Every Monday, Add of the Week unveils all the new songs going into the 88Nine on-air playlist, with one hand-picked selection put in the spotlight by a member of our music team.
We didn’t need to go far for this week’s featured add, the roots of which run through the village of McFarland right outside Madison — about 80 miles from our Walker’s Point studios — but stretch well beyond.
The Dane County hamlet is where singer-songwriter NOMAZ was raised, studying classical flute and stretching her musical boundaries to jazz and hip hop as she grew. She eventually added producer and sound designer to her musical identity (and relocated to Los Angeles, her current base of operations) as she experimented with other instruments and uncovered her own voice.
After quietly rolling out individual songs (including “Unlovable”) earlier in 2023, NOAMZ officially released the full collection in the form of debut EP Not Today Sadly in mid-November. She shared with us that “[I] produced and mixed my first EP all on my own, while I was living in my parents house in Madison. … I made every sound … from the flute to the drum beat.”
“Unlovable”… [is] a song that encapsulates the feeling of rejection and pain when you feel like you haven’t lived up to your loved one’s expectations.”
Extending far past McFarland, NOAMZ’ Afro-Caribbean roots are from her Guadeloupean mother and French father. You can hear it in the sound of “Unlovable,” which digs into layers of her own personal history while echoing sonic peers also making deeply nuanced music rooted in folk
Listening to “Unlovable,” you pick up elements of Kara Jackson’s incredible vocal range, Silvana Estrada and Jessica Pratt’s compositional artistry, and the haunting emotion of Arooj Aftab. The track starts simply with voice and guitar, filling in musical layers so smoothly that the crescendo of the song nearly sweeps the listener away. The gentleness of NOAMZ’ voice tips the scales toward holding on vs. hurt as she strives to find balance and clarity:
Took a long time for me to notice
That I was broken
I was born too outspoken
It hurts so bad, to know we’ll never be
The way I’d hoped we’d be
That’s why, I’m unlovable
I’m unholdable
I’m disposable
You see
You can listen to “Unlovable” right here and catch it on 88Nine by tuning your FM dial in Milwaukee or streaming worldwide on our website and mobile app.
This week’s other adds
- Black Pumas, "Ice Cream"
- Mary Timony, "Dominoes"
- Day Wave, "As You Are"
- Middle Kids, "Dramamine"
- Sofía Valdés, "Silvia"
