NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of June 22, 2018

Disco never died.

Don’t panic! There’s plenty of time to check out all these dazzling new singles and albums hitting shelves. These are the notable digital and physical releases headed into the market this Friday:

PANIC! AT THE DISCO – Pray For The Wicked (iTunes)
Led by the Alternative radio hit “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”, which is approaching the top spot at the format, the new set by Brendon Urie and crew is in for a wickedly good week. It’s looking likely that Pray will debut at #1 on next week’s Billboard 200 chart, though a surprise release could pop up at any time. Still, we must have, ahem, high hopes that it shall succeed…

BEBE REXHA – Expectations (iTunes)
Singer and songwriter Rexha’s first full-length project comes after a series of EPs during the past few years. It features the country and pop radio hit “Meant To Be”, a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line. The follow-up single, “I’m A Mess”, hits the latter format in a few days. With solid streaming numbers, it should break into the top ten.

Notable albums out this week: Ben Rector‘s Magic (iTunes), Dan + Shay‘s Dan + Shay (iTunes), Dawes‘s Passwords (iTunes), Lecrae and Zaytoven‘s Let The Trap Say Amen (iTunes), Nine Inch Nails‘s Bad Witch (iTunes), Teyana Taylor‘s KTSE (Keep That Same Energy) (iTunes)

Notable EPs out this week: Aaron Taos‘s Night Thoughts (iTunes), Billy Raffoul‘s 1975 (iTunes), Colouring‘s Bn (iTunes), Dan Sadin‘s Dan Sadin (iTunes), John Splithoff‘s Make It Happen (iTunes), Marshmello‘s Joytime II (iTunes)

New digital singles that you can buy this week include:
“A Brighter Love” and “Paradise Is Waiting”, St. Lucia (iTunes)
“All The Ways”, Meghan Trainor (iTunes)
“Be Right Here”, Kungs & Stargate featuring Goldn (iTunes)
“Big God”, Florence + The Machine (iTunes)
“Burn One Turn One”, Stone Sour (iTunes)
“Chasing Stars”, Fleurie (iTunes)
“Doesn’t Matter”, Gallant featuring A$AP Ferg (iTunes)
“Fernando”, Cher & Andy Garcia (iTunes)
“Fresh Roses”, Juke Ross (iTunes)
“Friends (Justin Caruso Remix)”, Marshmello & Anne-Marie (iTunes)
“F**k Forever”, Third Eye Blind (iTunes)
“GHOST”, Jaden Smith (iTunes)
“Goldchains”, Tyde Levi (iTunes)
“Hands On Me”, White Panda featuring Loote (iTunes)
“Hate Loving You”, Dakota (iTunes)
“Hollywood”, Gorillaz featuring Snoop Dogg & Jamie Principle (iTunes)
“Hooked On A Feeling”, Jacob Sartorius (iTunes)
“Hope”, Old Sea Brigade (iTunes)
“If You Were Mine (Acoustic)”, Ocean Park Standoff (iTunes)
“Just For A Moment”, Gryffin featuring Iselin (iTunes)
“Legends” and “Rich And Blind”, Juice WRLD (iTunes)
“Let’s Get Ill”, DJ Snake & Mercer (iTunes)
“Loop”, Paperwhite (iTunes)
“Low (Domenico Tori + Sondr Remixes)”, Lenny Kravitz (iTunes)
“Medicine”, New Hope Club (iTunes)
“Missing You”, Cazzette featuring Parson James (iTunes)
“Move To Miami (Darell Remix)”, Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull (iTunes)
“My Way”, Tom Walker (iTunes)
“New Eyes”, Nicklas Sahl (iTunes)
“Oh Child”, Robin Schulz & Piso 21 (iTunes)
“On My Love”, We The Kings (iTunes)
“On The Ball”, Bryce Vine (iTunes)
“Only You”, Cheat Codes & Little Mix (iTunes)
“Palo Santo”, Years & Years (iTunes)
“Paper Cut”, Sophie Simmons (iTunes)
“Pull Up”, Martin Jensen (iTunes)
“Put It To Bed”, JHart (iTunes)
“Real Life”, KONGOS (iTunes)
“Ring Ring”, Jax Jones featuring Mabel and Rich The Kid (iTunes)
“Rookie”, Aqua (iTunes)
“Safe”, Daya (iTunes)
“Skipping Stones”, Dan Reynolds & Hans Zimmer (iTunes)
“Sober”, Demi Lovato (iTunes)
“Spiraling Down”, Maty Noyes (iTunes)
“Summer On You”, PRETTYMUCH (iTunes)
“Switch”, 6LACK (iTunes)
“The Boy In The Bubble”, Alec Benjamin (iTunes)
“The Light Is Coming”, Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj (iTunes)
“Version Of Me”, Kimbra x Dawn (iTunes)
“We Can Do Better (Piano Version)”, Matt Simons (iTunes)
“What Would You Do For Love”, NERVO (iTunes)
“When I Grow Up”, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike featuring Wiz Khalifa (iTunes)
“Whenever”, Kris Kross Amsterdam x The Boy Next Door featuring Conor Maynard (iTunes)
“World Rage”, Lil Skies (iTunes)
“Wrong Move”, R3HAB & THRDLIFE featuring Olivia Holt (iTunes)
“You’re Not Wrong”, Wet (iTunes)

