Hyperpop? We’ve got it. Soulful hip hop? Yep. Americana and rock? Check and check. We even lead off with a new, disco-inspired cut.
Every week, we task ourselves with the responsibility of providing 20 fresh, interesting new tracks. Thanks to you, our job is never too difficult. These tasty jams — plus not one, but TWO episodes of our Official Podcast — should keep your ears, hearts, and minds satisfied all week long.
Track listing Helena Hallberg – Surprisingly Disco Titans of Siren – Daytrip Game Changer – Just Sayin’ Spence Brown – Scotch Thoughts Izzy Rage – Wreck TsukiMai – Selenophile Rose Starring – Violently Sad Cardiac Half – Gloom The Trampoline Delay – Excuses Excuses Alisa Amador ft. Quinn Christopherson – I Need to Believe Sam Gyllenhaal Band – Mary Does (Acoustic) Sarah Gargano – Red Solo Cup The Atomic Age – Heart Sarah Free – Sober Laney Jones – Stay at Home Crow and Gazelle – Take It Away Patrick Davis – Southern Roots Brother Dege – Turn of the Screw The Kentucky Gentlemen – Beg Your Parton Mikayla Lewis – All is Well
From song to song, and moment to moment, you never quite know where this week’s edition of UMC20 is going to go.
There’s a lot of genre-bending goodness throughout the playlist. You’ll hear plenty of instances where elements of one genre sneak their way into another.
And, of course, there are two bonus tracks, because we’re releasing two episodes of The Quinn Spinn per week now. One highlights the journey of an exciting new artist; while the other, just released today, shows a different (i.e.; the original) side of our Official Podcast. Past meets present, indeed!
Track listing Foundation Mecca ft. Carissa Kohne – Brand New Cyrille Aimee – Here Fuchsia – Backseat Blues Malcolm DeWayne – Amethyst Nights Jasce – River EMMI IIDA ft. Peachkit – Higher Self Aaron Lee Tasjan – The Drugs Did Me Flyin’ Hot Saucers – Ollantaytambo Deidre – Every Breath You Take Andrea von Kampen – Such Love Does Gabrielle Grace – Both Ways Lindsey Lomis – Long Way Down Kitty Coen – yellow light Steve Conte – Shoot Out The Stars Old 97’s – Where the Road Goes Frontier Ruckus – I’m Not the Boy Parker Barrow – Back to Birmingham Sarina Haggarty – Lipstick to Myself Emily Ann Roberts – Whole Lotta Little (Cabin Sessions) Armchair Boogie – Livin’
There’s a lot to love about UMC20 every week. But, with warm and fuzzy feelings in the air for those who celebrate Valentine’s Day, that sentiment feels even stronger today.
This is a powerful, dynamic lineup of songs, featuring styles across the musical spectrum. We start with rock, give you a heapin’ helpin’ of Americana in the middle, and then progress to pop, R&B, and hip hop to round it out.
Also, we have not one, but TWO bonus tracks: We just announced that we’re going to two weekly episodes of The Quinn Spinn this week, and our two latest interviews are included at the bottom of the playlist!
Track listing Olive Dares the Darkness – Not My Fault The Mad Sugars ft. Monte Mader – Dare Me Fame & Fiction – Knuckles Sugadaisy – Slip n Fall Cole Gallagher – Lost Sounds Ben Carr – Seventeen The Wandering Hearts – Letter to Myself The Dead South – Yours To Keep Moonsville Collective – Helen Highway The HawtThorns – Nothing But A Shadow Tyler Ramsey – New Lost Ages The Steel Wheels – Sideways Laura Mustard – Dirty Minds & Wild Hearts Spencer LaJoye – Someday You’ll Wake Up Okay Sabrina Song – Okay, Okay Jordyn Tareaz – Again Jetta – sticky ickyKuf Knotz & Christine Elise – High Vibrationz Foundation Mecca – Felt Like This RAHMAT ALLAHGXDMC – Rain
This is our first monthly “Best Of” edition of UMC20 in the better part of a year and, well… what a way to bring the HEAT back!
Y’all did a great job giving us some fresh sounds heading into the New Year, and it pays off in this multi-faceted compilation of some (but not all) of the best things we’ve heard in recent memory. We invite you to dig in!
Bonus track: Last week marked our first Quinn Spinn OG Family episode of 2024, as JD came back into the fold to chat about championship football and our 2024 intentions. Check it out here!
Track listing Harris Hills – ACTION MAN Intellect ft. Dave East – Too Many Losses Mykel ft. Mileage – Rhythm Of You Zhaklina – M.D.B.M Kendra & The Bunnies – Manic Pixie Nightmare ROM COM – Tom Cruisin’ Aaron Lee Tasjan – Horror Of It All Alex Jordan – Saving Grace The Steel Wheels – Hero Laura Mustard – Good Enough Teagan Stewart – New Nashville J.Antonette – Run Girl Run Quickdraw Kid – Bittersweet Tennessee Fame & Fiction – Famous Paul Nestler – That Dance We Do Jon Worthy – Things Are Looking Up Radio Flower – Winters Alone Elise Browell – In My Mind The Mighty Calm – Boardwalks Keep the Eleven – Do You Wanna Change The World?
