Beats & Pieces

Hello there,

We’re almost at the halfway mark of the year. How are you holding up? 💭

With everything moving at breakneck speed lately — from the rush of election seasons (even the conclave) to the endless flood of news and new music — it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information we’re all trying to digest this year.

So this week, let’s take a breather. Just like with news, music discovery doesn’t always have to mean long listens. Sometimes, a short and sweet track is all you need to reset and recharge.

And while we’re at it, I’m also sharing a cool site I stumbled across. Think of it as a digital gallery showing how music, melodies, and lyrics have evolved to what we hear today.

That’s it for this week’s newsletter! Enjoy your lyrical snack break, and I’ll catch you in the next one. ✨

Yours truly,

Val ♫

(P.S If you are reading this in your email, please click “Read Online” at the top-right corner next to the date for a better reading experience!)

In this week's setlist:

• 🍫 Soundful Snackables

• 🎤 Artist of the Week: Crying City

• 🎶 New Music This Week

🍫 Soundful Snackables

For many music explorers and musicians with bigger appetites, songs under 3 minutes often don’t make the cut. Some say they lack depth or feel rushed, and others argue that today’s artists are getting lazy.

But is that really true? I believe good music is good music — regardless of its length or level of production. In fact, some of these shorter tracks are created as interlude pieces, designed to flow seamlessly between songs so the music never really ends.

Here are some beats-cuits and chip-sy sounds that hit so good, you’ll wish they lasted just a little longer:

• Home by niko rain and EJEAN

• Græ by Jordel

• Wish On An Eyelash by Mallrat (barely less than a minute long!)

• What Would I Do? by FUR 

🎤 Artist of the Week: Crying City

Looking for a new night citycore for your midnight drives? Say hello to this week’s spotlight artist 🌃

Crying City, also known as Minha Kim, is a Korean-American singer and songwriter based in the Bay Area. With roots in emo and alternative rock, she weaves melancholy and longing into soft sonic vignettes, like the glimmer of streetlights in a sleeping city after a light rain shower. Many listeners have compared her to beabadoobee, and I personally feel like she’s the alter ego to yung kai’s lighter, orange-tinted sunset sound.

Her latest album, You’re Still The Luckiest Thing To Happen To Me…, is notably brief — with each track clocking in at just around 3 minutes on average — but it’s anything but shallow. Every song feels like a quiet memory, perfect for late-night conversations, solo evening walks, or riverside night picnics. Her music captures the kind of inner monologue you hear when the world goes still, as if your mind could sing.

If you’re craving something introspective to soundtrack a quiet evening, a soft relapse, or a gentle wind-down on the couch, Crying City’s got you if you need to cry your feelings out, literally.

Here are my top picks:

• Lucky: This track delivers a modern take on blues music, wrapped in a quiet, moody atmosphere. It’s perfect as an audio backdrop for night-themed short-form edits.

• better (with you): Our artist channels strong beabadoobee-coded vibes here, blending upbeat emo-core elements with your usual pop-rock flavours.

Listen to Crying City here.

🎶 New Music This Week

Call Me What You Want by Elise Huang: Probably the slickest track I’ve heard in a while — the low-key subtlety of this beat is tickling my brainwaves in all the right ways.

Wish On An Eyelash Pt. 2 by Mallrat and The Chainsmokers: Here’s a continuation of the minute-long track we explored earlier, now infused with a Paris-by-The-Chainsmokers-style beat. It’s a whole new vibe.

WHEN IT COMES TO YOU by Joëlle Buyckx: The vibes off this track just screams and bleeds sophisticated girly-pop. If this song were a person, I’d imagine her as a 5'7" off-duty model in a silk maxi dress and red high heels, ready to party the night away. 🍸

Inspired by this week’s music picks?

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