“When You’re Breaking My Heart” by Gatlin: Game-playing and infectious pop in equal measure
Gatlin seems to have contradictions to deal with. She’s with someone and she likes them, you know, in that special way… until they reciprocate. Then she’s not so sure. Ah love! It’s a complicated game isn’t it? Luckily, Gatlin has a supremely catchy song with which to work through her feelings. As she explains at […]
Sublime’s “Pool Shark”: Bradley Nowell’s Suicide Note
California, early 1990s. Despite the epicenter of popular music emerging from the Sunset Strip (think Guns n’ Roses) and Compton (think N.W.A. and Snoop Dogg,) a counterculture hotbed is simmering. Prior to boiling and spilling eastward, upward, and outward across the world with acts like No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, […]
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 […]
Boyscout’s “Done” Leaves the Past Where It Is
In golf, they call it a Mulligan. Your original shot didn’t work out, and you get the consent of your golfing buddies to try again, from the same spot. A do-over, if you will. In relationships, it doesn’t feel quite the same. It’s like a rebound relationship, but with the same person. Sometimes, over and […]
“Pull” by Joel Ansett is a Welcome Moment of Calm
It’s a loud, busy, frenetic world out there, isn’t it? Sometimes it can be overwhelming, I know! If you need a couple of minutes to escape from it all, you could do a lot worse than to listen to “Pull” by Joel Ansett. Gentle, confident guitar notes are counted in and a sweet voice with […]
Jake Minch’s “handgun” and the Question of Growing Up
Jake Minch has a young adult voice: newly strong, brave enough to let its softness show. You can hear the little kiss he gives to the word “you.” His speaker in “handgun” narrates with that same combination of strength and tenderness: strong enough to carry some heavy questions, tender enough to sing about love. This […]
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 […]
The Mayfield Four Triumph on Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues”
“Sing what you know about.” This well-established trope has been central to musicians’ integrity, creative flow, and authenticity for a century. Freddy Mercury did it (even if the audience didn’t know it at the time,) Lead Belly did it (even when it meant writing and performing a song for a Texas governor, in hopes of […]
The Moving Stills are “Better”
“Better” by The Moving Stills makes poetry out of everyday conversation. It’s not until the last line that they sing, “I can’t wait to tell my friends” but the whole song feels like an excited announcement. Big news! “It’s developing, she’s so sweet,” and my favorite, “She’s in Melbourne but she’ll be back next week.” […]
“Pebble” is a multi-genre banger
Every song should take you somewhere. Tugaloo’s “Pebble” takes you to places without you even realizing it. The song starts, and your first thought is that you’ve stumbled upon a solid singer-songwriter acoustic piece. It builds a bit, it’s all lovely, then after a minute comes a shift. And from that point on, it keeps […]
