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- [00:01]
Announcer
This message comes from Sony Pictures Classics. How do three friends who dream big stay old friends? Merrily We Roll along, from Stephen Sondheim and Maria Friedman, starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendes, only in theaters starting December 5th.
- [00:17]
Aaron Wolfe
Swore I would take to my grave.
- [00:19]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
The fact I changed my flight out of Chicago just so I'd see you one more time.
- [00:28]
Stephen Thompson
Happy Friday, everyone. From NPR Music, it's NEW MUSIC Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Aaron Wolfe from Radio Milwaukee. Welcome back to the show, Aaron.
- [00:37]
Aaron Wolfe
Thanks, Stephen. Nice to be here.
- [00:39]
Stephen Thompson
It is a pleasure to have you. From my home state of Wisconsin, I wanted to mention up front, you're hearing Annie DeRusso. Annie DeRusso this week, just today released a deluxe edition of her album Super Pedestrian, which we talked about on this show months and months ago when it originally came out. It has gone on to become one of my my very, very, very favorite albums of 2025. And this is, appropriately enough, list season. NPR Music. Next week we'll be publishing our best albums and best songs of 2025. It is always an exciting ordeal. Aaron, I wanted to ask you, what is your favorite album of the year?
- [01:21]
Aaron Wolfe
Well, here at Radio Milwaukee, we did a thing called essential albums of 2025, which you can find@radiowakey.org and I picked SA GR SAA as my essential album.
- [01:34]
Stephen Thompson
Just that's a great record.
- [01:36]
Aaron Wolfe
She's so magical, and I feel like she really stepped into her groove with this record.
- [01:41]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
You love me differently. I loved you all the same.
- [01:52]
Stephen Thompson
Yeah, I loved the way that record sound. I've just started dipping back into it. You know, you host this show every week. You listen to all these records and then you just kind of file them away because you have to go move on and start listening to next week's records. And that one has really stuck with me as one of the best of the year.
- [02:09]
Aaron Wolfe
Yeah, there's just something about it. It's got that extra something.
- [02:13]
Stephen Thompson
Ah, great pick. I mean, you know, I hate to hate to spoil things here on here on NEW MUSIC Friday, but you might read a little bit more about Sia Gray next week as part of NPR Music's cover. Kick off this week's show with a new record, the debut album from the singer songwriter Dove Ellis. It's called Blizzard.
- [02:48]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
Palms up my eyes.
- [02:54]
Gave me no chance to kiss your goodbye.
- [03:11]
Aaron Wolfe
Blizzard by Dove Ellis was self produced and recorded in London and Liverpool. Dove Ellis is a singer songwriter from Western Ireland who makes what's described as chamber pop, which I don't know if that's like, quite right.
- [03:24]
Stephen Thompson
But, I mean, it's got some strings sometimes that's chambery enough.
- [03:29]
Aaron Wolfe
Yeah, chambery enough. We'll just say that he's notably been supporting Geese on their North American tour this fall. So some of the listeners out there might already be acquainted with the live version of Dove Ellis. He's been called the next Jeff Buckley, which feels really important, you know what I mean? And there's also those Radiohead comparisons out there as well. Listening through to this full debut, I do hear Jeff Buckley and Thom Yorke on the vocals, but I also heard a little Fran Healy of Travis Rufus Wainwright. Cameron Winter, of course, is in there, too. Any boy that can really sing passionately, but also cerebrally, if that makes any sense.
- [04:12]
Stephen Thompson
Absolutely. I mean, it's funny because I didn't necessarily. I'm a huge Jeff Buckley fan, and I've been a huge Jeff Buckley fan for more than 30 years and have embarrassed myself gushing about Jeff Buckley's music over the years. And so that always just like, gets my back up, like, he's not Jeff Buckley, but he does have, you know, a big, swooping, melodramatic voice. I mean, one of the things that I was really getting listening to this record was. And this, you may find this is a little bit of a theme of this week's show is I felt like it hearkened back a little bit to some of the big kind of breakthrough bands of the blog era. I heard a little bit of, like, a slightly less worldly version of Beirut or like, Clap your hands, say yeah. Where you do have this, like, this big, swooping voice, but you also. There's a frenetic quality to it. There's kind of a nervy energy. And I think that is part of what sets him apart and probably puts him a little bit more in the pocket of a band like Geese, which has had, you know, a massive, massive 2025.
