Atwood Magazine's Weekly Roundup: March 11, 2022

Every Friday, Atwood Magazine’s staff share what they’ve been listening to that week – a song, an album, an artist – whatever’s been having an impact on them, in the moment.

This week’s weekly roundup features music by Tank and The Bangas, Naya Akanji, Wohdee, 87 Nights, Lorne, Hot Freaks, Maidin, The Palms, BINNY, Lucianne, BOYU, and Kate Kelly!

•• •• •• ••

follow WEEKLY ROUNDUP on Spotify

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>

:: “Black Folk” & “Stolen Fruit” – Tank and The Bangas ::

Mariel Fechik, Chicago

When Tank and The Bangas won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017, it was the most obvious choice in the world. Radiating energy, Tank Ball rapped and sang in an array of characters and voices. The bands’ joy was palpable, and since then they have continued to release music that combines the bands’ New Orleans roots and Ball’s poetry background. Their major label debut, Green Balloon, was met with critical praise. It was an expansive display of their talents, filled with maximalist arrangements and gorgeous lyrics from Tank. Now, the release of Red Balloon is on the horizon.

Of the three singles that have been released so far, two were released last month during Black History Month. Though the tracks are sonically different, they are uniquely Banga-esque. “Black Folk,” which features Alex Isley and Masego, sees Ball performing a spoken word poem detailing wide swaths of Black community and culture in sensory details:

I love Black folk
Black look like a revolution
Look like a family reunion in the park
Black look like it’s a different world
Sound like a crawfish boil in New Orleans

Isley and Masego sing backgrounds and trade verses over spare and slinky instrumentation—Masego even adds his saxophone to the song’s end. It is a celebration and a deconstruction of history and pain all at once. “Stolen Fruit” is darker. Sonically, it’s like a sunny day—Ball’s rich voice soars in a sweet melody, and the chorus even goes, “I reminisce the sunny day.” But the reminiscence is one of mourning. Referencing Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” “Stolen Fruit” is about the darkness of the slave trade, but offering hope for the future:

Your roots be golden
Your new springs ford
All that was stolen
Now, can be reborn

As always, Tank and The Bangas display their impressive range on these two songs, and Red Balloon is sure to make listeners float on air.

:: “temp peopl3” – Naya Akanji ::

Mitch Mosk, New York

Achingly ethereal and intimately atmospheric, Naya Akanji’s “temp peopl3” is the kind of song that soothes and haunts at the same time. The Nigerian singer/songwriter’s first single in over a year sees her yearning for meaningful connection: “I’m sick of temporary people doing temporary things that do not mean a thing to me,” she sings, her gentle, stirring voice spilling emotions softly over a bed of cool vocal samples.

“I wrote ‘temp peopl3’ while I was on vacation in a quiet, sleepy town in Osun state in December 2021,” Akanji shares. “I woke up in my feels on the 16th of December and my first instinct was to create this piece. It’s mournfully nostalgic. I think that would be the best way for me to describe it. Mournful nostalgia… It’s my first solo song in two years, and I hope listening to it makes you feel the way creating it made me feel.”

Sending shivers down the spine, “temp peopl3” tranquilizes as it hypnotizes. Akanji’s minimalist production – light piano, bare drums, and her own sampled vocals radiating in the dark – create a safe space of introspection and vulnerability where she can embrace the full spectrum of her feelings, admitting to herself and to the world that everything is not okay. “I wanna go home,” she sings repeatedly at the song’s end. “Wanna find home.” A truly aching song, “temp peopl3” captures fracture and imbalance, instability and utter loneliness in their prime. In needing substance and a firm foundation, Naya Akanji has created a meditative vessel of catharsis and release.

:: “WAUWW” – Wohdee ::

Josh Weiner, Washington DC

You’re liable to encounter a fair number of formidable female figures throughout International Women’s History Month. But nonetheless, “You won’t find a chick that’s like me,” Wohdee assures us on her new song, “WAUWW.” This nimble and fast-paced number also introduces us to other qualities of its main auteure: “I’m a benevolent babe, gotta show love to everyone” and “I’m too busy eatin’, too busy chasin’ my dreams. They too busy chasin’ they dreams, ‘cause they sleepin’.”

A native of Birmingham, England, Wohdee got her formal catalog going last year with the release of her first two singles, “Vain” and “Lidl.” For her third roll of the dice, the rapper envisioned a single that could function well as a “drill song,” and while she was at work one day, she started imagining corresponding slang terms that could fit well in such a number. “Splash,” “dip,” and “run man down” were among the items that made her list, and all of these can be heard at various points in the lyrics of “WAUWW,” on which Wohdee goes on a wild tear and puts her excellent flow on proud display. Keep this momentum going, and we’re sure to be stating this song’s title out loud many more times as she continues to put out new music (starting with her debut EP, out later this year).

:: “Hollywood”- 87 Nights ::

Lilly Eason, Nashville, TN

I love encountering “soundtrack moments” in real life; when the image around you and the music that accompanies it are so clandestinely aligned that a moment is defined by a piece of music. The day this track was released, the sun was out for the first time in weeks, the temperature was high enough to drive with the windows down, and 87 Nights’ single, “Hollywood,” brought about the air of a Linklater movie.

The song lends itself to that classic ’60s rock-r&b sound, reminiscent of something from the Stones’ early catalog. The repeating guitar and basslines pair together well, the bassline staying dynamic and driving the song until the guitar takes over towards the end. The percussion is relatively understated which is an asset to the song’s loose, bouncing rhythm, and the lead and group vocals match and amplify the attitude and style of the track expertly.

As is with most 87 Nights songs, there’s this inherent energy to “Hollywood.” It’s lively and high-powered and exudes this sonic excitement. The general mix is so well balanced with every layer of the track fitting perfectly on top of each other, giving the sound dimension and depth. It’s an easy and infectious song, and adds another tally to the “87 Nights didn’t miss” counter.

:: “Bow Out” – Lorne ::

Joe Beer, Surrey, UK

British singer/songwriter Lorne blesses our ears with the delectable “Bow Out.” A song which speaks about the demise of a friendship, the Berkshire born, London based artist shares, “In the lyrics, I looked for ways to describe the need for space and a way out of a difficult situation.” With warm, velvet vocals, he sings “New kid on the block takes the light and steals their hearts, Old disc on the box, this is where I bow out to the night, Old sense washed away by a new tide unveiled, Burnt out in the sun, this is where I bow out to the night.”

Rippling with emotion, the track washes you in rays of tender piano melodies and soaring string arrangements. Reminiscent of Coldplay meets Elbow, Lorne’s organic approach to songwriting allows listeners to soak up every sound and instrument, rather than losing itself amidst an overkill of electronics and synths. “Bow Out” is so raw you can almost hear the musician’s fingertips hit the piano keys, along with the unfiltered sentiment in his voice.

“Bow Out” is the long-awaited release since his debut EP, Maze back in 2017. We can only hope that Lorne continues this year with more music, as we can’t wait another 5 years for the next installment!