Well, well, well. Here we are again. Bringing back Queue It Up. For me, Queue It Up feels like slipping into some sweatpants when you get home from work. It’s a way to take a quick peek at current pop culture without having to commit to too much. We have a buy-three-get-one-free deal running today, so let’s dive in.

Regina Spektor – “Becoming All Alone”

After what seems like an eternity, Regina Spektor has returned. She always seems to come back right when we need her most, like flowers peeking through the pavement after it’s been freezing for what feels like forever. With her newest single “Becoming All Alone”, she provides her ever-timeless perspective on religion. It feels almost eerie, that she should provide such a take, at a time where the part of the world she comes from is in such unrest. As someone who is from that area myself, I feel an intense heartbreak right now, and Regina has been so healing to me lately. It’s only fitting that she alone has found the words that explain exactly how I feel: “Stop the meter, Sir / You have a heart / Why don’t you use it”. This is the first track, and the first taste of, her new album being released on June 24th, and it is aptly titled Home, before and after.

Florence + The Machine – “Heaven is Here”

Florence Welch, the Bog Queen to Hozier’s Bog King, is back. She returns with the triumphant “King”, a portrait of womanhood that is as powerful as it is tragic. Florence laments the fact that she can’t truly have it all: “I am no mother / I am no bride / I am King”. It’s hard out here for us gals, truly. This is the first of two singles we have received from her new album, yet to be titled and given a release date, but what we do know is it seems to be very conceptual, even more so than her past projects. She has sent cards out to fans and updated her website in a cryptic way, with 15 “cards” being the main page. Two of them are flipped, with the names of the two singles with corresponding artwork, and the other 13 are yet to be uncovered. She has a penchant for lengthy albums so there’s a good chance this is her track listing. And our Queue It Up special comes today, when she released “Heaven Is Here”, a short but weighty track that is a companion piece to “King” both lyrically and visually. It seems as though Florence is continuing the vein she opened with her last album High as Hope, a deep dive into the personal side.

Wallows – “At the End of the Day”

And another Queue It Up comes to an end with the last single from Wallows’ upcoming album Tell Me That It’s Over, to be released later this month on the 25th. “At the End of the Day” is my favorite of the three singles they’ve released so far. It sounds like classic Wallows to me, in the way the other singles didn’t. I think Wallows is at their best when they pull out their shoegaze side, but maybe I’m just biased because I love shoegaze. Either way, this single brings me high hopes that this next album from the band will be a perfect follow-up to what was one of my favorite albums of 2019, Nothing Happens. Wallows has a knack for creating perfect spring and summer music, and I’m ready to add this track to my Car Jamz™.

by Nadia Alves

Nadia Alves has been a music enthusiast since she can remember. Going to shows is her main pastime. The other is being upset when she can’t go to shows. This is her first official venture into writing about music. You can follow her on Twitter.