Next week: look out for new albums from Drake, Florence + The Machine, Gorillaz and more. For Adam’s personal picks of the week, listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

Highlights from Adam’s Top 40: January 7, 2018

“Too” weeks, one hit.

DEBUTS
39. Liam Payne & Rita Ora – For You
34. Justin Timberlake – Filthy
31. Bruno Mars & Cardi B – Finesse | HIGHEST DEBUT

TOP GAINERS
23. Maroon 5 – Wait (28)
14. James Arthur – Naked (19)
11. Kesha featuring The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman (17) | BIGGEST MOVER — three weeks

THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
10. Bastille – World Gone Mad (10) | PEAK: #10
09. Scott Helman – PDA (07) | PEAK: #07
08. U2 – You’re The Best Thing About Me (06) | PEAK: #03
07. Sheppard – Coming Home (09) | PEAK: #07
06. Noah Kahan – Hurt Somebody (05) | PEAK: #05
05. Calum Scott – You Are The Reason (08) | PEAK: #05
04. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (04) | PEAK: #04
03. The Script – Arms Open (03) | PEAK: #03
02. Walk The Moon – One Foot (02) | PEAK: #01 for six weeks
01. Niall Horan – Too Much To Ask (01) | PEAK: #01 for two weeks

Top 10 Next In Line:
1. River Matthews – Sunshine (2)
2. Shawn Hook – Never Let Me Let You Go (1)
3. Flagship – Midnight (3)
4. Cody Simpson & The Tide – Waiting For The Tide (6)
5. Milck – Quiet (-)
6. Jamie Scott featuring Carpet Boy – Feels So Good (7)
7. Mat Kearney featuring AFSHeeN – Better Than I Used To Be (5)
8. Sugarland – Still The Same (8)
9. Jeremy Fisher – This Is The Good Life (-)
10. Blue October – I Hope You’re Happy (-)

In The Mix:
Dua Lipa – IDGAF (new)
Hundred Handed – Too Good
Jacob Banks – Chainsmoking
Jeremy Loops – Waves (new)
New Politics – Color Green
Olivia Holt – Generous

Chart Notes:

• It was a big first week of 2018 for new music by top artists, from lead singles and remixes to soundtrack cuts, and they’re all very much reflected in the countdown this week. Leading the festivities, at #31, is a remix of “Finesse” by Bruno Mars and one of 2017’s hottest newcomers, Cardi B. The original version of the hit, recorded by just Mars, first appeared on his 2016 album 24K Magic. Justin Timberlake also bounces in with this week’s #34 track, “Filthy”. Just ahead of his performance at the Super Bowl, the superstar is out with his forthcoming album Man Of The Woods, due February 2. Finally, climbing in at #39, is another collaboration, this entry from Liam Payne and Rita Ora. “For You” is the first track to be released from the soundtrack to Fifty Shades Freed, which opens in theaters on February 9. (Gee, that’s a whole lot of f-words. Luckily, all of them are clean!)

(See my full chart on Crownnote)

Highlights from Adam’s Top 40: December 31, 2017

He knows this spot all “Too” well.

DEBUTS
39. John Splithoff – Sing To You
37. Serena Ryder – Ice Age | HIGHEST DEBUT

TOP GAINERS
34. Tom Walker – Leave A Light On (39)
31. U2 – Get Out Of Your Own Way (36)
28. Maroon 5 – Wait (34)
17. Kesha featuring The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman (38) | BIGGEST MOVER — two weeks
14. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me (19)

THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
10. Bastille – World Gone Mad (12) | PEAK: #10
09. Sheppard – Coming Home (13) | PEAK: #09
08. Calum Scott – You Are The Reason (11) | PEAK: #08
07. Scott Helman – PDA (09) | PEAK: #07
06. U2 – You’re The Best Thing About Me (03) | PEAK: #03
05. Noah Kahan – Hurt Somebody (05) | PEAK: #05
04. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (06) | PEAK: #04
03. The Script – Arms Open (04) | PEAK: #03
02. Walk The Moon – One Foot (01) | PEAK: #01 for six weeks
01. Niall Horan – Too Much To Ask (02) | PEAK: #01 for one week | NEW #1

