Anastasia 

Since its launch on April 17, my music predilections, and to be honest life in general, have largely been dominated by Fiona Apple’s latest album Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Fiona may just be my favorite voice, literally and figuratively, out there, and like many, I’ve been waiting for her next magnum opus with bated breath. It didn’t disappoint in the slightest: this stuff is culture-defining, managing to be life-affirming without donning any rose-colored glasses, breathing the kind of uplifting freedom that comes from speaking your mind. With Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill references peppered here and there, I don’t think you could get any closer to perfection.

Kseniia

If you have never heard about Estonian punk music, I recommend checking out Vennaskond (Estonian for “Brotherhood”), which was formed in late ‘80s and became one of the most popular bands in Estonia. Vennaskond are not quite punk if you ask me, their music is more lyrical and melodical, and I guess that’s what made them loved by a wider audience. They have lots of great songs such as Insener Harini hüperboloid and Pille-Riin. However, this month a particular one comes to mind – the one called Maailm lõppeb maikuus (“The World Will End In May”), which is very upbeat despite the title. One might say it’s something like an Estonian version of R.E.M.’s famous It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).

Catherine

It’s getting harder and harder to choose just one song with each month spent in self-isolation – too much music is constantly filling the space around me that was once before designated for people. So I’ll just take a lucky guess and say that I mostly listened to Half Alive’s recent EP with four orchestral renditions of their songs. Such adaptations never fail to amaze me, and this time was not an exception. All four are worth recommending, they sound almost nothing like their “original” versions, it’s a reincarnation of the band, if you ask me, but my personal earworm is creature. Dive in if you’re ready to accept your fate as a human humbly, though with a certain degree of despair. 

Arina

Lately my most listened to album has been Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by Arctic Monkeys, which was released in 2018. I can't get rid of the feeling that if I were to write music I would be writing in this style. They’ve changed their sound a lot since their first album. A lot of people have heard of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor or R U Mine?, but this album is different. The sound is warmer, deeper, and it makes me feel like I'm somewhere in the 80s, swimming in a small pool near the fancy house I never had, obsessing over a young Patrick Swayze. Basically, this album is what you need to run away from reality for some time. And God knows we all have been needing that quite often these past few months.

Zoya

This month I was feeling nostalgic about last year's trips and parties. And what helps more in enhancing memories than music. Old music tracks make us warm inside and remind us about all the nice days before 2020. A slightly melancholic Secrets by One Republic or encouraging On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons bring up something light and kind, just what the doctor ordered during these uncertain times.

Maria

These days, I listen to music any time I’m awake: the eternal classics, the ageless rock classics, the romantic old pop, the new albums of contemporary artists – all mixed up. Trying to choose from all this magnificent variety, I decided that I would mention those tracks that I returned to more than a couple (or dozen) times.

Nostalgia by MIRROR and Dave Gahan

In the time of memories, when we have difficulties finding new vivid impressions, while we are practically locked at home, nothing can prevent us from returning to the good that has already happened. This track creates an ideal, melancholy mood, to plunge into the abyss of your own past, and to float there a little.

The Killing Kind by Marianas Trench

One of my wonderful colleagues (thanks a thousand times!) shared this track by a Canadian pop-rock group with me, and I instantly fell in love with its multi-layered, variability and power. Every time I listen to it, I can’t stop enjoying the way it grabs all my attention and makes me follow every rise and fall of the melody and mood.

Vadim

This month, I’ve been hooked on the sweet tunes of the up-and-coming UK duo Franc Moody. As summer rolls up and I find myself staring longingly out the window, nothing gets my spirits up quite like the ethereal bop that is their Dream in Colour. 

The band’s speciality is a deliciously primal, yet modern take on disco and funk – and isn’t a bit of funk just the thing we all need these days? And a special mention to Grin and Bear It, a Marvin Gaye-esque anthem to not keeping it all in.