The Monday Playlist: Ed Sheeran, Ashley Kutcher, Welshly Arms and more
Did you know Ed Sheeran has a new album out?
After but two days I am back in your inbox bringing you the best new songs from last week, and I will probably be back in another two days with a roundup of October's best new tunes!
Not sure if it was the abundance of new Ed Sheeran music that coloured the rest of this issue’s releases, but there is certainly a strong presence of white guys getting angsty in the playlist - you have been warned! If that’s up you alley, then I’m certain some of these songs will be for you.
Here’s this week’s playlist - happy listening!
The Night You Left by Ashley Kutcher - an absolutely gorgeous little pop song, understated with a really gentle, lamenting build; 'The worst kind of pain's buried too deep to see it’ is such a simple and well delivered idea
Pictures by Chaz Cardigan - this one is a wee bit wanky, the final minute is some kind of spoken word piece about the significance of pictures and capturing moments, but Chaz is a good lad with some good tunes and this one is better than decent
Telepath by Conan Gray - Conan Gray does Future Nostalgia, this one is a wee banger, the vocal harmonies on the pre-chorus are perfect, and ‘sending me trash you should've left in the drafts' is a such a good 21st-century-life-encapsulating lyric
Overpass Graffiti by Ed Sheeran - this is the next Ed Sheeran song that'll take over the radio probably so get on board or get out - fortunately it is a banger so hopefully it won't be too hard to accept
Collide by Ed Sheeran - this one is both fun and cute, the actual chorus feels a bit limp and they lyrics are as naff as they come, but it's feel good and is one of the more exciting ones on the album, Sheeran sounds great
Stop The Rain by Ed Sheeran - my personal favourite of the non-singles from =, there are a lot echoes of The Weeknd’s After Hours on the record and this one feels like a sister song to Can't Feel My Face; the 'grit' in his voice here is at its peak
Love In Slow Motion by Ed Sheeran - this one is a classic cutesy folksy Sheeran-typical, fireflies in the forest, first dance, will you marry me type song, a real cutie
I Wish (feat. Mabel) by Joel Corry - a light summery banger from two banger experts with a nice bassy upbeat chorus, one for the workout mix for sure
Next Year (feat. Windser) by Macklemore - what I really want is a formal reunion with Ryan Lewis, but I'll settle for this buoyant bursting bounce back optimistic nonsense, in spite of the frankly criminal lyric ‘Like God group texted the world and dumped us'
Bloodline by Sam Tompkins - some moody white boy pop that feels like early Sheeran, Tompkins' vocal is raw and passionate and truly spectacular in the final stretches
Shameless by Sandro Cavazza - and now a big angsty ballad from yet another excellent vocalist, one for sitting by the window when it's raining
Rise Up by WALK THE MOON - this is absolute chaos, it's like some weird fever dream of a pop song, so much going on, the vocals are captivating in a way that's hard to tell if it's brilliant or terrible, especially when he sings ‘And i promise you this, your shit will hit the fan/And when it does, you can call me and i’ll lend a hand'
Are You Lonely? by Welshly Arms - a steaming pot of raucous indie-rock joy to round off this week, a really fun dance-your-tipsy-heart-out-on-a-summer-night kind of tune, pure euphoria