“Jelly Donut” | Katie Kuffel Evokes Individuality and Takes a Stand
Katie Kuffel already had me at “Seattle-based”. If you know anything about me, the cloudy city sound is something I relish in, and Kuffel definitely nails that with her track “Jelly Donut”. We can talk all day about her haunting voice (and believe me, I will), but first things first–the piano on the beat deserves […]
Oliver Hazard Charms Us with Boyish Folk Rock | “Gold Teeth Girl”
“Gold Teeth Girl”, a new song by the Waterville, Ohio-based folk rock band Oliver Hazard, will sound familiar if you listened to indie rock radio in the early 2010s. At the time, indie-folk bands like The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons were enjoying unusual mainstream success, racking up Top 10 hits and Grammy Awards while […]
Cellophane Sam – “At War with the Present”
“At War with the Present”, a new song by indie folk act Cellophane Sam, starts off simply–almost too simple, in fact. Over some pretty-but-basic guitar chords, Cellophane Sam (who doesn’t say his real name on his website) sings: “Like a light in the dark/Like the wind through the trees/Life appears and it plays out its […]
Escaping Chaos with “Forest House” by Sir Jay
The title alone sets the scene of a peaceful, quiet place to exist. Standing as the more mellow counterpart to his other new single, “Forest House” is a song about Sir Jay escaping the chaos of life with the person he loves. Coming in with a soft and subtle folk guitar, it feels warm and […]
Joel Ansett – The Story of “Through”
I think it’s Joel Ansett’s vulnerability that makes his music special. True thing: it’s impossible to tell good stories without being vulnerable. Vulnerability is the lifeblood of a storyteller, because stories need weakness and brokenness to give them stakes. If you can’t admit those things in yourself, it’s hard to paint them accurately anywhere else. […]
Pretoria Presents 60s-Pop Throwback, “Gently”
It’s been fifty years since the end of the 1960s, and yet it still looms large over our pop culture landscape. One of the most acclaimed television shows of the past twenty years, Mad Men, is essentially a series-long exploration of the entire decade, from its carefree beginning to its turbulent end (and the scotch […]
Reese W. Makes Bluesy Debut with “Julianna (What Have I Done)”
Reese W., the singer-songwriter behind the new song “Julianna (What Have I Done)”, does not have a website of his own. If you were to search “Reese W” or “Reese W singer” on Google, you’d find pages of results on Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon. His only online presence is his Spotify page and his […]
“The Font”: Jackson Dyer’s Deeply Poetic Single from ‘Inlet’
Subtlety is not inherently more noble than bombast. Sure, it’s easy to shun big dumb pop hooks in favor of your favorite indie artists, and it has the added bonus of making you feel intellectually superior to people on the Internet, which is what we’re all after at the end of the day. But there’s […]
Dan Edmonds Discusses “beside you” from New Album, ‘softie’
Last week, Dan Edmonds released his new album, softie. After a three-year period between releases, Edmonds is back with his best work yet. It is clear that he has grown and evolved, bringing new perspectives to songwriting and style. Not only has he created a new landscape of sound, but he’s also refined and perfected […]
Live: Beach Bunny at Great Scott
I was lucky enough to see indie pop band Beach Bunny play live at Great Scott in Boston last week. Despite the heartbroken nature of their songs, they radiate positive energy and really know how to hype up a crowd. They’d been watching the show from the sidelines all night and stepped on stage and […]
