Back to Music, Then

And just like that, the World Cup is over. The way this tournament goes, it fades out slowly, starting in week three, and by the time the final kicks off, most people – unless they were rooting for Spain or Argentina – are already home, watching with muted interest.

We went to Governors Island for the “People’s Final,” but after seeing Spain dominate for one half, we decided to chill at the Makina Café on the Parade Grounds and listen to the cheers from afar¹. With that, our once-in-four-years excitement for football/soccer comes to an end until 2030, when the tournament will be held in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.

Back to music, then. Last Thursday, we went to Union Pool in Williamsburg on a smoky², hot day for a show. It became maybe our favorite place in New York since we first went there over 20 years ago, when the neighborhood was still a here-be-dragons area for us. When we lived a couple of blocks away, we boycotted it at first after a bartender denied us entry during a major snowstorm because we were 10 minutes early. But after a Warpaint album release show in January 2014, for which we couldn’t get tickets, we realized we knew many of the people who worked there. From that day on, Union Pool became our second living room until we moved away in 2017.

Anyway, it was good to see that not much has changed. The backyard venue is still cozy and intimate, perfect for an acoustic show by Icelandic singer/songwriter Arny Margret. As with Ásgeir a couple of weeks ago, you can only marvel at the quiet mastery Icelandic artists bring to their music. “I don’t talk much,” she said at one point, but in the end, everybody loved her anyway. I also want to highlight Reuben and The Dark, the project of musician Reuben Bullock, who came down from Canada to set the tone perfectly.

Discovery of the Week: Samira Winter’s Album Tip

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In the “Shoplifting” series by Rough Trade New York at the Rockefeller Center, musicians recommend their favorite records. That’s always fun, but the Brazilian-American musician Samira Winter threw an elegant curveball with Elis & Tom (Apple Music | Spotify), a 1974 Bossa Nova album by Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim. Personally, nothing is more chill, summery, and swanky than Bossa Nova. Lean back and just enjoy.

Cover Song of the Week:

This Week in glamglare history

1 Year Ago: Eliza McLamb - Like the Boys

“Like The Boys” is from Elisa McLamb’s 2025 second album Good Story. Recently, her blog was often quoted in the Chaotic Goods debate.

5 Years Ago: Sophie Kilburn - I’m in Love With My Therapist

“I’m in Love With My Therapist” is full of pandemic-induced frustration. Read the post to learn the story behind the quirky title. Sophie Kilburn released a flurry of additional singles until 2024.

10 Years Ago: Shallows - Empire Of The Animal

The L.A. duo Shallows released three singles in 2026 before calling it quits.

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to all seven songs on YouTube, or follow our daily updated Song Pick playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify.

• Slow Fiction - turning down flowers
• The Buoys - Welcome To My Brain
• Tessa Rae - Lovers Always Lose
• LIA LIA - Audacity
• Kiara Skyler - Seven Seas
• Ruby of Thanks - Flosser
• Mallory Hawk - Four O’Clocks

We publish one Song Pick of the Day every day. You can subscribe to receive them by email.

Nine Photos: A Summer Weekend in New York

The World Cup may be over, but it made for a lovely summer weekend in New York. We split our time between Governors Island, an intimate concert at Union Pool, good friends, and a few quiet moments by the water. Here are a few snapshots from the past few days.

1. Arny Margret at Union Pool
   Sometimes all it takes is one voice and a guitar. Arny Margret quietly captivated the Union Pool backyard with her beautifully understated songs.
2. Balloon Museum at the Tin Building
   The first signs are up. After another delay, the Balloon Museum is now set to open in August.
3. Our canna lily
   We bought this canna lily during Germany’s World Cup match against Côte d’Ivoire. Weeks later, it’s suddenly putting on a spectacular show.
4. Makina Café
   A wonderfully relaxed corner of Governors Island.
5. Us
6. Bavarian cards
   Bavarian cards night with our friends. I declared an Eichel Solo—and won.
7. Makina Café on Governors Island
   Just enjoying a beautiful summer afternoon.
8. At the waterfront
9. Lower Manhattan
   Ending the day with one of the world’s great skylines.

1. The fact that not much changed in the second half, and Spain won 1:0, vindicated our decision. ↩︎
2. Smoke from the Canadian Wildfires reduced the air quality drastically. ↩︎