Media is key to the human experience.
Whether that means it is turned on in the background while doing homework, the heart of all your long car rides or a way to connect to others, music influences our day-to-day lives.
Some classic songs remain vital to routine, but often we find new songs that tickle our fancy. We tend to hear about a new song, then go look it up on Spotify, placing it into our queue list. My hope for this monthly column is to find several albums and songs released within that month that I think should be on your next Spotify queue.
To kick it off, we are highlighting new releases in the month of September. This month marked a great deal of artists renewing their talents in a new fashion.
Albums
Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy”
Drake’s new album, released on Sept. 3, is already making waves in the current music atmosphere. Embedding similar styles from previous albums, he offers a similar vibe to previous albums. In that same breath, this piece should not be quickly clumped with previous ones due to the variety of new topics covered in his music. His lyrics provide a depth that he is often well-recognized for, and “Certified Lover Boy” is no exception. Drake offers a wide variety of featured voices on the album. On Billboard Top 100, this album has already had a week where it stole nine top spots. I am sure that this album has many more strong weeks ahead.
Imagine Dragons’ “Mercury—Act 1”
Having the last album release in 2018, Imagine Dragons fans were definitely ready for the release of this album on Sept. 3. After only one listen to the album, I am already in love. This album embeds a mix of techniques old and new to highlight the talent of this group. While the whole album reminds me deeply of a mixture of their previous albums, it still has enough uniqueness that allows it to be set apart.
Songs
Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers”
As an avid fan of Ed Sheeran, I have been waiting for more work of his. Following his previous release in January 2021 (“Bad Habits”), “Shivers” highlights Sheeran’s wide vocal range — something that he is well known for already. Deemed a love song, Sheeran provides a relatable experience through his lyrics, singing, “Put me back together and take my heart,
I never thought that I could love this hard.” This song resembles Sheeran’s 2014 song, “Sing,” as well as his 2017 song, “New Man,” yet it holds its own ground of being enjoyable to listen to.
Jake Scott’s “Overthinking (Acoustic)”
While the original version on this song was released in June, this song reigns as better as it highlights Jake Scott’s natural talents. The slower tempo and the raw voice highlights the exquisite range of the artist. Additionally, his lyrics are quite relatable for an overthinker like myself. The lyrics, “I'm overthinking about you, replaying every single moment,” are lines I find myself relating to often. Scott puts these thoughts eloquently into words and allows them to be executed behind a raw but beautiful melody.
September has offered a variety of top hits, having artists take their well-known talents and re-envision them. It makes me eager to see what next month has to offer for these artists as well as many others.
