all eyes on rafah 🇵🇸

ZADIOCAST: Albums dropping this Friday, May 31st 🥁

• Arooj Aftab: Night Reign [pakistani alternative]

• Bat for Lashes: The Dream of Delphi [ethereal indie pop]

• Maya Hawke: Chaos Angel [soft indie]

Sexy to Someone - Clairo

The leading single to Clairo’s new album is soft, warm, and calming. Add this to her arsenal of songs that feel like a long hug. Sexy to Someone is a dimly lit bar just before closing, an orange wine at sunset, a slow dance in the kitchen. Clairo set the stage for an exciting album rollout.

album art rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | 2024

All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun - Ruby Weapon, Hannah Telle

This album art of almost nothingness matches the track’s soundscape: an empty tunnel, an acoustic, and straining voices weaving poetic lines together. It feels like the song is falling away from you as you listen. Deeper and deeper into space as you drift off to sleep.

album art rating: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | 2021

Slugs (Remix) - Slow Pulp, yeule, Kin Leonn

Hyper-pop-ify an indie anthem and making it just as great is quite the talent. I have a bone to pick with “remixes” that drown out the original track by playing the chorus and then an uninspired beat drop. Here, Slow Pulp’s vocals are engrained in the drop beautifully, making me a happy listener. But again, maybe this track is an acquired taste.

album art rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | 2024

Formula One - Wednesday

Here’s my token twang track for y’all 🤠. This smooth, heartfelt track feels like Big Thief crossed with Waxahatchee. Listening makes me wanna go out into the country and stack some hay bails or something.

album art rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | 2023

Tareeq (طريق) - Al-Bara’em (البراعم)🏆

Palestine’s first rock band is seeing a second life as their old music is being brought to streaming services. Israel’s attempt to erase Palestinians and their identity pushed the founding members of Al-Bara’em to sing Arabic originals. Playing sold out shows around Palestine, the band and its success had to sadly come to an end in 1976 due to the Israeli occupation forces. The members were forced out of Palestine.

Tareeq highlights the Palestinian struggle of losing their land, their homes, and their sense of self under the violent Israeli regime.

For as long as I have …. For as long as I have
A sad tale with the water springs
A story where I'd lost my home (country)
And in perishing I have a brother lost
And a sky that wakes up not
Do not ask me who I am.

album art rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | 1966

Olive Branch (غصن زيتون) - Elyanna

👋 thank you for reading, and i’ll see you next week! in the meantime, go like the s4 playlist if you want an ever-growing collection of the 5 tracks featured here every week !! and check out the archives playlist for songs from seasons 1, 2, and 3 !!