- [05:20]
Aaron Wolfe
Yeah, absolutely. I felt that frenetic energy. I don't know if it's coming from his environs, Western Ireland. I also was kind of getting this Little Water Boys and Van Morrison kind of pub band vibe to it. You know, the concertina's in there, acoustic guitar. It feels like you're down the block at the pub for a pint. And there's Davalis. You know, there's certain songs on the record that are kind of in that vein. Bagman, for one. I remember hearing the Concertina, but then, yeah, then a lot of it's just also really tense but tender energy. That youthful sadness that Buckley was so capable of to the Sandals is a really good example from your Grace.
- [06:09]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
The sadist fails.
- [06:37]
Stephen Thompson
I wanted to single out another song on this record. You know, we are very much in. We're in the holiday season now and, you know, we're. We're suddenly. I don't know if you're participating in Whamageddon, you know, where you're trying to avoid the song Last Christmas by Wham.
- [06:51]
Aaron Wolfe
Oh, man, that would be so hard.
- [06:54]
Stephen Thompson
I've done it so far. Still have not heard Last Christmas by Wham in 2025. But there is a song on this record called I'll Be Gone By Christmas. And you know, it's not super Christmassy. You're not hearing any of the telltale signifiers like you're SL or anything like that. But it is very Christmas themed. It's grand, it's swooping and dramatic. You know, kind of the vibes that we've been talking about elsewhere on this record. And part of what I appreciate is a lot of the Christmas music that really speaks to me is a little more hard bitten and a little more melancholy and has a little bit. It's not just like shaking you by the lapels and demanding you be happy. And so to me, I was happy to have a new addition to the Christmas canon in 2025. I'm always looking for something that is not the same. Eight insufferable songs.
- [07:45]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
I'll be gone back Christmas.
- [07:52]
I'll be gone back Christmas.
- [07:58]
When you hold our boys there to strike a charm in my st Though I'll be run madness.
- [08:10]
Stephen Thompson
That is Dove Ellis. His new album is called Blizzard. Next up, new album from Melodies Echo Chamber. Melodies. Echo Chamber's new album is called Unclouded.
- [09:04]
So Melody's Echo Chamber is a project named for the French singer Melody Prochet. This is Melody's Echo Chamber's fourth album, dating back to 2012. In the very beginning, she started out working with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, which certainly gives her a certain amount of cred with the massive throngs of people that swarm to every Tame Impala concert. Part of what I really like about this record is it feels like a throwback in a lot of ways. You got your kind of Phil Spector wall of sound. You've got kind of loungy vibes. You know, we mentioned the strings with Dove Ellis. These songs, a lot of these songs have big, rich, swelling strings. But it doesn't just feel like a museum piece. There's still verve and modernity. And energy to it, you know, kind of fueled by Melody Prochet and her kind of mysterious, sometimes inscrutable vocals.
- [09:57]
Aaron Wolfe
Yeah, that's just the thing. I think that this team of the Swedish producer Sven Wonder, he does have, like, a throwback element, but it's not completely in that zone. It's. It's modernized. And also I love how the production and the strings and the framework around her voice kind of anchors it. Because her voice is so airy and light, it needs something to kind of hold it down so it doesn't totally float away.
- [10:25]
Her voice has always been something that has caught my ear. I have been a big fan since that 2012 debut, and with the Tame Impala production, I was like, okay, how does she top this? But I really think that this record might edge out that one for me. I really, really love Unclouded. It's such a beautiful record. It feels like a little impressionistic and expressionistic, as Melody says, like, snapshot of her life. And as she says, she kind of fell in love with life again. And she thinks that this record, like, really conveys her new mindset.
- [11:11]
Stephen Thompson
Well, and that really comes through. As I. As I alluded to, some of her vocals are pretty inscrutable, lyrically speaking, but. But at the same time, the vibes and that energy still comes through, and I'm not surprised at all, you know, that she says, you know, this is the product of this fresh outlook, including the fact that there is a song on this record. One of my favorite songs on this record is called how to Leave Misery Behind. And, you know, we're in December. December is always a good time to stop and contemplate how to leave misery behind. And, you know, the song feels like a little bit of a mission statement. And, you know, again, we've mentioned these strings. The strings really help propel this song and just kind of an overarching sense of wonder. It's a lovely sentiment to take in at the end of what has, for I think a lot of people, been a very, very tough.
