New Music Friday: 5 Alt-Pop Songs You Should Know - 05/12/2017

It's another Friday full of new music and it might seem like an impossible task to keep track of all the good stuff. But don't worry, we've collected the five best new alt-pop tracks of the week right here.

Miley Cyrus: "Malibu"

I think it's fair to say that the last new music from Milley Cyrus (2015's "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz") was an acquired taste. "Malibu" is the lead single from her still-untitled upcoming album and it previous a more mature and hook-friendly approach. It's a song that talks about her rekindled romance with actor Liam Hemsworth, whom she just reunited with after breaking off their engagement in 2013. And if the lyrics are any indication, things are going pretty well:

"I never would have believed you if three years ago you'd told me I'd be here writing this song, but here I am, next to you. The sky's so blue in Malibu. Next to you in Malibu."



Now, Now: "SGL"

It's been five years since the Minneapolis-based band Now Now released "Threads," a complex and weary alt-pop album that was one of that year's best releases. But the album's production and non-stop touring apparently left the band exhausted and needing a break. Founders KC Dalager and Brad Hale wrote and produced some other artists and fan-turned-band member Jess Abbott founded Tancred.

"SGL" is the first track from Now Now's upcoming album and it also comes with word that Abbott won't be part of the band moving forward. But the good news for fans is this new track is as good a track as the band has ever released. There are all the production flourishes and subtle guitar effects from "Threads," along with an optimism and near-ear candy quality that makes the single hypnotic.



Paperwhite: "Only Us"

The New York-based brother-sister duo of Katie and Ben Marshall craft these dreamy pop songs that manage to give a nod to the classic pop tunes of their youth while still sounding contemporary and fresh. "Only Us" sounds as if Kenny G had been transported forward in time to sit in with Everything But The Girl. As weird as that sounds, the result is a song that you'll have on a constant loop the next time you're headed towards the beach on a happy, sunny day.



Amber Mark: "Can You Hear Me?"

People handle the loss of a parent in many different ways. While some might decide to withdraw from the world or lash out in anger, Amber Marks took a different approach. When he beloved mother passed away in 2013, she lost herself in music. She uploaded her first track (S P A C E) to Soundcloud last year and within months it had made its way to the front page of iTunes. Her EP "3:33" comes out today and "Can You Hear Me?" is my favorite track. It's this delightful mix of quirky pop, driven by handclaps and a voice that is strong in all the right places. "Can You Hear Me?" is impossible to accurately describe, but it's one of those songs that leaves you with the feeling "Oh yeah, that's what I was looking for" the first time you hear it.



Whissell: "Legs Crossed"
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If the only music from Nashville you know is what gets played on country radio, you might think the only songs being recorded in the town are the seemingly endless variations of the bro-country themes of tight jeans, pick-up trucks and drinking beer under the stars.

But there is an amazingly rich and unexpected side of Nashville's music scene. Some of is classic-sounding traditional country, but there is also everything from country/hip-hop blends to old school country rock and soul. Nashville-based pop/soul songwriter Whissell released her debut EP, "Old Souls, Young Bodies," earlier this year and "Legs Crossed" is the new single off an upcoming project. Co-written with with Ali Tamposi (Beyoncé, One Direction, Demi Lovato) and Jacob Kasher (Meghan Trainor, Maroon 5, Selena Gomez), the song is a thumping slice of pop/soul that would fit right into any current Top 40 playlist. But it also has that honest rawness that comes across in the best of the Nashville underground scene.

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