International artists? Rock and Roll Hall of Famers? What special occasion could possibly bring all of these incredible talents under the same roof?
For us, it’s just Tuesday.
Where else can you find a weekly indie music playlist that offers as many unique flavors as UMC20? We’ve got everything you need right here, pulled together every Tuesday from all corners of the musical landscape.
Track listing: Chloe Stroll – Run (PINES Remix) Zhaklina – M.D.B.M NOANNE – White Glove Fie Eike – The Nile Intellect ft. Dave East – Too Many Losses My Life Story – Running Out of Heartbeats Aaron Lee Tasjan – Horror Of It All Alex Jordan – Saving Grace The Steel Wheels – Hero Spencer LaJoye – How Are You Mary McGuinness – Touchstone Frontier Ruckus – Clarkston Pasture Jobi Riccio – Whiplash Teagan Stewart – New Nashville Reid Haughton – Man Made Money The Washboard Union – Neon Needs The Night The Sleeping Souls – Scared of Living Ricky Byrd – Rhapsody in Blues (One for Jeff) The Blues Emergency – Quicksand Campanula – She Said
The beautiful thing about our UMC20 playlist has always been that you can find music of any genre, from artists in any location in any given week.
This week, we bring you everything from dance music to study music, hip hop to folk, and just about anything else you could possibly need. The best part? All we had to do was run through the music that you, People of the Underground, submitted for consideration to compile this all-star list.
Track listing Goodnite Robicheaux – Pinewood Daisha McBride – All is Well NIXED – Sacrifice Camille Marchadour – Fire Me DaChri – I LOVE ME! Mykel ft. Mileage – Rhythm Of You Til Now – Waste My Life leisure fm – weather warning Hope Vista – Hot Blood The Welters – Soldiers The Ohio Hopefuls – Sidewalk Chalk Shedonist – Ask Me Why Kendall Bowser – You Don’t Call Me Arih SK – Miss You Like I Should Radio Flower – Winters Alone Elise Browell – In My Mind Quickdraw Kid – Strawberry Supermoon Laura Mustard – Good Enough Kim Krans – Golden Tears StreamKitty – streets of montreal
Our first week back in action has led to a cascade of support — and of course, that means a steady flow of new music submissions.
It was nice to see so many familiar faces jump in to let us know what they’ve been up to, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to highlight a handful of them. Welcome to the return of Songs You Should Hear!
Artist: DaChri
Song: Moving Day Genre: Pop/Rock/Funk Why You Should Hear It: There’s a certain, McCartney-esque whimsy to the steady-marching rhythms and shimmering vocal layers on “Moving Day.” These uplifting properties support the song’s deeper meaning; to move past what isn’t working, so we can find what is.
“The song is about a literal Moving Day, but also about moving on and growing through things that aren’t working,” DaChri said. “It’s about getting out of your own way to make the changes necessary. It’s about not living for other people.”
Artist: Fame & Fiction Song: Famous Genre: Pop/Rock Why You Should Hear It: This rollicking alt-rock anthem — imagine a sonic cross-section between Walk the Moon and Paramore — features dreamy guitars, crisp vocal harmonies, deftly-layered keys, and fast-paced, intricately groovy work from the rhythm section. “Famous” — written by keyboardist Mary Jennings alongside collaborator Coley O’Toole — delivers tongue-in-cheek commentary on the pitfalls of fame, and the lengths some people will go to attain it, while offering a subtle reminder of the importance of authenticity in the digital age.
“I admittedly struggled figuring out where ‘Famous’ fit in my solo catalog, but once I brought it to the band, we all realized pretty quickly that it was always meant to be a Fame & Fiction song,” Jennings said. “As the newest member of this group, contributing this track really strengthens my sense of belonging in the band, and I absolutely love the way it turned out.”
Artist: Goodnite Robicheaux Song: Pinewood Genre: Soul/Hip Hop Why You Should Hear It: This slickly-produced, modern meld of soul, hip hop, funk, and jazz pops off from the opening keyboard progression. Powerful horn accents, bumping bass, and a memorable hook team up with the song’s message — about persevering through life’s challenges — to get us ready to face the day.
“‘Pinewood’ speaks heavily on the bands younger days, and the trials a young musician goes through trying to break into the business,” the band said. “The message of Pinewood is to not let those trials stop you. You must always ‘keep your head up.'”
Got something you think we should hear? What are you waiting for?! Shoot it our way, and you might just be featured in an upcoming edition of Songs You Should Hear!
Apologies for the unexpected gap between UMC20 playlists last week. Ya boy has been on a retreat of sorts, shoring up a few things and gearing us up for the second half of 2023 and beyond.
All that means is that there was more to choose from for this week’s edition of UMC20! So, we’ve put together a quality compilation of some of the jams that have been making their way into our world of late.
With respect to every month that has taken place since we became UMC (and subsequently started the UMC20 playlist)… this might have been the most solid month of submissions yet.
That also means we had a devil of a time narrowing this down to just 20 tracks. True to the start of summer, there was an abundance of heat thrown our way this month. Decisions were made, but y’all didn’t make ’em easy!
We think these 20 tracks do a nice job of representing June 2023. Check ’em out!
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