- [12:24]
Aaron Wolfe
I mean, if you need a record to close out the year with and feel like you're dropped into a different existence, this is the one to do it with. Sink into a chair, like, snuggle up with a cozy blanket and just kind of like. I don't know, man. It's. It's like a Calgon record for real. It's just kind of got that ability to take you to somewhere completely different, where life is blooming.
- [12:50]
Stephen Thompson
Is Calgon still a going concern? Because I think there used to be commercials for those of you listening who are maybe young not to suggest that Eren isn't, but there were commercials for was Calgon like a bubble bath? It was always like Calgon, take me away.
- [13:07]
Aaron Wolfe
Yeah, I just remember the catchphrase.
- [13:09]
Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [13:10]
Stephen Thompson
And it was a very, very effective ad for a product that would help you kind of let your worries fall by the wayside. And I do think a cal is a great way to describe this, and I'm probably gonna steal that in future episodes of this show. Talking about other stuff. Yeah, I really enjoyed and admired this record. And kind of the more I listened to it, the more times I listened to it, I kind of found more and more intricacies coming through where the where it wasn't just like this is a great sounding record. It became like a great feeling.
- [14:15]
That is Melody's echo chamber. The new album is called Unclouded. We've got some more records we're going to talk about that come out today, December 5th. But first, let's take a quick break.
- [14:37]
Sponsor Voice
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- [14:47]
I have kids under 18, so like, time is very limited. That's why at BetterHelp, our therapists try to have sessions, sometimes at night, depending on the therapist, or during the weekend. So I think that's what we need to tell the parents. You're not alone. We can help you out.
- [15:03]
If a flexible schedule would help you, visit betterhelp.com NPR for 10% off your first month of online therapy. This message comes from Schwab. Everyone has moments when they could have done better, like cutting their own hair or forgetting sunscreen. So now you look like a tomato. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it.
- [15:31]
Announcer
Learn more@schwab.com support for NPR and the following message come from Rosetta Stone. The perfect app to achieve your language learning goals no matter how busy your schedule gets. It's designed to maximize study time with immersive 10 minute lessons and audio practice for your commute. Plus, tailor your learning plan for specific objectives like travel. Get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off and unlimited access to 25 language courses. Learn more at rosettastone.com NPR Support for.
- [16:03]
Sponsor Voice
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- [16:37]
Stephen Thompson
From NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Aaron Wolfe from Radio Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Aaron, tell me what's going on at the station besides the fact that it resides in my beloved home state.
- [16:51]
Aaron Wolfe
So this week was Giving Tuesday and we had our one day drive which was really fun this time around we had this really cool premium that was a long sleeve concert T shirt with all of our 2025 studio Milwaukee sessions on the back listed. And we began year with Ben Stellar, ended the year with Rap Boys. So it was a really great lineup of obsessions. And also we've got like a brief wind down for the year as we get ready for 2026. We just put together our essential albums list and we'll have our big holiday playlist for the 24th and 25th. You can tune in and listen and get Mary radiomwacke.org or on our app.
- [17:33]
Stephen Thompson
Boy, I have to say, you know, I left Wisconsin about 20 years ago and one of the things that has changed about me is I have started pronouncing the L in Milwaukee again. You know, for the longest time I would say Milwaukee like a local. It is, it is like Aaron does, but it's come back. Radio Milwaukee.
- [17:50]
Aaron Wolfe
Oh boy. I had a friend that recently said my Milwaukee is showing. I forgot what he had said, but I was like, oh, I didn't know we had an accent. But you're confirming that.
- [18:02]
Stephen Thompson
Oh, we don't have an accent at all.
- [18:04]
Sponsor Voice
Oh, I know.
- [18:06]
Announcer
Nah.
- [18:07]
Sponsor Voice
Nope. Nah.
- [18:10]
Stephen Thompson
All right. Well, next up, we've got a new album from Tom Smith of the band Editors. It's called there is nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light.
- [18:19]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
But it's a deep dive. Learning to breathe. I don't know what you keep down there in your deep piss ocean you heal eventually. You are not alone when you're lonely. We all get left behind. You are not alone when you're lonely.
- [18:49]
Aaron Wolfe
Tom Smith, the voice of the Editors, is striking out with his first solo record. Twenty years since his iconic band took the dance punk world by storm. His own solo work captures the spirit of one of his faves, REM at their most introspective and really carries a torch for other Thoughtful balladeers like Matt Berninger and David Gray. And I find Smith reflecting on a whirlwind career on the stage.
