This Week's Most Exciting Musical Releases

Subject Matter: The sunflower is a symbol of loyalty, longevity and the ability to withstand all sorts of crap that would leave other flowers wilted. Simply put, Post Malone and Swae Lee's song is an homage to all the sunflowers out there. We love you!

Feels: This song's steady lo-fi beats and vocals makes it a very easy listening tune.  No angst or euphoria here, just some good old fashioned even keel-ness. 

Appropriate Setting: This is the perfect song for strolling home from a long day in class or at work - heck, why not take a longer way home and enjoy the beginnings of Fall? It's Friday and life is good.

Okay, tell me more: For all the graphic novel fans out there, 'Sunflower' was written for the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse starring Nicolas Cage, hailee Steinfeld and John Mulaney. Check out the tune's music video to get a taster before its release in December, 2018.

Listen here.

Subject Matter: "I've waited too long to say what I meant to say..." This song is about that moment when what started as a little crush slowly turns into a giant monster of mass-sedcution. This is it, you can't hold back any longer. Now, the question is: "Do you love me too?"

Feels: ICYMI, the 70's are officially back: the long manes, the dreamy melodies, the kick-flare, the anti-establishmentarianism...this song's simple but delibrate chords, rat-tat-tat drums and drawn out vocals capture all that and more.

Appropriate Setting: Tried and tested by the hard-hitting journalists at L'Officiel USA, this song's perfect for moments of focus: studying, writing, mending the holes in those damned socks...

Okay, tell me more: Singer/songwriter/guitarist Mara Connor is somewhat new on the mainstream scene - probably because her music is, thankfully, anything but. It is this uniqueness that has won the LA-native impressive collabs with the likes of Andrija Tokic (producer for Alabama Shakes and Margo Price), Christopher Ripley (cameraman for Kendrick Lamar and Mac DeMarco) and Noah Georgeson (mixer for The Strokes and Devendra Banhart).

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Subject Matter: Screw playing it cool. In this day and age, you can't let a good thing pass you by. In Bradley's words: "If I want you and you want me, tell me, what have we got to lose?"

Feels: This is legendary soul through-and-through. Simple as that. 

Appropriate Setting: The fall season has officially started and, until we get a chance to pull out those pesky winter clothes, songs like these are perfect to do a little swayying and grooving around the apartment to keep warm. 

Okay, tell me more: Before you start questioning yourself - yes, Charles Bradley did indeed pass away in September 2017. However, Daptone's Dunham Records has decided to release the artist's now-finished Black Velvet album posthumously in November 2018. Thus, maybe the winter coats can stay in boxes a little while longer?

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Subject Matter: This song is about a revelation that perhaps far too few of us experience in our lifetimes: that you can truly and completely be yourself, and emerge from the other side. 

Feels: This song is quite literally revelation incarnate. The slow, quiet but steady build-up, the ever more confident and hopefully verses and, finally, the fully-fledged chorus. In true Jónsi form, the climax of this song has an empowering minimalism that'll leave you feeling empowered and content. Oh, the feels!

Appropriate Setting: If you're the type of person who struggles to find ways to wind down before bed, take a moment to just lie there and breath. It's been a long day and tomorrow promises to be the same. So, just put on 'Revelation' and relax.

Okay, tell me more: 'Revelation' is the latest tune from the much-awaited Boy Erased soundtrack, for which Troye Sivan and Jónsi collaborated. A highly undertold story of the damages of gay conversion therapy, L'Officiel USA's cover star Troye Sivan opens up about the passion behind this project and how this can be felt in the soundtrack.

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Subject Matter: Straight off of Phony Ppl's latest record mō'zā-ik, 'The Colours' is about the relationship between emotions, feelings and colors: "The greys and the blacks and the whites you gotta feel them in your soul."

Feels: Kings of instruments and masters of the art form, Phony Ppl know how to get you in the zone. The ingredients? Smooth beats, jazzy melodies and warm lyrics.

Appropriate Setting: Let this song mentally prepare you for the task ahead. Whether you're on your way to an important appointment, a first date or dinner at your parents' - you can do this!

Okay, tell me more: We at L'Officiel USA have completely fallen in love with the uniqueness and individuality that is Phony Ppl. Just check out our tour diary with the five-man New Yorker band, and we promise that you'll be in love too.

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Subject Matter: Who better to describe the idea behind 'Empty Space' than James, himself: “This song is for anyone who has ever deeply loved and lost someone dear to them. It is about coming to terms with the fact that only that special person can truly fill the empty space.”

Feels: Angst.

Appropriate Setting: Still in that hearbreak head-space? Fear not, 'Empty Space'  has the perfect amount of beat and vocals to have you shouting out the lyrics at the top of your lungs in no time. Although we believe that all emotions should be felts and expressed whenever and however you please, we suggest that said shouting takes place at home.

Okay, tell me more: This British singer/songwriter has catapulted into fame after his X Factor win in 2012. As well as blessing us with songs like 'Say You Won't Let Go' and 'Impossible,' James has also become a spokesperson for mental health-related issues in the UK. Good for you, James!

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Subject Matter: "I could lie and say that I like it like that, like it like that, like it like that..." No, this isn't a Cardi B remix - far from it, in fact. Billie's song is about that unique melancholia associated with letting go of something. Sure, you know very well that said 'thing' wasn't good for you (or vice versa), but that doesn't stop your heart from aching a teeny tiny bit. 

Feels: As mystical as it is emotionally-charged, it seems Ms. Eilish achieved full 'pixie' status thanks to this song's unique progression and mesmerizing background vocals. Moreover, it fearlessly intersperses its melody with a silence that drifts you in and out of the song like a dream.

Appropriate Setting: We feel like every decent music list should have at least one tune that would be perfect for a good old cry sesh. Be you in the bathroom, in bed or on the 6 train, this is that song. 

Okay, tell me more: This 'Beatrix Kiddo' of pop (A.K.A. 'pop assassin') sure knows how to make things happen. At only 16 years old, her genre and lyrically-defying music has shown the world that so-called teen angst is something that we all share. In an exclusive interview with L'Officiel USA, Billie Eilish opens up about her dream collaborations, getting back at fuckboys and why she’ll never smile for the camera. Check it out.

Listen here.