Songs To Brush Your Teeth To (23rd February)
You might have noticed I missed Songs To Brush Your Teeth To last week. I just got back in from Adelaide too late to get it properly together, and I didn’t want to half-ass it so decided to give it a little break. So this week it’s back with a bumper edition of 10 new music recommendations for you to sink your teeth into.
I also quite enjoyed doing 10 tracks. I think it might have made the list more varied and there are definitely tracks that made it here that wouldn’t ever have made my Top 5 if I’d done this as two separate weeks. I know that sounds crazy but I spent a lot of time deciding between similar songs this week, where with two separate weeks, I would have just split those similar sounding tracks across both and I wouldn’t have even noticed.
I don’t think I want to make it a permanent change, but I definitely think I’ll feel more free to mix it up a bit more in the future, especially on the weeks when I’m struggling to pull it together or I’m really time poor.
Ellur – God Help Me Now
This is one of those moments where the algorithm actually recommended something I like (I mean honestly, I took it as a win when Tidal started recommending Renee Rapp instead of Sabrina Carpenter and that wasn’t a difficult leap for it to make…). Ellur’s At Home In My Mind popped up as new music I might enjoy, and I do! God Help Me Now stood out to me mainly because of it’s opening lines “I think too much, I’m all out of fucks, The world’s on fire, I’m just getting drunk” – like don’t we all feel like that sometimes. But I think it captures Ellur’s down-to-earth, raw honesty that threads through this whole record perfectly. There’s something really comforting about their Northern English accent too – it’s like Arctic Monkeys meets Annika Bennett and I couldn’t really ask for more!
Find out more about Ellur here.
Baby Rose – Friends Again
Baby Rose’s first new work in two years, Friends Again is a striking comeback. The song features Grammy-winning artist Leon Thomas and is a beautiful melding of jazz, soul and old-school R’n’B. I love the timeless nature of the song, the power of Rose’s vocals and the feeling that it draws inspiration from so many of my favourite artists such as Mary J Blige and Nina Simone.
Find out more about Baby Rose here.
Mega Fäuna- heartbeat
Mega Fäuna’s latest release heartbeat sounds like it fell straight out of a 90’s tv show (but not the one of the same name – in case anyone reading this is even old enough or British enough to know what I’m talking about). It’s got this fun rhythm and energy to it. I liked the jerky start-stop nature at the start of the track and its nostalgic tinges. Basically, if you’ve ever seen Derry Girls, this is the kind of song they’d run down the street to in the end of an episode montage.
Speaking on the track Freyja Fox shared “I wanted this song to sound a bit like a heartbeat. And so I started with some guitar stabs and then just smashed out a bunch of lyrics that felt like racy moments in life. Moments that get your heart pumping.
It’s about the fact that time keeps ticking, life keeps cruising and whether or not we want it to & our bodies just keep doing their secret, magic jobs inside of us without us even thinking about it or trying to control it. Day in day out racing yourself to get everything all done & teetering between feeling like things are staying on track & almost losing a grip. But always it just comes back to that heartbeat that keeps on keeping rhythm despite it all & quietly wondering at what else might be going on beneath all the the skin and muscle and blood.”
Mega Fäuna also features Tess Wilkin from my faves The Buoys on drums so they get extra bonus points for this too!
Find our more about Megafauna here.
DEM Mob – Dream
DEM Mob’s Dream is exactly the kind of track I was referring to in my intro. It would have constantly been nudged out of my Top 5, not because it isn’t deserving, but because it’s not quite the type of Hip-hop that I’d usually listen to (I always, always prefer solo albums from artists in hip-hop groups, so I’ve spent much of the last 25 years just not listening to them) . It would have come down to the wire between this and either Baby Rose’s track – and I would have been drawn in by her Mary J Blige influences, or the next track, and the simplicity of the next track would have won out.
Anyway, I’m glad it’s here and I’m learning something about how I’m making choices to include artists in this list. I really like the contrast between the rapped verses and the very pop-inspired chorus on Dream. There’s part of a verse around 1:45 – 2 minutes in that’s just perfection – the rhythm and the cadence are just so on point.
Also, learning more about what DEM Mob stand for, this is the kind of artist I want to support. Formed in the remote APY Lands of South Australia, DEM Mob are the first hip-hop group to rap in Pitjantjatjara. More than performers, they are educators and community changers, using hip-hop not just to entertain but to empower young First Nations people, rewrite narratives, and reshape what equity looks like in remote Australia. DEM Mob’s artistic lane reinforces their unapologetic assertion of Indigenous and remote presence, already well established by their work that challenges the systems that marginalise First Nations youth and reimagines education as a tool of empowerment, not assimilation.
Find out more about DEM Mob here.
