50 Minutes: Nothing With Meaning Is Easy

Required listening with Jools, Indigo De Souza, Lockslip, Clipse, and more for August 13th, 2025

All Reviews • Spotify Playlist • Youtube Playlist

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Jools “Cardinal”

Jools captures a surprising and fresh approach to the UK sound on
“Cardinal”. The mixture of UK post-punk and post-hardcore truly
draws me in on this preview of their forthcoming LP, Violent Delights.
I’ve heard this energy before from bands like Shame, Idles, or
Fontaines D.C. - but none have incorporated the early 2000's sound
of Equal Vision Records like Jools have here, making it a unique and
addictive listen.

3.4/5 ☺︎

YVES TUMOR & NINA “WE DONT
COUNT”

A satisfying mix of conscious grit, live breakbeats, and creative
effected guitar work sets the backdrop for Yves Tumor and Bar Italia’s
NINA on “WE DONT COUNT”. As the song progresses, we are
reminded by both artists of their natural ability to express themselves
in a way that feels both relevant and, for lack of a better phrase, cool
as fuck.

4/5 ☺︎

Indigo de Souza “Heartthrob”

Most of Indigo’s new record is a bit more indie-pop focused. It’s
honestly all great, and I enjoy the entire record, but on “Heartthrob,”
she drops the radio-friendly production, perfectly aligned vocal
tracks, and quantized drums for something a bit more raw. The sound
of her voice straining and pushing through the fast-paced
instrumentation makes for a gripping listen, as we join her on a
journey of harnessing anger and turning it into power. Everyone is
posting about “Turnstile Summer” but what about “Souza Summer”?

3.8/5 ☺︎

Moaning “Ego”

This is one of those tracks where you're not sure if you should be
bopping along to the catchy beat and chorus or whether to quietly
contemplate the song's message. The desire of wanting to be a
better person but not knowing how to get there along with minor key
synth chords set the tone of “Ego”. There are echoes of Bloc Party
here which might not be a coincidence considering that their
producer also worked with that band.

TLDR: It’s a well-crafted early 2000's indie rock song with a smidge
of that 80's sound and themes exploring vulnerability.

3.5/5 Michele Pierini

Clipse “The Birds Don’t Sing”

A sixteen-year hiatus from releasing music is enough to make any
project fade from mind, but Clipse claps back into reality in 2025 and
sets the tone for hip hop again with Let God Sort Em Out. This track is
one of the more digestible of the lot - we get a hook from John Legend
alongside the two brothers vulnerably speaking on the loss of their
parents. The song makes for a weary anthem of sorts, but also a
reminder of the artistry behind Clipse, and quite frankly, hip hop as a
genre.

3.6/5 ☺︎

….. Read all this playlist’s song reviews in about ten minutes at fiftymins.com