LITM Rock Picks Tunes picks weekend tunes for you to jostle to, featuring JAYA, Mark Griffin and The Pennydrops!
JAYA – Rolling Stone
"Rolling Stone" by JAYA is one of those tracks that don't just play; it moves. It's equal parts cool, confident, and softly reflective-the kind of song that hits you mid-scroll and has you double back just to listen again. It leans into a seamless contemporary pop production with just enough grit under the polish to give it character. JAYA's vocals glide effortlessly over the beat, expressive and melodic, laced with a quiet strength. There's an undeniable ease in the way she delivers her lines-like she's lived every word but just won't dramatise it. The production is crisp, the hooks clean, and its pacing keeps you locked in until the end. "Rolling Stone" is what motion sounds like: change, self-assuredness, and probably just a little chaos. JAYA cements herself as one to watch, crafting music that feels both modern and timelessly cool.
2. Mark Griffin – Taking Over My Mind
Mark Griffin's "Taking Over My Mind" is like sunshine in song form: warm, bright, and full of unexpected heart. Recorded at Fremantle's Sundown Studios with Elliot Smith at the helm, it's got that relaxed folk-country charm that just makes one want to roll the windows down and sing along, even when one doesn't know the words yet. The acoustic guitars sparkle, the rhythm skips forward with a spring in its step, and Griffin's vocals wrap it all up with sincerity that's impossible not to love. The lyrics speak to one of life's happiest surprises-meeting that forever person when one least expects it-and the music mirrors that same spontaneity. It's playful, earnest, full of gentle joy. There is something subtle, much like John Prine's simplicity, in the storytelling of Griffin-no frills, no pretence, just honesty and melody. "Taking Over My Mind" isn't trying to be clever; it's trying to be true, and that is exactly what makes it special.
3. The Pennydrops- Nightblindess
The Pennydrops' debut single, "Nightblindness," is that kind of folk anthem that crawls into your head and stays there for days. Clearly, the York duo Izzy Hartley and J.J. Chamberlain didn't come to play it safe-this six-minute gem changes between moods like a dream, shifting between shimmering harmony and grungy melancholy. It's a song about conflict-that restless tug-of-war between breaking free and staying where it's safe-and you feel that tension in every note. The guitars chime and brood, the percussion swells and retreats, and their voices weave together like threads in the same, bittersweet story. It's cinematic, too-part indie-folk confession, part slow-burning rock catharsis. By the time this chorus soars, you're all in on its world. "Nightblindness" proves The Pennydrops have vision beyond their years: heartfelt, unpredictable, and achingly human. If this is their first release, the future is looking pretty bright-even through the darkness.
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