J Lind’s “Oxford Sweater” & Simple Joy
This is what J Lind writes on his instagram about his newest single: “Oxford Sweater” is about turning off your phone and noticing the world but here are some things I’ve noticed with my phone on, no regrets” What follows is a photo carousel of the quirky, the heartwarming, the mundane—an action figure on a […]
Elizabeth Hume’s “August” Unveils a Different Side to Summer
Well. How about we get honest? Like a lot of people in this world, I struggle with depression. Severe for awhile, now it’s just severe anxiety and moderate depression (woohoo!). It’s super… well, not fun, a lot of the time. Even now I’m about three minutes away from a beach and I struggle to get […]
Bad Tiger’s “Enough” and Timing
Bad Tiger is a story about timing. I was impressed beyond belief when I read that San Fran-based Bad Tiger debuted the week lockdown started. Because that one fact tells a story of its own: of pure resilience. I can’t think of much else that would so fully overshadow or outdo something so precious, so […]
Bridget Rian’s Single “Milk” is Saccharine Sweet
Saccharine love songs are always a bit of a hit or miss. And by that I mean, it’s totally contextual to the exact moment you find it, not its inherent worth. When Bridget Rian intros into her newest single, “Milk” with, “If my skin were milk, you would drink it,” there are those of us […]
Elizabeth Hume’s “Somewhere in Arizona” is Like Seaglass
Maybe it’s summer approaching, but I can’t get it out of my head that Elizabeth Hume’s music is rather like seaglass. There’s something translucent, but hued – hazy and rounded, but inherently sharp – a sensation that until the moment her song washed up on shore, it was quietly but violently roiling, roiling beneath opaque […]
Noele Flower’s Debut EP “Wait For Me” is a Stunning Retrospective
image: Luca Pearl Khosrova Noele Flowers’s debut EP, “Wait For Me” is a journey, a diary, a biopic – a testament to letting go of regrets and holding onto hope, and ultimately? A damn good listen. Ranging from optimistic, bright surf pop, to heavy-hit ballads and soft forest-folk, Flowers has taken inspiration from the path […]
Imagist Poetry & “Tik Tik Tik” by Airin Daniella
Sometimes all a song needs is a beautiful voice, simple lyrics, & an easy arrangement on acoustic guitar. In fact: if songwriters and singers are the gardeners of the musical land, I’d say sometimes we get over-involved in the way we nurture the seed of a melody – we talk to each other about what […]
New Year’s Blues & HANRORO’s “The last stop of our pain”
HANRORO’s (한로로) “The last stop of our pain” is a love letter with many lovers. It’s a love letter to herself, to someone lost, to the New Year, the many who are just struggling to make it to the next, and even to Time itself. I know – it’s a big claim. But this is […]
Sayonora Ponytail’s “Morning Sun” & Transformative Self-Expression
Sayonora Ponytail’s (さよならポニーテール) ninth album All Night Thing (夜の出来事) is funky citypop with a drop of melancholy, solemnity, and slowness. Which is saying a lot about the maturity of their sound considering the band has been nearly nonstop pop for over a decade now. In particular, the finale song, “Morning Sun” (朝日のように君は) has significant depth […]
Miru Song’s “You’re Doing Great” Has a Message We All Need to Hear
If any song could recreate the feeling of a gold star sticker on your kindergarten homework, Miru Song’s song (yea, a bit of a tongue-twister) “You’re Doing Great” might just be it. With his home in South Korea, but his heart in the UK, Miru Song’s travel between the two inspires his English discography. This […]
