By Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
This week, there’s new music from country queens and indie icons.
“symptom of life” by WILLOW (March 12)
“Symptom of life” plays with rhythm and percussion and is a welcome change from radio-style R&B that can feel too mellow and low energy. WILLOW is no stranger to implementing all things trippy and psychedelic into her music, and “symptom of life” isn’t an exception to that rule.
“Classical” by Vampire Weekend (March 14)
“Classical” is the third single in a line of years-awaited new releases from Vampire Weekend. Its stand-out features include a traditional, jazzy upright bass line and a more abstract, modern jazz saxophone solo toward the end, paired with dissonant piano. This song is right up the band’s alley for its quirky sound and unique style, but it is still distinct enough from its typical twee, indie flair to feel new.
Vampire Weekend is set to release a full-length album, “Only God Was Above Us,” on April 5.
“Too Good to be True” by Kacey Musgraves (March 15)
On the whole “Deeper Well” album from Musgraves, I was immediately drawn to this track for its gentle opening guitar and its bittersweet mood. For those skeptical to listen to this album for fear of how it matches up to 2018’s masterpiece, “Golden Hour,” give this a chance.
“Deeper Well,” as an album, is soft and psychedelic, much like “Golden Hour,” but it strikes a more melancholic-yet-healed tone following Kacey’s divorce — the theme of her previous work, “star-crossed.”
