Three For Thursday - 2/26/26
Three songs that won't leave my orbit from the last week
Three For Thursday is a recurring column where I talk about three songs that have been introduced to my ears in the past week and won’t leave my conscience. They can be newly or recently released or new to me songs.
“I Know” by Swapmeet.
The same colleague who told me last week to be on the lookout for “Numerology” told me that the lovely label Winspear had signed Australia’s Swapmeet. I checked out their early EP Oxalis which hooked me, and “I Know!” does so even more. Not unlike Wishy before them, the song channels the best parts of the 90s alt greats with quieter verses that lead to louder choruses. Maybe if Elastica never went away they’d write this pop tune?
“1/1” by Brian Eno.
Of late instead of falling asleep to the TV on a sleep timer, I’ve been listening to this Sleep Sounds playlist on Apple Music. It evokes all my favorite things about the great Gigi Masin and one of my all-time favorite albums, Wind. Gentle synths, light woosh-y things I dunno. Last night, I realized I had never listened to Ambient 1 (or any of the Ambient releases) from Mr. Eno. So I put it on. I was relaxed. I felt serene. I took a deep breath and I fell asleep. But while I was awake, I let it penetrate the tinnitus in my ears that keeps me up some nights. I felt a gentle calm, I wondered would it really feel better at the airport if this was all we heard?
“Cool Job” by Telehealth.
On the opposite side of a 17-minute composition of loops is a song that barely touches two minutes. I saw this on Reddit when I woke the other morning, a new Sub Pop signing. I put it on and immediately turned it off; the percolating synths and earworm of a guitar lick made me say “nope” for some reason. But then I put it back on. And then I put it on again. And then I became obsessed as I am wont to do about new songs. Basically the PNW’s version of Bodega, singing about art and commerce over a slab of post punk, let’s go.