SEVEN flu and fever-friendly songs

or: the softest of softboi bangers

SEVENish days ago I got sick while visiting the capital of Finland, Helsinki. It was the kind of sickness that has left me with a pounding headache, meaning that my usual diet of, uh, chill music was a little too heavy. I needed some truly fever-friendly ibuprofen-esque songs, and now that I am starting to feel a little better just in time for my SEVEN, I am delighted to share precisely SEVEN of these musical miracle drugs. This excellent post was written while I was highly fever-delirious and therefore neither I nor gatekeep! are responsible or liable for its contents.

Mazzy Star - Into Dust

Any time I think of Mazzy Star, my next thought is “I don’t listen to them enough”. And then my next thought is “I do listen to Mazzy Star derivatives enough”. Perhaps that’s a good sign, though, as “Into Dust” might be one of the most headache-friendly songs ever written. It soothes, it vibes, it delightfully bleeds into the next fever dream about a long object that is the worst thing one could possess and you will be punished for owning one of those long hammer-like objects yk.

Widowspeak - Amy

Here we go: Widowspeak are probably my favourite band ripping off inspired by Mazzy Star, and I will forever sing their praises. 2020’s Plum remains my favourite project by them, and semi-deep cut “Amy” is a delightfully calming track that will eat four wonderful minutes into any illness. It’s soft, it does not overstimulate, it is bliss.

Rafael Anton Irisarri - Secretly Wishing for Rain

This guy definitely didn’t think of SEO when choosing to slap his full legal name on his music, smh. His stuff might be hard to find, but it’s also hard to let go of: this track closes the record A Fragile Geography and does so in gorgeous fashion. I suppose it’s music you can think thoughts to, but I can assure you that I have been doing no such thing this past week. It’s been glorious.

Maria BC - Sabotage

Stepping back from the glitchy palette of 2023’s Spike Field while retaining that record’s quality was excellent news for my poor sensitive head: all of the new album Marathon is deeply calming music that never comes close to triggering a headache, even with a 39-degree fever. That’s celsius, I don’t speak water-boils-at-212-degrees, sorry. Anyway, “Sabotage” is simply my favourite song on this new record: great for times of health, great for times of sickness.

Endling - Middle Distant

This Endling song is the perfect flu anthem, non-derogatorily, as derogatory as that may sound. It starts small, quickly develops into something more intense, before letting go as a long ambient section carries clear reminders of what just happened. It’s a beautiful song, and it’s entirely fever-friendly!

Art School Girlfriend - Hope More, Hopeless

Speaking of songs that feel like a fever dream in the best way possible! This Art School Girlfriend track (made in collaboration with her wife Marika Hackman, hell yeah) is delightfully delirious and oddly beautiful. It pulses, it builds, it descends. As opposed to being sick, though, I find myself wishing for more once it’s over.

Trespassers William - Safe, Sound

This SEVEN would be nowhere without a Trespassers William song. Honestly, any Trespassers William song would work here, but there’s something about “Safe, Sound” that fits the feverish vibe perfectly: it’s a gorgeously soothing, slightly abstract song, that manages to comfort in spite of its unsettling properties.

Thank you for reading. Please remember to take no more than SEVEN paracetamol a day. Writing while being mildly delirious is actually quite fun. 😀