Madame Wu – What Happens in the Home
So if the last track was everything I don’t normally listen to in hip-hop, Madame Wu’s What Happens in the Home is everything I do. I adore its simplicity, the fact it’s letting the story carry the song is something that really resonates with me. It has tinges of Ghostface Killah’s All That I Got Is You and it evoked that same sadness, that same anger. (This also goes a long way to explaining why I don’t generally like hip-hop groups. Wu Tang Clan never made anything as beautiful and emotive as this).
MADAME WU explains, “This story is not my own. Reading the news about another tragic death from domestic violence in Australia filled me with such helplessness, that writing it was a way to process the deep sadness I felt. Writing it from a first person perspective felt like the only way to show the pain of this woman’s story and to personalise what can feel very anonymous, talking about all the potential she had in front of her.”
Find out more about Madame Wu here.
REDD, ixaras – juliet
I was actually lucky enough to hear juliet live last month when REDD joined ixaras at her Melbourne show for a surprise performance. Real life besties, they’ve joined forces for this energetic, loud and fun track. It’s an adrenaline rush of a track which is only added to by the infectious ‘girls, girls, girls’ chant. It’s the perfect soundtrack to the fluttery feeling of infatuation and messy late nights out and it’s one of those songs that only works because of the genuine chemistry off stage between these two firm friends. With juliet it’s evident that REDD and ixaras are having the time of their lives – and they’re taking us all along for the ride.
Find out more about REDD here.
Find out more about ixaras here.
Ellis King – Nosedive
With more time, I would have brought you a full review of Ellis King’s latest EP, but sadly I just couldn’t get it across the line in time, so instead we’ll focus on opening track Nosedive which is a great taste of what to expect. The track interrogates the quiet compromises made to protect someone else’s ego, and it centres Ellis’s vocals atop indie guitars and a lilting drumbeat. Ellis would describe herself as a folk-pop singer, but there’s definitely something stronger at play here too, and there’s a loudness to the track that feels more rock at times. The rest of the EP continues along a similar theme, looking at rebuilding life and grieving a relationship.
Find out more about Ellis King here.
Liliana De La Rosa – haunted by roses
If you’re feeling sad that Lana’s new song doesn’t sound like, well Lana, don’t worry because Liliana’s brooding and cinematic haunted by roses has got everything you’re looking for. This striking debut from the emerging Sydney based artist is an excellent dark pop record lamenting the moment you realise the one you love isn’t really who you thought. It’s one of the few times something has popped into my inbox with an artist comparison (Liliana sounds like Lana Del Rey and Ethel Cain) and it’s actually true. I’m excited to hear more from her.
Speaking on the track, Liliana shares: “Haunted by Roses is a lament and love letter to the dreamlike descent from a once loving romance turned toxic whirlwind. It’s about no longer recognising the person you loved once the rose coloured glasses come off,”
She continues, “I wanted the track to feel cinematic and intimate, something that drifts under your skin late at night and makes you confront the parts of yourself you try to ignore. It’s a reflection of desire, power, and the complexities of love, and I hope listeners feel both haunted and entranced when they hear it.”
Find out more about Liliana De La Rosa here.
Avalon Emerson & The Charm – Written Into Changes
Avalon Emerson & The Charm release the title track from upcoming album Written into Changes. While Emerson’s DJ background definitely shines through in the nuances of this track – the reverb soaked, anticipatory opening for example, Written into Changes is clearly as much a pop song as it is dance-influenced. I love the way each line drops and then there’s a little pause. Lyrically, it’s quite fast and complex so that touch just adds enough time to let the words truly sink in.
Speaking about ‘Written into Changes‘, Avalon shares, ”Sometimes change barrels down tracks, announced by a high loud whistle. Other times it flows seasonally over sand, carving a canyon. ‘Written into Changes’ is a song about moving across the world and turning chapters in life. This song came together in London with Bullion, Hunter and Keivon.”
Find out more about Avalon Emerson & The Charm here.
Holly Hebe – Swimsuit
I have such a soft spot for Holly Hebe and her light brand of pop. She’s been putting in her time on the Melbourne scene for a little while now and it’s nice to see her starting to break out. There’s a simplistic almost innocence to the tone of her songs but lyrically there is depth to be found. She combines genuine vulnerability with a lightness that just sets the perfect balance for the Y2K inspired pop vibes she’s striving for. There’s something just a little unpolished about what she’s putting out and it’s incredibly endearing.
Speaking on the track Holly shares “Swimsuit was inspired by the y2k pool party aesthetic, high school parties and intoxicating crushes. It’s an upbeat take on impending heartbreak diluted with lust and flirtation. I wanted to focus on simple production, with layered vocals and a driving beat to support the staccato verse melody. I had so much fun making this song with Ethan, we smashed it out in a day with barely any changes since then.”
Find out more about Holly Hebe here.
All our Songs To Brush Your Teeth to can be found on our playlist for new music:
Apple Music and Spotify versions of the playlist here.
Let us know in the comments which track is your fave!