- [19:16]
Stephen Thompson
Yeah, I mean, reflective is really the tone here. Right. And you know, you mentioned a few names that his voice. Voice evokes, and I think those are accurate. I would also say Nick Lowe. You know, the mix of a certain kind of plain spokenness, deeply felt perspective, a calming quality. But it's also infused with a lot of real. Lived in intelligence.
- [19:42]
Aaron Wolfe
Absolutely. Lived in intelligence. That's kind of what this record is. It's like a sum up of a young life. Life spent, but not totally. No, not. The chapter's not closed. It's just like he's very reflective of this really busy, kind of intense period of his life. And now he's like, what happened? Exactly.
- [20:23]
His song the Lights of New York City I really liked. It's like a trumpet led kind of, I don't know, lonely ballad. To a former life as a rock star.
- [20:35]
Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [20:35]
Stephen Thompson
And I mean, you know, he's still a rock star. Indeed.
- [20:38]
Aaron Wolfe
Indeed. I shouldn't say former life as a rock star.
- [20:44]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
Even now I can see you there.
- [20:49]
Always there.
- [20:53]
Stephen Thompson
But I do think this album comes at an inflection point. Right. Editors made seven albums. That is often an inflection point in a band's career. And, you know, there's a track on the record called Endings Are Breaking My Heart. And it's vulnerable and it's raw and it's clearly somebody who was looking at the world and his place in the world and his career and has seen some of those chapters close, and that's hard. And the song is just a kind of a raw reflection on that. And his voice kind of really enters crooner mode.
- [21:23]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
The band leaves the encore fades.
- [21:29]
Stephen Thompson
Losing.
- [21:29]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
Light As the seasons change.
- [21:33]
Stephen Thompson
One last.
- [21:34]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
Drink it's time to paint.
- [21:37]
Move on.
- [21:40]
Stephen Thompson
My favorite song on this record is called Broken Time. And it's where I think the tenderness and that search for profundity kind of land the hardest. I think he hits what he's aiming for a lot on this record, but I think he hits the most squarely in Broken Time.
- [21:58]
Aaron Wolfe
Yeah, that song was a standout to me as well. It's very gentle and you can really feel the emotion behind it.
- [22:05]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
But it ain't over.
- [22:08]
We ain't flawless by design through all these fractures Our lovers, Bro.
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Aaron Wolfe
Time.
- [22:29]
Stephen Thompson
That album has a title that is worth keeping in mind as 2025 draws to a close. The artist is Tom Smith of the band Editors. The album is called There is Nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light Next up, a new album from TEED T E E D, formerly known as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. The new album is called Always With Me.
- [23:10]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
All the violence.
- [23:13]
All these lies.
- [23:18]
Don'T you want to be somewhere good? I know you feel misunderstood.
- [23:27]
I'm looking for tonight.
- [23:32]
Is it too late?
- [23:36]
Is it time?
- [23:41]
Stephen Thompson
So as I mentioned before, TEED T E E D. It is an acronym for Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, which is the. The formerly used name for the British electronic producer Orlando Thomas Edward Higginbottom. This is his third album, first since 2022. And teed the specialty here is kind of catchy, smooth, propulsive electro pop with hooks piled on top of hooks on top of hooks, kind of. This record kind of opens right out the gate with a couple of really hard, driving synth pop songs that would have fit right onto an 80s club mix. Just like check out that synth line in a song like In Darkness. And you're just right in the pocket of, you know, the greatest hits of Depeche Mode and New Order and so many of the bands that defined that era without, again, kind of as we alluded to, you know, with. With other records here, without sounding like an imitation or a throwback.
- [24:55]
Aaron Wolfe
It's funny that you mentioned Depeche Mode, because when I was reading up about the making of this record, Higginbottom shared that there were moments that when he wanted to recreate the feeling he had listening to Depeche Mode for the first time. I'm gonna share a quote. He said, I didn't listen to Depeche Mode while I was making this album. And I didn't reference their sound either. I'm trying to evoke a hazy memory of a feeling that music gave me. And I love that because I remember the first time I heard Depeche Mode. And it was a very marked feeling. And I can sympathize with him in that. And I. I feel that coming across after I read that, I was like, oh, yes, that totally makes sense. I also like the softer side of this record too. I feel like there's some ambient leaning things. My Melody and Rect and Endless kind of were giving me Four Tet or Ulrich Schnauz meets M83. And it was mirroring ambiance with pop structures.
