Dermot Kennedy’s “Sunday” Took Me To Church
There’s a clock ticking in my living room, and right now it’s all I hear, as I sit and let Dermot Kennedy’s song “Sunday” sink into my heart and my mind. The lingering piano chords move over my soul like dry snow swirling in gusts over pavement on a cold winter’s day. As I listen, […]
J Lind’s “Don’t Let Them Steal Your Joy” is Pure Joy
It’s fine…It’s not fine…Don’t let them steal the backbeat in the rhythm in your voice. J Lind’s “Don’t Let Them Steal Your Joy” is a joyful song in the face of criticism, skepticism, and even prejudice. It doesn’t matter what you do, there will be those who doubt, those who oppose. As often as not, […]
“Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”
“Will Anybody Ever Love Me,” by Sufjan Stevens, is a song about a quest. The ultimate aim is to experience love – an honest, authentic love – so, another journey, really. Various landscapes are traversed in the music video, and each landscape has a portal to another landscape, and the journey goes on. This isn’t […]
“Your Side Of Town” Is About The Wrong Side Of Town
Punk rock goes to raw places that usually just tend to fester in the dark, and it shines a light on them. There is something about punk rock, including 80’s style synth-driven punk rock like that of The Killers, that gets supremely honest and cuts through politically correct “you can’t say that” with a “that’s […]
“Yes Maybe No” by Telephone Friends
The introduction to “Yes Maybe No,” by Telephone Friends, is a mix of wind instruments and light synthesizer sounds that don’t reappear in the rest of the song. It reminds me of my college days, sitting in the hallway between practice rooms, hearing a variety of instruments playing a variety of songs, and enjoying the […]
Noah Kahan’s “New Perspective” is a Yearning For Simpler Times
We have seen a lot of change in the last few years. It’s throwing us off. We haven’t kept up with it. The pace of change has been exhausting, especially in places in which people were sheltered from a lot of change – or even a lot of difference in opinion and experience and lifestyle […]
John Vincent III’s “That’s Just the Way It Is, Babe” Is a New Beginning
So, you find yourself sitting in the debris of some broken dreams. The dream house has fallen down around you. The shock is wearing off, and you’re becoming conscious of the dust on your clothing. You realize that you’re physically intact, and you find your love, also in one piece. For a while, the two […]
Scottish Singer’s “Chapters” is a Head Turner
You’re bouncing along on a remote Scottish road, not another vehicle in sight, trying not to be distracted by thoughts of getting your car in for service to get the shocks looked at, because there are various upcoming bends to negotiate and potholes to avoid. You happen to look up into the Highlands. Well, they […]
The Era of “Epoch” by DeYarmond Edison
“Epoch,” or – by the full name, “Epoch – Song for a Lover (of Long Ago)” is the culmination of some unfinished business. That business is now being taken care of by the band DeYarmond Edison, originally from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Also, a box set, because DeYarmond Edison has actually been around for a while, […]
Jason Wozniak’s “Missing Piece,” Catching Up, and Letting Go
The beginning of Jason Wozniak’s “Missing Piece” is like entering a storied jazz club, under new management. You hear a smooth synth. The musicians, friends of the owner, have agreed to help set the stage for a revitalization of the establishment. You come in for a bit of conversation with a long-lost friend. There are […]
