14 Great Songs to Listen to Now + The Best Stuff I Heard This Week 1/16/21

Wildest - “Sugar (The Choice is Yours)”

When you’ve got a lover on the phone, a lover at the door, and you’ve got the best sugar in the whole damn village you need to make a decision: Who’s gonna get it tonight? The UK’s Wildest lives up to their name with their light poppy “Sugar (The Choice Is Yours).” The nu-disco, electro-funk jam has people queuing up for sugar, and they’re probably all dancing to the beat.

Scooped Up! - “I’ve Just Seen a Face”/“TV Dinner”

Duck your head and watch out for high flying guitars. Milford’s Scooped Up! is a throw back to the 90s when the punk was really in pop punk. Bands like Say Anything, Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, and blink-182 all come to mind when you hear guitarist shred and drummer murdering the drum kit. Singer has that classic So-Cal delivery that has always been a staple of the genre.

Sargasso - “Baianas”

I’m going to be real with you hear. I’m out of my depth, but this is a great song. “Baianas” is a song sung in Portuguese and makes reference to the rich culture of Afro-Brazilian women in the country’s northeast. The New Haven band, composed a brilliant electro fused rock beat that is airy and fresh. Proceeds from purchases at BandCamp go to benefit New Haven Area Mutual Aid Fund. Please go support the band and a good cause.

SotoLish “Kubrik Oven”/“Monitaur”

With industrial hip-hop sounds that begs for comparison to Run The Jewels, New Haven’s SotoLish serves up the production and bars to carry those expectations appropriately. Both tracks here come from their recent release 404. “Kubrik Oven” shouts out Long Wharf right off the rip. The chorus “my whole city brick oven,” pays homage to New Haven’s reputation as one of the best pizza cities on Earth. “Monitaur” incorporates some very cool percussion and switches up the composition enough to peak your interest as you begin to reach the album’s end.

Punchbowl Astronauts - “Be My Mistake”

Punchbowl Astronauts describe themselves as a “band with an eclectic sound that veers from head-banging guitar heaviness to emotive, melodic acoustics and piano.” “Be My Mistake” is a soulful tune that falls squarely into the emotive, melodic camp. Hopefully we can get more music from the New Haven trio in 2021.

Cassie’s Crutch – “Entropy”

Cassie’s Crutch, a 4 piece out of West Hartford, is making their first appearance in what could potentially be a three week run on The Best Stuff I Heard This Week (but more on that later). “Entropy” is a smooth jam that blah blah blah blah blah Their latest single “Sunshine and Grey” was released on Friday and will be featured next week. There’s also a countdown on their Instagram indicating something big is coming on Friday 1/22… could it be more music? We can only hope.

DEEGAN - “Lovely Lovely”

If you fancy the smooth and lo-fi, “Lovely Lovely” from Norwalk’s DEEGAN might be just what the doctor ordered. The song, also produced by DEEGAN, feels like a walk through the flowers on a spring day. For a peak at what might be an early demo version of “Lovely Lovely,” take a peak at “Too Real, I Feel Free (2018) from December’s The Vault (Old Songs and Rough Drafts).

Nigel – “Like Jelly”

I’m always intrigued by hip hop that sounds like it descended upon us from outer space or the future, and Nigel’s “Like Jelly” checks the box. The New Haven based rapper released Ready for Rain back in June when mvsicthovght was floating around in the ether. If you haven’t listened to the album yet, now is a great time to circle back to it.

Radio Stevie - “Elm City”

Speaking of music from other times, “Elm City” is a track that draws elements from a variety time periods including the 70s, 80s, 90s and the future. Radio Stevie’s latest release incorporates a variety of sounds and instruments that makes for a funky 6 minute journey. He shows off some of this multi-faceted talents himself, singing as well as rapping. “Elm City” really is an appropriate name for a track that is as varied and wide ranging as New Haven itself.

Jacques Le Coque – “Twenty Two”

Are Stamford’s Jacques Le Coque singing about Route 22 in New Jersey, Connecticut, or somewhere else? Even though the cover art uses signage from New Jersey, I’d like to imagine them “burnin’ down the rubber on 22” from Hamden to North Branford. The rock band’s music video features some great vintage footage that is probably not from Connecticut, but we can always pretend.

ANoyd - “Majin Buu”

Bloomfield’s ANoyd has become one of Connecticut’s premiere hip hop talents. “Majin Buu” has the rapper feeling flamboyant and dangerous, like his Dragonball Z counter-part. With great production from JP On Da Track, another CT native, “Majin Buu” gives Anoyd a lot of space to show off his flows. It’s a cold record that drips swag. Listen to it and let out your inner bad ass.

Suzie True - “Carmen”

A self-described “trash pop” three piece from L.A., Suzie True fits well into the pop rock aesthetic. With catchy guitar, smooth bass over steady drums, the band makes great use elements of the genre that have been staples the 90s. Off the band’s most recent release, Saddest Girl At the Party, “Carmen” is a reference to the immortal Carmen San Diego. Our narrator yearns for love, laments her imperfections, and tortures herself by making grand, romantic gestures for what is ultimately an unrequited love.