Laura Gagné’s “I Love You Friend” is a Bite of Heaven
Canadian singer-songwriter Laura Gagné serves up whimsical sweetness in her 2020 release, “I Love You Friend.” This is a song about the circular nature of longing and regret. It’s a song about the inextricable link between love and pain, about the rise and fall of closeness and detachment – and its slick, soaring sound will […]
SAER’s “Start a Fire”: Approaching Grief with Curiosity
Full disclosure: SAER’s May 2020 release “Start a Fire” will definitely make you cry on the drive home – and I mean that in the best way. SAER, a multi-skilled artist who serves as the singer, songwriter, and producer of his own music, approaches grief with a tender curiosity in this song…and it’s powerful stuff. […]
“Easy Graces” by Sean Waters & and the Sunrise Genius: Grounded, Poetic, Striking
Few songs manage the transcendent balance between lyrical quality and expressive soundscape, but Sean Waters’ & the Sunrise Genius pulls it off with wrenching ease in their 2020 release, “Easy Graces.” This is a song to listen to in rain-soaked cityscapes, with a blanket bunched around your knees and your heart propped open. It’s notable […]
“Scapegoat” by Mark Newman: An Outlaw’s Groovy Anthem
Mark Newman’s 2019 release “Scapegoat” is a witty, rebellious track driven by an impressive stylistic commitment to Southern rock and storytelling. It both contributes to the elaborate history of its genre while simultaneously providing a subversive narrative about the nature of law and justice: “I’m an innocent man living outside the law.” Warm, vintage, and […]
Chatting with Rikky Gage of The Memories about “In My Heart, I Am Sailing”
“In My Heart I Am Sailing” by the Memories is a bubbling cauldron, a breaking surface, a sharp breath full of water. Flooded lungs, heavenly gasping, reaching for a handful of sky. It’s a deeply peaceful song – a song about giving in to the currents of life, about sharpening your vision and looking both […]
“Same Way” by Victoria Reed: Dreamy, Overflowing Beauty
I first listen to Victoria Reed’s “Same Way” in the car, under a dark and sprawling sky. Mosquitos crackle against the glass. No one else is with me. The song unravels first with synth layers – warm, rising, a gentle warning – and melting vocal riffs, setting the tone of the song in clear terms. […]
Pussyft’s “Little Green Men”: A Sarcastic, Psychedelic Take on Hipster Culture
Pussyft’s “Little Green Men,” a single released May 8, takes a bizarre and intriguing twist on the indie music scene. Witty, sarcastic, and unflinching, this song toes the line of ridiculous and clever, executing a narrative which questions today’s views on entitlement, importance, and “hipster culture.” In its bolder moments, the song seems to suggest […]
Imbibe’s “Time Heals Every Wound”: Bittersweet and Healing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncjlkuNRFiI Groovy, sincere, and expertly crafted, Imbibe’s 2020 single “Time Heals Every Wound” is an off-center pop song about coming to grips with pain in a productive way. Listening to it feels like running your finger down a scar, gently, lovingly, while still acknowledging the hurt which produced it. Although the song aches from the […]
“Til It’s Gone” by The Duke of Randwick: Soulful, Grim, Familiar
Harsh, dark, and vulnerable, “Til It’s Gone,” by The Duke of Randwick sweeps the listener into a story about holding on. It’s a song about clinging to the things you know even when you know they will hurt you – about holding on, and on, and on, until it finally runs out. Surrounded by rusty […]
“Box” by redbook Takes Off Your Rose Glasses
redbook’s song “Box” is a soulful break up anthem that boasts high energy, power-house vocals, and no shortage of righteous rage. It’s a song about anger, but more about regret – the pit you get in your stomach when you’ve escaped a relationship and you’re forced to acknowledge the crap you put up with from […]