- [26:02]
Stephen Thompson
Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned my melody. My melody for me, I mean, my notes next to the song. I had not heard that quote that he had said about Depeche Mode. And I wrote in my notes, my melody is giving me Depeche Mode flashbacks in a good way. I'm brooding. I'm 15. I'm here for it.
- [26:19]
And if he's trying to evoke the feel and the spirit of Depeche Mode without imitation, Mission accomplished.
- [26:44]
And wrecked. What a beautiful, melancholy hook. I just, I couldn't get enough of it.
- [26:50]
Aaron Wolfe
I know that one really captured my ears first. I was like, oh, okay, I'm listening to this one again. And, yeah, picking and choosing your favorite songs and going back to them again. It was just, it was such a chilly sweet and Love Lauren album. I felt like even though it wasn't precisely about love, it just felt a little heartsick and searching. But it, it hit nice in the best way.
- [27:38]
Stephen Thompson
That is always with me by Teed teed, short for Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. We've got one more record we're going to talk about, as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, December 5th. But first, let's take a quick break.
- [27:56]
Sponsor Voice
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- [28:24]
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- [28:58]
Stephen Thompson
From NPR Music, it's NEW Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Aaron Wolfe from Radio Milwaukee. Before we get to our lightning round, we wanted to talk about one more record in some depth. It's by the techno duo Voices from the Lake. It's called Two.
- [29:39]
Aaron Wolfe
Voices from the Lake are Italian ambient techno producers Donato, Dazzi and Neil. This project was born from this one off live performance in the Japanese Alps at Labyrinth Festival, which later was captured into their first self titled album. And this new album, too, is their first in 13 years and it's their second total. They're calling it a continuation and a reinvention.
- [30:04]
Stephen Thompson
Anybody who is still in school or has gone back to school will tell you that we are right in the belly of finals season. It is always a great time to discover new music that will fill your brain and keep you from getting bored or distracted, but will free the pathways to allow you to study, to write, to edit, to actually do work that involves concentration. And I am always here for any kind of head filling instrumental music that can help serve that purpose. You know, I keep a playlist on Spotify called Dinkin Songs. Usually it's a little bit more of ambient instrumental. This is more propulsive. It's. It's songs that are kind of shifting and drifting over the course of, you know, seven, eight, nine minutes. But it's really fully enveloping. And I. I really loved having this on. Not just in the background, but even in the. In the foreground to kind of let my mind kind of move with.
- [31:24]
Aaron Wolfe
I found this to be very engaging as well. But my first listen to it was Walking in a snowstorm in Wisconsin. I took it outside and I found that it was engaging. Looking at the natural world, moments of it reminded me of Alone in Kyoto from Air. It was turning on parts of my brain that hadn't been activated in a while.
- [31:56]
Stephen Thompson
There's a track called, you know, Bespin, B E S P I N where there's like a chiming quality to it. There's a little bit of a ringing feel. But if you, if you concentrate on it, you can feel where the song is kind of morphing. And I think that's a really cool quality to a lot of techno music where it's like you're not necessarily having those like pop music pleasure centers activated. It's music that is reaching deeper into your brain and kind of allowing you, as you kind of said, Aaron, to unlock parts of your brain you're not usually accessing. And I think walking with this record in a snowstorm would have been really cool. I'm from Wisconsin. I went home for Thanksgiving and I got stuck in a lot of snowstorms. I. I should have put this record on.
- [32:44]
Aaron Wolfe
I think that it would have soothed. Soothe your savage soul at that point.
- [33:10]
Stephen Thompson
All right, that is two. The numeral two by the artist, Voices from the Lake. Now, December 5th isn't anyone's idea of a busy release date for new music, but there were still enough good albums that we couldn't fit them all. So we're gonna do a lightning round with some of our other favorites out today. I'm gonna kick us off the Australian duo Hate Rock that's spelled H T R K in all caps has been around for more than 20 years. And as that name suggests, Hate Rock makes music that can be star combative and foreboding, but it's also inventive and unpredictable. And speaking of unpredictable, its new project is a combination of remixes and covers by other artists. You can hear different versions of old songs as well as interpretations by artists like Liars and Double Virgo. Hate Rock's new project is called String of Hearts Songs of Hate Rock.
