This playlist starts out with my favorite song from the new Charlie Hickey EP, Count the Stairs (2021). I had trouble finishing this one, because I like this song so much; I wanted to include songs I’ve already used that recall the same desperation (“Moon Song” and “First Love/Late Spring” came to mind). I’m especially floored by the lyric:
But I can't tell if you're really here
Yesterday I said your name three times in the mirror
And nothing happened
The whole EP is brilliant, but this song is by far my favorite. If you like this first track, I’d suggest you listen to his cover of Samia’s “Winnebago”, which is also emotionally devastating.
The Bright Eyes song is a Vic Chesnutt cover, also done by Death Cab for Cutie and Cowboy Junkies. Its popularity is warranted; this song hurts. Conor Oberst’s imprecise, raw vocals are perfect for the refrain “Oh, death” and the screams that come in before the last chorus. I’m very pro-cover generally, but especially of old classics like this one.
Squirrel Flower put out my favorite record of last year, I Was Born Swimming (2020). I’ve already used every song off it in playlists, so I’ve begun pulling from her older discography. “Hands Melt” is from Contact Sports (2018), and the line from this album to her new work is clear; the ambient guitar, floating harmonies, and mantra-like lyrics all show up again on I Was Born Swimming. Listening to this record all the way through is meditation, on growing up and giving up. It has some of my favorite lyrics ever written:
Don’t say that you love me then make other plans
Another of my favorite records last year was Hannah (2020) from Lomelda. Her instrumentation heavily inspires my own writing. I’m working my way through her discography and Thx (2017) is full of gems like the last song on this playlist, “Nervous Driver”, including “Interstate Vision” and “Out There.” Wikipedia tells me that “Lomelda is a made-up word that means ‘echo of the stars’” which is a line far too delightful for me to fact-check.