september serenity

"even when it rains, you know the sun still shines."

i guess this month had somewhere to be considering how quickly it flew by. i’m currently in the midst of unpacking from a move, so things are a bit all over the place, and i’m still finding my footing. as always, music has been my companion through it all. there’s A LOT of music to cover this month, but be sure to stay tuned for an announcement and the playlist towards the end of the newsletter.

before we really get into it, i’d like to express my gratitude for there being double the community here as the last time. thanks to you all for subscribing. a special shoutout to

Gabbie

for the recommendation 💜 and much love to

BlackStack

for the opportunities i’ve had thus far to write and curate for the community!

BlackStack is giving the new Black Tumblr.

in this month’s media roundup, i present you with mostly new releases.¹ for the new collectors, i consider new releases to be any music released within the current calendar year, in order to give it consideration for ranking among my year-end favorites.² i’ve compiled these lists over enough years to know how easy it is to forget about music that came out in Q1 once fall arrives, especially if you don’t catalog or revisit it often enough.

without further ado, here’s all the music i listened to as summer turned to fall.

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new releases

this subsection of my newsletter will naturally dwindle as the year closes out, but this month was a heavy hitter. some of my favorite music that i’ve heard in 2024 so far came out within the last 30 days and really shook up the list i compiled in July.

Ambré — i do this sh*t in my sleep (EP)

Thee Heart Tones — Forever & Ever

Mike Lindsay — supershapes, Vol. 1

Foster the People — Paradise State of Mind

Machinedrum — 3FOR82

Sūn Byrd — Sūn Byrd

SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE — YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING

Childish Gambino — Bando Stone and the New World

Thandii — Come As You

Still Corners — Dream Talk

Faye Meana — ninety8 (EP)

Surely Shirley — Sailors and Clowns (EP)

Demae — Deliver Me (EP)

Dawuna — Southside Bottoms (EP)

Pale Jay — Low End Love Songs

Peter Cat Recording Co. — Beta

English Teacher — This Could Be Texas

Isaia Huron — I’ll Finish The Lyrics Later

Free Party — Cut Your Teeth (EP)

Laila!  — Gap Year!

Gavin Turek — Diva of the People

Toro Y Moi — Hole Erth

Okay Kaya — Oh My God, That’s So Me

Fousheé — Pointy Heights

nemahsis — Verbathim

Ginger Root — SHINBANGUMI

Bathe — Inside Voice(s): Side A (EP)

Nilüfer Yanya — My Method Actor

Forest Claudette — Jupiter & Stone Between

Allysha Joy — The Making of Silk

Orion Sun —  Orion

Joan as Police Woman — Lemons, Limes, and Orchids

BLACKSTARKIDS — Saturn Dayz

JEMS! — GEMS IN THE CORNER STORE II

Tasha — All This and So Much More

Nubya Garcia — Odyssey

Rowena Fysx — don’t text me back (EP)

Sad Night Dynamite — Welcome The Night

Hope Tala — Shiver (EP)

Gallant — Zinc.

Tanikuchan — Circles (EP)

Leon Thomas — MUTT

Lutalo — The Academy

MICHELLE — Songs About You Specifically

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music to look forward to

Jordan Ward & Joony — JRNY (10/4)

The O’Mys — Trust the Stars (11/8)

Homer — Ensatina (11/15)

Sofie Royer — Young-Girl Forever (11/15)

Michael Kiwanuka — Small Changes (11/15)

Tokimonsta — Eternal Reverie (11/22)

Emilia Sisco & Cold Diamond & Mink — Introducing Emilia Sisco (12/6)

FKA twigs — EUSEXUA (1/24/2025)

SASAMI — Blood On the Silver Screen (3/7/2025)

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i’m building a soundscape for the ultimate coming-of-age film — check out a filmless score.

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ATTN: All Substack Music Newsletter Writers!

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september serenity: the playlist

the notes: ambroxan, the Serenity Prayer, lemon cake, new dwellings, heaven on earth, breaking patterns, role playing, metamorphosis, money trees, diamonds.

(september serenity: the playlist on apple music)

1. i’ll bring back some of my other subsections for this newsletter next month.

2. i keep a running digital note of music that’s expected to be released. whatever i don’t listen to in the month that it’s released gets moved to the next month (and so on..) until i eventually get to it.