- [34:18]
Aaron Wolfe
So London based Ben Mark, his real name is Neil Charles, is a bassist and producer. He's notable for his use of real life instruments to create this mood atmosphere and texture and he muddies the waters between jazz, electronic, classical, soul, folk and beyond. And he continues to be this musical rolling snowball, picking up collabs with so many amazing artists as he works. He's worked with Johnny Greenwood, the Sun Ra Orchestra, Latu Estate, Macy Gray, the Charles Mingus Big Band and many, many more. So Ben Mark really grabbed my attention with this new release. Who Cares wins because of its pops of psych. His 2022 album Glass Effect was magical, yet this one really spoke to me because of this engaging watery flow of musical consciousness that is Ben Mark and his new album is called who Cares Win.
- [35:31]
Stephen Thompson
Isabel Waller Bridge is a wonderful composer for movies and tv. In fact, you might remember the work she did on the TV show Fleabag with her sister Phoebe Waller Bridge. Isabel Waller Bridge's new project is a new album full of soft, patient, beautiful still instrumentals. It might be just what you need as you're settling into this weekend. Isabel Waller Bridge's new album is titled Objects.
- [36:14]
Aaron Wolfe
Mother Soakey is a Minneapolis based singer songwriter who writes ambient pop dreamscapes tapes inspired by the Sundaes and Cocteau Twins, as she says. But really, ultimately Mother Silky reminds me of Chanel beads McGee Beach House and her city mates Palisa. I first became, shall I say, riveted by her sound when she shared her viral single Rivet Gun back in April and her bedroom imbued atmospherics really creates a sense of duality evoking like intimacy and existential questioning both. There are these heavy guitars, vapor thin vocals and they create an effect of searching and longing and the indebtedness to both dream pop, 90s sounds and modern production really creates this alluring space. Mother Silky's album Fantasy is out on mom and pop.
- [37:12]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
I hope fulfill you.
- [37:16]
I hope fulfill.
- [37:17]
Sponsor Voice
You.
- [37:20]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
I hope fulfill you.
- [37:29]
Stephen Thompson
And finally, Prinz Thomas is the stage name of the Norwegian producer and DJ Thomas Moen Hermansen. His music is a fun and funky mix of dance music, prog rock and electro pop. It's a sound he calls space disco, which is actually pretty apt. And it's especially great when played through the best headphones you can find. Prince Thomas's new album is sort of self titled if you think about it. It's called Thomas Moen Hermanse.
- [38:13]
So Aaron, you and I listen to a lot of music to prep for this week's show. Naturally, some favorite song is bound to have risen to the top. What, what is your pick? What's your favorite song of all the songs that we listened to this week?
- [38:29]
Aaron Wolfe
Well, Stephen, I think it has to be the Dove Ellis songs, if I may. Two of the lead tracks like Pale Song or Love Is. I was listening to them en route in a car to a family gathering and for some reason just really struck me. And both songs made me feel very emotional and they took me back to the specific place in my life that I'd intentionally abandoned and it felt okay to go back there when I was listening to these songs.
- [39:01]
Stephen Thompson
Songs.
- [39:17]
Nice. That's a great pick. I am really torn. Oh what am I gonna do? I am gonna go with the song Wrecked by totally enormous extinct Dinosaurs AKA T E E D. That is the first song and did a pass through everything I was going to listen to. And the first song that really grabbed me and really didn't let go was Wrecked R E K T. Just that beautiful hook that that sense of melancholy. There's something so homey and comfortable and nostalgic but current about those synth pop songs. And that's the one where the hook just mesmerized me.
- [39:57]
Singer/Artist (various song clips)
Walking.
- [40:03]
Heavy on the ground.
- [40:11]
Stephen Thompson
That is our show for this week. Thank you so much, Aaron Wolfe, for taking time out of your week at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.
- [40:19]
Aaron Wolfe
Stephen, thanks so much. It's always a pleasure to talk to a fellow musical nerd and Wisconsinite.
- [40:25]
Stephen Thompson
Go Pack, go. If you enjoyed this week's show, we always appreciate a positive review on Apple or Spotify or whatever app you're listening to right now. This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and edited by Otis Hart. The executive producer of NPR Music is Soraya Muhammad. I'll be back next week to discuss NPR Music's Best Albums of the year with Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler Amin. Until then, take a moment to be well, leave misery behind and treat yourself to lots of great music.
- [41:27]
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