“Kind” by Tendayi Sutherland: Heartfelt and Spiritual
Tendayi Sutherland is a singer, songwriter, and poet from Kent, England. Her single “Kind,” out now on Goosebumps Records, is a deeply spiritual, emotionally fulfilling story about restoration and healing. “Kind” tells the story of a woman’s relationship with motherhood. Sutherland sings “I went to sleep with a lie/That I couldn’t hold a baby inside […]
“Who Do You Think You Are” by Mihi Nihil: Teenage Angst Has Paid Off Well
Every generation has its take on the sound of teenage angst, all of which seem to produce both the cringiest and the most classic music of the era. I’m a great lover of many of these movements – early 2000s pop-rock, first wave punk, even today’s emo-pop – but I’ve always found the 90s brand […]
“The Sun’s Exploding” by Mellowpunk: Sheer Joyous Energy
“The Sun’s Exploding” is a single off Mellowpunk’s debut album, I Don’t Think Two People Could Have Been Happier Than We Have Been, released last month. It’s exciting, creative indie pop-rock brought to life by excellent performances and some fantastic production choices. The band has described their sound as “somewhere between indie pop and psych […]
“Stepping Stone” by Kelly McMichael: The Pain of Being Used
Kelly McMichael is a producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and, as her Bandcamp puts it, “conductor of great musical forces,” based in Saint John’s, Newfoundland. Her new single “Stepping Stone,” off her upcoming debut album, Waves, has all the cinematic, stadium sing-along drama of a great 70s pop rock anthem. It’s a remarkably ambitious track – multi-phased, […]
“Closer” by Christopher Green: Fresh, Vibrant Folk Rock
Christopher Green’s “Closer” is a really creative, exciting take on vintage folk rock. The track wears its influences proudly – The Band’s rich folk harmonies, some Bruce Springsteen confidence in the surefooted groove, and, most clearly of all, a strong dose of Wilco in all the creative, intricate textures. Yet it brings both a unique […]
“Cosmica” by Stevie Zita: A Space-Age Love Song
Stevie Zita’s Instagram features a “bathroom series” – acoustic covers of iconic indie pop and rock tunes recorded in his bathroom. These are lovely for several reasons – Zita’s wide, full vocals, emotional alt-rock strumming, and, most significantly for me, the bathroom itself. Anyone who’s done any home recording knows the sweet, special reverb of […]
“In My Dreams, A Perfect Chair” by Gawain and the Green Knight: Creative, Strange, Beautiful
“In My Dreams A Perfect Chair” is the new single from Brooklyn-based chamber folk duo Gawain and the Green Knight. It tells the unlikely and remarkably compelling story of a woodworking apprentice, so terrified of failure that she wants, on some base, fight-or-flight level, to quit – “Somebody tell me I’m not good at this […]
“She” by Mirabai Ceiba: A Rediscovery of Nature
Some chord progressions are full stories. They start at home, leave, grow, and return having learned something new. Marabai Ceiba’s new song “She” has such a progression. It begins with a pensive descent down the frets of a guitar, but at the end of every line there is an unexpected step upward – a remarkably […]
“Funeral Song” by Daniel God Damn Byrom: Wistful, Folky Melancholy
Hissy 8-tracks, guitar chords I’ve heard a thousand times, and multi-tracked soft-boy vocals always manage to weasel their way into whatever corner of my head houses nostalgia. Whenever I put on a 16 year old Conor Oberst, Roman Candle era Elliot Smith, or (to cite a recent obsession of mine) a Field Medic EP, I […]
