Amanda Mastrull

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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

I still really like the new Florrie song that I’ve been banging on about

Xenomainia-drummer-and-popstar-in-her-own-right Florrie has a new single called Seashells and I quite enjoy it.

When I first tweeted about it I put something like “it’s a bit strange but entirely amazing,” which remains the most accurate description I can give. It’s also withstood the repeated play test.

I hate when people write things like “the perfect song for summer!” because that’s all kinds of awful and buzzword-like, but Seashells is kind of a perfect song for summer.

It’s certainly not the first amazing thing Florrie has done, or, perhaps, the most, but I really like it and it’s one of those songs that I just want to listen to. (On a related note, I put on her Experiments EP for the first time in ages the other night and can confirm that I Took A Little Something is still insanely brilliant.)

There’s a video for Seashells too, and while it starts out looking like it might turn into some over-saturated Lisa Frank wonder, it generally stays primary color bright with a lot of folks dancing rather slowly as Florrie sings.

florrie music

BROODS’ EP is very good

Joel Little’s work with Lorde got him a Grammy, but his EP with BROODS is what makes me excited to hear what else he’s doing. 

The New Zealand pop duo released the amazing song Bridges last year in one of those ‘here’s a song from a new artist about whom there is nothing online’ type things, but those aren’t always followed up with other great tracks. Thankfully, that’s not the case here.

Last week BROODS posted an EP that’s being released somewhere (but probably not America yet, let’s not get ahead of ourselves) on their SoundCloud. Never Gonna Change is the current single (it’s being played on Radio 1), and while the EP is all around very good, I’m currently really enjoying Coattails.

Joel Little is also confirmed to be working with Erik Hassle (who’s made his share of pop songs), so that’s quite exciting too.

music broods

I wrote a thing at work about some of my favorite recent YA novels with music as a central theme.

The power of music in people’s lives is not to be underestimated, as the authors of the following three young adult novels deftly show. Many titles for this audience seek to tackle the challenges and changes that come with one’s teenage years, which these books achieve through smart explorations of the main character’s musical expression.

The young adults use their love of music, be it pop or punk or classical, as a means self-discovery and a bridge to connect with others. Each, though facing challenges from bullying to childhood trauma to familial pressure, comes to realize important truths about his or her self—truths which are set to a soundtrack.

More of it here

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