Scott McMicken and THE EVER EXPANDING Say it’s Time to Begin with “What About Now”
If Scott McMicken’s name, voice, or preoccupation with long-distance transportation seem familiar, you probably recognize one or all of these things from his time in Dr. Dog. His new project, Scott McMicken and THE EVER EXPANDING, release their debut album, Shabang, this March 31st. Out ahead of its release is the first song off the […]
Emina Sonnad Restarts the Music with “Turn the Record Over”
Emina Sonnad’s “Turn the Record Over” is an elegant song, built around a warm piano with just enough reverb to sound full but lonesome, like it’s playing in a sunlit but empty room. The piano carries the waltz-time foundation, while the drums provide atmospheric surprise. The drum sounds are particularly hands-on: the wooden click of […]
Lonely Choir Sings a “Kind Song”
This will be nice, I thought. A kind song, drawn up from the well-wishing wishing-well of someone’s heart. And sweetly, sweetly, Lonely Choir begins, “I hope you get hit by a bus.” So it’s that kind of song, the kind that lets you know right away the title is ironic. This is a detailed anti-prayer, […]
Saintseneca’s New Monster is “Wild Violent”
Saintseneca’s songwriting is a unique beast. Lead singer Zac Little writes with internal rhymes and assonance as dense as those of Gerard Manley Hopkins (“Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s / Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name” – Hopkins could’ve been an indie singer-songwriter, if he wasn’t a […]
The Stolen Hours of H.C. McEntire’s “Soft Crook”
It’s a small thing, but also not a small thing, for someone to hold your hand on the street, to kiss you goodnight in her doorway. “Never seemed to ask for much / a lover not afraid of love” H. C. McEntire sings on “Soft Crook” – and it’s not too much to ask. Love […]
Laura Lang Writes a “Love Letter”
Like T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and Pete Townshend’s album The White City: A Novel, Laura Lang’s “Love Letter” isn’t what the title says it is. In fact, she tells us in the chorus, “This isn’t a love letter, ’cause I can’t let it be.” So my question is, […]
Catatron’s “Again and Again” Explores the Depth of a Simple Phrase
People mean so many things when they say, “I love you.” Sometimes the words are code for, “Thank you” or “I’m sorry” or “I want something from you” or “I can tell you want something from me.” Sometimes they mean the thing that words can’t say. Saying “I love you” isn’t like saying what […]
Michael Suddes Wakes Up and Sings on “I’m a Bird”
Other people’s insomnia isn’t usually thrilling to hear about, but it thrilled me to hear Michael Suddes sing, “I tossed and turned like a dryer” in “I’m a Bird.” Not only is that exactly how it goes for me when I can’t sleep – I throw myself over in frustration, like a heap of wet clothes […]
Isabel Bailey on her “Favorite Color in the Summer”
It was almost still summer when I saw the Isabel Bailey Band for the first time, performing at WTJU’s Offbeat Roadhouse. I was standing behind a camera to the side of the stage, but I was also swimming in the moonlight Piney River, then splashing through gutter puddles in bright rainboots. What I mean is […]
The A.M.s Stay Up All Night On “Ignite the Sky”
Since March of 2020, we’ve been in an age of long-distance; pretty much every interpersonal connection, except for those with our families and roommates, became a long-distance relationship. You don’t need me to tell you that this has been hard, or that it has posed particular challenges for musicians. But I can tell you about […]
