The Wood Word staff enjoys a variety of genres, from British pop to new country to punk. Here is what the staff has been listening to recently.
CHARLOTTE:
FKA twigs: British songwriter who is well known for her thrilling electronic sound has released a single for her upcoming album, “Eusexua.” The single “Eusexua” is a word created by twigs, which is derived from the Greek word “euphoria,” and is made to encapsulate the feeling of “sensual wellness.” The song itself replicates a dance beat that sounds like it’s coming from a heartbeat. As the song goes on, the beat gets stronger. Twigs’s sound is incomparable to any other artist, mostly due to her unique voice and instruments.
Magdalena Bay: With the release of their album “Imaginal Disk,” I’ve been diving deeper into their music. Off of “Imaginal Disk,” the songs “Image,” “Vampire in the Corner” and “Angel on a Satellite” have been on repeat. The album is one of those albums you can listen to while staring at the ceiling, and you can imagine everything you hear. Another song by the duo that has been on repeat is the catchy “Top Dog,” which is a perfect summer song.
Doechii: “Alligator Bites Never Heal” is Doechii’s newest album with some of the best beats I’ve ever heard. The song “DENIAL IS A RIVER” has amazing storytelling with some funny jokes about her ex and making “TikTok music.” “SLIDE” is a smooth, melodic track that caught me off guard my first time listening and will be my most listened-to song this year.
VINCENT:
Koe Wetzel: After releasing four singles earlier in the year, Wetzel released his album “9 Lives”, which included the singles. Most recently, he released a single, “Casamigos,” which might’ve been the best of the bunch. With the sheer amount of songs Wetzel has dropped, let alone the quality, he is making a strong case to be in contention for Male Artist of the Year at next year’s Academy of Country Music award ceremony.
Jon Pardi: Pardi re-released a handful of his songs earlier this year, but has been relatively quiet this year with new songs. However, his recent release, “Friday Night Heartbreaker,” was the exact way to get himself back in many country fans’ feeds. I do my best to not listen to the same song more than once a day, but Pardi made it nearly impossible with this single.
The Red Clay Strays: The Red Clay Strays is a group I’ve just recently gotten into. The group released its second studio album, “Made by These Moments,” back in July. Despite my enjoyment for many of the artists I listen to, there’s usually a song or two on each album that I could be OK skipping or not getting shuffled in. “Made by These Moments” is one of the exceptions, being a frequent flier in my headphones.
Zach Top: Top has quickly become one of my most played artists this year, primarily due to his massively successful debut studio album, “Cold Beer and Country Music.” He followed up the album with “Beer for Breakfast.” Though I will never condone drinking that early in the day, this song definitely has listeners pondering over cracking open a beer for breakfast.
Wyatt Flores: Flores has been quite active in 2024, releasing a mini album titled “Half Life,” two singles and doing two features, one with The Castellows and Evan Honer. He recently dropped “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight,” and it is his best release of the year. While “Take Me As I Come” and “Sober Sundays” are two of his best from the year, “Don’t Wanna Say Goodnight” is easily Flores’ best work of the year.
Jackson Dean: Dean was an artist who would rarely appear in my shuffle, besides “Don’t Come Lookin’.” His second studio album “On The Back of My Dreams” was just released and there are plenty of songs being added to my feed consistently. Though I wouldn’t consider it as perfect as I would of “The Red Clay Strays’” album, there is a lot to like from it. “Sweet Appalachia,” “Real Real” and “Free” have been my favorite tracks from his album.
AVA:
Manic Street Preachers: The Manics originated with a punk-like style that they’re still well known for. With their strange lyrics by guitarist Richey Edwards, and amazing vocals by singer James Dean Bradfield, they quickly became one of my favorite bands. Their debut album, “Generation Terrorists,” has some of my favorite songs by them. Songs like “Love’s Sweet Exile,” and “You Love Us,” are great songs to start with, but my absolute favorite song by them is “Archives of Pain,” which is on their third album, “The Holy Bible.”
The London Suede: I think Suede is a very underrated band in the Britpop genre. The first song I ever listened to by them was “Metal Mickey,” and it’s my absolute favorite. I love singer Brett Anderson’s strange voice, and I think that’s really what gives them their sound. “The Beautiful Ones” and “Heroine” are truly some amazing songs that I think should be recognized more.
Joy Division/New Order: Although Joy Division and New Order are two completely different bands, I put them together because of their shared band members. Joy Division pioneered the post-punk era with their dramatic music and somber lyrics. As a bassist myself, I adore every bass line they have, and I truly admire their bassist, Peter Hook. After the death of singer Ian Curtis, the remaining members of Joy Division formed a new wave band called New Order, with guitarist Bernard Sumner taking over vocals. I instantly fell in love with New Order after listening to their song, “Bizarre Love Triangle.”
Amyl and The Sniffers: As a lover of the punk genre, I think it’s really refreshing to see a modern band making punk music, as well as being female-fronted. They’re still actively making music, with a new album coming out on Oct. 25. This will be their third album, after their self-titled debut album and their second album, “Comfort to Me,” which came out in 2021. I think that singer Amy Taylor has a really powerful voice and has an instantly recognizable look. Amyl and the Sniffers have many songs that talk about modern issues, such as feminism and politics. My favorite songs by them would have to be “Freaks To The Front” and “Control.”
Metallica: I started listening to Metallica a few years ago, but I don’t think I really appreciated them until recently. Their first three albums really shine light on how the four members meshed their instruments well together and I think they really compliment each other. Their song “Fade To Black” off their second album, “Ride The Lightning,” is an amazing song and it’s one of my favorite songs ever. Metallica had such raw energy while playing live and I wish I could’ve been alive to see them in the ‘80s.
KATELYN:
Bruno Mars- Peter Gene Hernandez, formally known as Bruno Mars, was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and later moved to Los Angeles in 2003, to further his music career. He is known for his stage performances, and a wide range of music styles such as pop, R&B, funk, soul, reggae, disco and rock. Mars recently released a single with Lady Gaga, titled “Die with a Smile” that got over 97.2 million streams since Aug. 16. Some may say his newer music is the best, but the albums “24k Magic” and “Locked out of Heaven” are constantly on repeat.
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons- The “Jersey Boys” started out in Newark, New Jersey. The Four Seasons have over 100 Million streams worldwide. A classic romantic, from the album “Frankie Valli – Solo,” “Can’t Take my Eyes off of You” was released in 1967, and was one of Frankis’ best hits. The Four Seasons are mainly known for their hit song “Late December, 1963.” With the chorus being “Oh, what a night!” which is what the song is frequently known as. But my personal favorite is “Grease” which was recorded and produced for the 1978 classic movie with John Trevolta, and Olivia Newton- John, “Grease.” This song brings me back to seeing the band in their last concert “The Last Encore” with my entire family, but my father and I were most excited to see him walk on stage to this song. Definitely something we won’t forget!
Zach Bryan- Zach is a rising artist that is an “All American Boy” who is making his way to the top of the charts constantly for the past two years. His album, “The Great American Bar Scene,” was released on July 4 and quickly climbed its way to the top, making it the young cowboy’s No. 1 album. And the most popular song he has is “Something in the Orange.” That has been played 1,019,828,745 times. Personally, I believe that song is overplayed. “Washington Lilacs” is a song that hasn’t had the spotlight, but deserves it.
Contact the writer: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
