Songs To Brush Your Teeth To (7th September)

Songs To Brush Your Teeth To (7th September)

Songs To Brush Your Teeth To is our regular new music update where we bring you five songs to listen to each week – our suggestion is to do that while brushing your teeth so you make new music a good daily habit, but honestly, you can listen whenever you like. We won’t judge.

You can check out the playlist on Tidal, Spotify or You Tube. 

Or Click here to see all of our recent new music recommendations

Read on for this week’s recommendations.

The Smith & Western Jury – Hell Must Be Empty

This powerful cinematic country track by The Smith and Western Jury was written in response to a horrific incident of femicide in Australia. Originally written over a year ago, Hell Must Be Empty remains as deeply relevant at the time of its release. The vocals centre around the repeated mantra “Hell must be empty, the devils are all here.” as the song tells the story of the every day steps that women are taking to protect themselves, the thoughts that run through the back of our minds as we walk alone down a street or stand at a bus stop waiting.

Determined to take this confronting subject and turn it into something positive the band have partnered with Australian charity ‘Safe Steps’, donating $10 from every ticket sold to their Melbourne show at Lulie Tavern on October 3rd to the charity.

Find out more about The Smith & Western Jury here.

Excuse For An Exit – hate me like i do

The latest single from Melbourne four-piece Excuse For An Exit sees them deliver this dark track on self-loathing. You can feel the raw energy of self-doubt and frustration seeping through hate me like i do, as it tells the story of projecting low self-esteem onto others and trying to recover from a sense of perceived rejection. I love how the song switches up between aggressive alt-rock elements to more sultry, yet sweet pop-rock sections as the track unwinds, highlighting the dichotomy of being in that headspace beautifully, the negative self doubt creeping in from one side, and the gentler self preservation from the other.

Find out more about Excuse For An Exit here.

Club Halifax – Bee Sting

Club Halifax are one of my favourite discoveries of this year. Bee Sting is a slightly more gentle release than their previous record Blah Blah Blah. At its heart are the gently paced drums, and the song builds with heavier guitars battling the powerful vocals as the track heads to its climax. It’s another track on this week’s list that is bringing pain and emotion to the forefront as it moves through a post breakup journey and the need to go through the hurt in order to heal.

“‘Bee Sting’ is about the aftermath of a breakup and feeling destined to absorb pain to maintain normalcy and keep the peace,” explains Bri. “Making the song felt like showing the cracks instead of hiding them and sitting in the anger and rawness instead of resolving it neatly. Ultimately, the process meant learning that the pain means it mattered, but it isn’t a reason to stay somewhere wrong.”

Find out more about Club Halifax here.

Olivia Escuyos – TWO MINDS

I’m very particular about the kind of R n B I like. It has to follow on from the lineage that came before it, yet not feel too nostalgic, and Olivia Escuyos’ TWO MINDS manages to do just that. It’s got those little touches of 00’s Destiny’s Child, interplaying catchy drum sections with more stripped away harmonised vocal parts which build the core of the song, whilst in the background instrumental layers ebb and flow allowing the track to be gentler, yet still interesting. It’s a track that lets the lyrics tell the story as it explores uncertainty within a relationship and the reluctancy to trust yourself to take the next step.

Find out more about Olivia Escuyos here.

Mariae Cassandra – Splinters

Credit Jenna Elson

Perth/Boorloo singer Mariae Cassandra‘s latest release Splinters sees those similar feelings of self-trust that have been a bit of a theme this week rise to the top as she questions whether she is really worthy of love. The pop-folk track tells the story of reaching the end of the journey, moving beyond the self-doubt and recognising that she’s now past the guilt and insecurity. It’s another very heart-on-your-sleeve track (typical of both Mariae’s songwriting and my vibes on this week’s list).

“By the time I was 16, I was carrying unresolved wounds that made it difficult to move forward,” says Mariae. “After writing the first demo, I disliked it because it felt too real. Two years later, I returned to it with a different perspective. I rewrote parts of the song to reflect who I had become during that time, shaping it into what it is now.”

Find out more about Mariae Cassandra here.