We asked Barista Magazine Online readers what songs they had on repeat at their cafés this month. Here’s what they said.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
ONLINE EDITOR
Featured photo by Thom Holmes
It’s that time of the month again! We wanted to know: What songs were trending at your coffee shops this month? Read on to find out what tracks our followers were loving in February, and be sure to check out last month’s playlist.
1. “Back Then” by Toro y Moi
Based in Austin, Texas, Barista Magazine Online reader Olive L. nominates the track “Back Then” by Toro y Moi for our February playlist.
Throughout his career, Toro y Moi has seamlessly shifted from genre to genre, releasing albums like “Hole Erth”—an eclectic collage of emo rap, pop-punk, and electronica—and “Mahal,” a collection of tracks marked with psychedelic, jazz-funk, and neo-soul influences, over the course of the last two years.
On his 2023 album “Sandhills,” the South Carolina-born artist takes a refreshingly sentimental approach, with songs like “Back Then” serving as memoirs to the terrain he grew up in. “I didn’t tell anyone I was coming home, and I stayed for three months / Spent the summer in South Carolina doing what I want / Clouds as tall as mountains, it was humid as can be / Carolina sun was burning up everything,” he sings.
2. “Come to Me” by Björk
Angelic keys and ambient vocals echo across a background of soft drums in Björk’s hypnotic 1993 track “Come to Me,” part of her album “Debut”—Björk’s first musical release following the breakup of her band The Sugarcubes.
Silay City, Philippines’ Damgo Coffee Shop shares that the track has been on repeat at their café this month, along with other hits from the ’90s like “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star. “We’re celebrating the ‘Love Month’ with our playlist—for some, it might feel cheesy, but we can’t help it, because we’re hopeless romantics,” the café team writes to Barista Magazine.
3. “Quarantined” by Atlas Sound
The psychedelic vibes continue with this pick from Barista Magazine Online reader Zyn Hardaway: “Quarantined” by Atlas Sound. Formed by Bradford Cox, one of the founding members of ambient punk band Deerhunter, Atlas Sound gets its name from a memory of Bradford making recordings on a karaoke cassette machine labeled “Atlas Sound” when he was in sixth grade.
Throughout the track, Bradford Cox slowly but steadily builds up a symphony of sound, with lo-fi drum beats cradled by layers of bells and echoing vocals. Both upbeat and serene, the song perfectly complements the coffee shop experience.
4. “My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder
This one’s my personal pick: What better way to celebrate all of the month-appropriate Valentine’s Day feelings than with this track by Stevie Wonder? The iconic song was first released as a B-side to the song “I Don’t Know Why (I Love You)” in 1969, but because of its incredible popularity, it ended up becoming the title track to his eleventh album. Another fun fact about the song: Stevie Wonder wrote the earliest draft of the track in an hour.
Stay Tuned
Until next time, thanks for listening! Be sure to keep an eye out for future installments of “Coffee Shop Playlist,“ where we’ll highlight even more musical picks from our readers.
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