September 21, 2018

Friday’s Find Is a Familiar Narrative Told by Unfamiliar Artists

Cry, dance, and be moved by this track that hits all your music cravings.

Nicole Mago

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It’s Friday! That means it’s time for this week’s “Friday Find,” our new weekly Instagram series where we spotlight a song, record, or artist worth blasting all weekend long. 

This week: Melt by Shaed (Melt, PhotoFinish Records, 2018)

Why we’re into it: Part ballad, part dance track, part anthem, this will hit all your music cravings in one track.

Who they are: Composed of three members—lead singer Chelsea Lee and twins Max and Spencer Ernst—the DC-based trio hits hard with their second EP. But it’s the delicate balance between Lee’s powerful vocals and the twins’ melodic composition that makes Melt‘s title track shine. Lee’s gradually building voice starts the track off strong, and as the chorus comes around the hook, it transitions straight into something that simply forces you to get up and dance—even when you’re all worn out on a Friday.  

The lyrics tell a familiar story—”small artist has bad experience with big label”—but what’s bracingly original is the way Lee visualizes this struggle. Through her lyrics, the sense of capped creativity shines through in a unique manner. “Now you’re dressing me in chains/Callin’ every move I make/Now you’re beggin’ me to smile/But I can’t fake/Thought the point was to create,” she belts as the twins’ symphony creates a unique dimension in the background.

And that’s just the tip before the iceberg that is Melt. The rest of the EP flourishes with songs about love between best friends, a track that utilizes the sounds of wind chimes, and many more. Released today, this is a collection of music you’ll want to blast all weekend long.

We also want to hear from you! Give us suggestions for next week’s pick, or shoot us an emoji or two about how this song makes you feel.

Happy Friday and go dance the weekend away.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT.

We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

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