Top 10 Next In Line:
1. Shawn Hook – Never Let Me Let You Go (1)
2. River Matthews – Sunshine (7)
3. Flagship – Midnight (4)
4. Rag’N’Bone Man – Grace (We All Try) (3)
5. Mat Kearney featuring AFSHeeN – Better Than I Used To Be (5)
6. Cody Simpson & The Tide – Waiting For The Tide (-)
7. Jamie Scott featuring Carpet Boy – Feels So Good (9)
8. Sugarland – Still The Same (10)
9. Olivia Holt – Generous (-)
10. New Politics – Color Green (-)

In The Mix:
Hundred Handed – Too Good (new)
Jacob Banks – Chainsmoking (new)
Jeremy Fisher – This Is The Good Life (new)
Milck – Quiet (new)

Chart Notes:

• A huge congrats to Niall Horan, who scores his third solo chart-topper in a row with “Too Much To Ask”, moving 2-1 after a long run of five weeks in the runner-up position. Horan previously scored #1 hits with “This Town” and “Slow Hands”, the latter of which was recently named the top title on my Top 100 of 2017. (It spent seven weeks at the top in July and August.) Meanwhile, three new songs jump into the top ten this week, all by international acts: Calum Scott (up 11-8 with “You Are The Reason”) and Bastille (up 12-10 with “World Gone Mad”) come from England, and Sheppard (up 13-9 with “Coming Home”) formed in Australia. Get out your pop passports — Adam’s Top 40 is taking over the world. Maybe.
• A pair of new songs launch into the top 40 at the end of this calendar year, with Serena Ryder‘s “Ice Age” (#37) and John Splithoff‘s “Sing To You” (#39) breaking into the countdown. For Ryder, her latest single is the third one to be issued from the album Utopia, which also provided us with 2016’s “Got Your Number” (#2) and 2017’s “Electric Love” (#13). Newcomer Splithoff and “Sing” actually appeared on a list I compiled at the end of 2016 as one of the top 30 independent tracks of that year. (Of course, if you know my work with Train Tracks, I gave the song its first airplay in May 2016.) The single impacts at Hot AC radio on January 22 via Asylum Records.

(See my full chart on Crownnote)

RECORD REWIND: PGTC Picks, 7/9 – 7/15/17

Sunday afternoon means it’s time for the Record Rewind, highlighting the top new tracks that you might’ve missed during the work week, all from my favorite independent acts out there. If it’s on the site, it’s something that you need to check out!

Across the PGTC SoundCloud page and my playlists on Spotify, these stuck out as my favorite independent songs of the week…

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AARON TAOS – “Not Over Yet” (iTunes) (Spotify)
Taos is certainly making his mark on the Rewind this year, having previously been featured with a pair of top tracks: “Off My Mind” in January and “These Days” in May. As the title says, his days of my enjoying his tunes are not over yet, as he releases another bop.

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JOHN SPLITHOFF featuring MADISON RYANN WARD – “Show Me” (iTunes) (Spotify)
It’s been over a year since Splithoff released his last new single, the smooth and delectable “Sing To You”, which has now achieved a super impressive 20 million streams on Spotify. This R&B-influenced pop collaboration steers him in a fresh, but lovable, direction.

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ZAYDE WØLF – “Brave” (iTunes) (Spotify)
This Nashville singer and songwriter last appeared on the Rewind about a year ago, but several tracks from 2016’s Golden Age were featured on PGTC’s Spotify playlists. The anthemic pop cut has a nice hook and some cool builds in production. It’s a winner to me!

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For more great new music, these songs are worth a listen…
ANDREW BELLE – “Honey And Milk” (SoundCloud)
TRENTON – “In The Summer Light” (SoundCloud)

Want to be featured on this weekly wrap-up? Submit your music to adamfsoybel@gmail.com and I’ll check our your tunes. Thanks!

RECORD REWIND: Thirty Top Tunes From 2016

Happy New Year from PGTC! It’s Sunday afternoon, which means it’s time for the Record Rewind, highlighting the top new tracks that you might’ve missed during the work week. If it’s on the site, it’s something that you need to check out!

This week, it’s a Record Rewind special, presenting thirty of the top tracks to make my Spotify playlists throughout 2016. So many great new artists put their music online this year, while those established in the blog world continued to create massive tunes. You will find a Spotify playlist below of all thirty songs, plus twelve highlighted throughout the post. By the way, several hundred songs made these lists during the year, so don’t feel bad if yours isn’t below. It was hard! 2017 is a new year, so give it your best shot.

