehearsing at
an Oshawa
rec centre and
containing
a delightful
synth-keyboard
solo, this one
is a feel-good
anthem to
help usher in
springtime vibes.
MARCH 2020 BEATROUTE 19