Although it is the shortest month of the year, February seems to be a bit of an inconvenience at times. It sits right in between the bone-chilling cold of January and the promise of spring that March begins to hint at, including the spring break all of us college students so desperately crave. In order to add some fun to the month, I created a February playlist consisting of 20 alternative, indie, rock and pop songs I have been loving over the past months and will continue loving this February.
Taking up two spots in the playlist with “Simple Romance” and “I Want It All” is COIN, an indie-pop band out of Nashville. Now, I myself will admit to taking far to long to truly give this group a listen, and after years of enjoying songs here and there, I have finally experienced the full depths of their music. All I can say is oh, how I wish I had done it sooner. If you also get swept up in a whirlwind of love for this trio, check out their quickly approaching tour dates, including a February 15th show in Columbus that more tickets were just released for after selling out. I know dancing the night away at that show will definitely brighten up my February blues.
Another band filling two spaces is Arlie, an alternative group that I had the pleasure of seeing live back in November. The group has a sound that’s all their own and each of their songs is as good as the last which is why “big fat mouth” and “blackboard.edu” both had to be a part of this music mix. Not only are the songs well composed, but the lyrics are deep and well thought out even when sounding simple.
One of my personal favorites on the playlist is the long-awaited new single “Longshot” from Catfish and the Bottlemen. The single, released January 7, is the first piece from the band since their second album titled “The Ride” released in May of 2016. Catfish and the Bottlemen recognize the experimental music all around and choose to stay classic and simple. Lead singer, Van McCann writes conversational, moment-descriptive lyrics that coupled with classic instrumentals, make for a perfectly simple, but impactful, rock number. Along with the announcement of the single, the band released US tour dates including a show on April second in Pittsburgh that I will be counting down the days until.
“Social” by Smallpools was a no-brainer to add. This group supplies songs that simply make you want to dance. If you aren’t too afraid of the cold, on Saturday, February 23 you can head to the outdoor Brite Winter Festival in Cleveland and see Smallpools headline as well as a long list of other more local bands. The best part? The festival is free!
Hopefully, a new favorite song or two can be found on this February playlist which you can find on Apple Music here and on Spotify here.