Check out our Spotify profile page for the Indie Winter Mix (2015/2016), Indie Spring Mix, Indie Summer Mix and Indie Fall Mix for all the action from this year.

(Acts that have been signed since appearing on the lists have been noted below. Positions indicate chronological order, not rank.)

Listen:

Enjoy all the great music!

1. ADAM FRIEDMAN, “Pretty Things”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: January 29, 2016
Label: Gold Rush

2. MACKENZIE THOMS, “Do Me All Again”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: January 29, 2016
Label: Independent

Thoms could sing the phone book and I would probably stream it a few dozen times, but this R&B-flavored tune really hit the spot.

3. CAPE CUB – “Closer”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 9, 2016
Label: Independent

4. RUELLE, “I Get To Love You”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 12, 2016
Label: Independent

5. WYLDER, “Swells”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 16, 2016
Label: Independent

6. BRYCE FOX, “Burn Fast”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 21, 2016
Label: Independent

Fox has a super 2017 ahead, as “Horns” continues to react from airplay in the Denver area. “Burn” is still my favorite of his singles.

7. KYKO – “Native”
Added to Indie Winter Mix: February 28, 2016
Label: LAB (U.K.)

8. YOUNGR – “Out Of My System”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: April 23, 2016
Label: Independent (now signed to Island/Republic)

Dario Darnell’s father might be Kid Creole, but this kid has a major radio hit in the making with this absolute jam. It’s a killer track.

9. SODY / MARTIN LUKE BROWN – “Wasted Youth”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: May 13, 2016
Label: Independent

I’ve enjoyed Brown’s music for some years now. Put him in a collaboration with a promising newcomer, and you’ve got one hot hit.

10. CAPPA, “I’m Good”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: May 14, 2016
Label: Independent

11. JOHN SPLITHOFF – “Sing To You”
Added to Indie Spring Mix: May 20, 2016
Label: Independent

Splithoff recently surpassed five million streams with his fabulous feel-good track, and you’ll feel good about his new material too.

12. TIPLING ROCK – “Low Tide Love”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: May 27, 2016
Label: Independent

Four Boston college kids mixed pop and psychedelic music to create one monster Spotify Viral anthem for those hot summer days.

13. BILLIE EILISH, “Six Feet Under”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: June 24, 2016
Label: Drup Music (now signed to Darkroom/Interscope)

14. OFELIA K, “I Love My Lawyer”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: June 26, 2016
Label: South By Sea

15. KID RUNNER – “Give Me Something To Love”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: July 2, 2016
Label: Independent

This Ohio group actually made me “Love” their EP from earlier this year. Also, Alternative radio gatekeepers, make this song a hit!

16. CODY FRY – “Go”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: July 22, 2016
Label: Independent

17. STEFAN ALEXANDER – “Skeleton”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: July 22, 2016
Label: Independent

18. SLOW SUGAR, “Hypnotic Love”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 6, 2016
Label: Independent

19. DAVIS, “Get Mine”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 7, 2016
Label: Proxy

20. EZA, “Alive”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 12, 2016
Label: Independent

Sensual and unconventional: it’s a small taste of the EP Dead Reckoning, and this glorious gem from Ellery Bonham is impressive.

21. PHANGS, “Cul De Sac”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 24, 2016
Label: Independent

22. GOLDEN COAST, “Recess”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 26, 2016
Label: Independent

23. BEN HOBBS, “Animals”
Added to Indie Summer Mix: August 31, 2016
Label: Independent

In a zoo full of musical madness, this song escaped from its cage and into my ears this summer. Hobbs has a great catalog of music.

24. JORDAN GABLE, “Didn’t Mean It”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 9, 2016
Label: Independent

25. WANDERER, “Call Me Crazy”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 9, 2016
Label: Independent

26. MULLALLY, “Wonderful”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 20, 2016
Label: Black Diamond Music

There’s an exciting buzz around singer Connor Mullally, and I’m sure 2017 will be more, well, wonderful for him in plenty of ways.

27. RAINSFORD, “Too Close”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 23, 2016
Label: Independent

28. WHISSELL, “Pain Of Love”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: September 29, 2016
Label: FourForty Artist Group

From her upcoming EP, Nashville singer Lauren Whistle delivered with this inspired cut. I’m excited for the release in a few weeks.

29. LAUV, “The Story Never Ends (Piano Version)”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: October 20, 2016
Label: Independent

30. MATT WOODS, “If You Forget Me”
Added to Indie Fall Mix: December 2, 2016
Label: Guernsey House

I’ve been a follower of Woods’s music for several years, and this ballad from his recent EP just has me feeling a lot. I love his voice.

Want to be featured on this weekly wrap-up? Submit your music to afsoybel@hotmail.com and I’ll check it out. Thanks!