Scott McMicken and THE EVER EXPANDING Say it’s Time to Begin with “What About Now”
If Scott McMicken’s name, voice, or preoccupation with long-distance transportation seem familiar, you probably recognize one or all of these things from his time in Dr. Dog. His new project, Scott McMicken and THE EVER EXPANDING, release their debut album, Shabang, this March 31st. Out ahead of its release is the first song off the […]
Death Cab For Cutie Ponder Movie Stars, Eternity, and Pop Perfection on “Here To Forever”
For more than twenty years Ben Gibbard has been honing the sound of Death Cab For Cutie, trying to distill what they do to a set of musical fragments that, when played together, make up a melodic whole. On “Here To Forever” he may just have mastered that technique. To my mind, modern Death Cab […]
Fuel and Fire, Love and Anxiety in “Runaway” by Kylie V
“Runaway,” by Kylie V, is a song that comes from a deeply sensitive heart, for whom – because love and a relationship is so precious, and they care so much for their first love – contemplating and preparing for all the negative possibilities of the end of that relationship also feels like an enormous burden. […]
Emina Sonnad Restarts the Music with “Turn the Record Over”
Emina Sonnad’s “Turn the Record Over” is an elegant song, built around a warm piano with just enough reverb to sound full but lonesome, like it’s playing in a sunlit but empty room. The piano carries the waltz-time foundation, while the drums provide atmospheric surprise. The drum sounds are particularly hands-on: the wooden click of […]
Daughter Contemplates the Ravages of Time on “Doing the Right Thing”
22% of adults aged 84-89. 33% of adults over the age of 90. Those are the growing statistics surrounding the word that invokes pause among the aging or those with aging loved ones: dementia. Adding to the cruelty, daughters are 4% more likely to develop dementia (AKA Alzheimer’s Disease) than sons are. It’s 2015 and […]
When You’re Feeling Down, There’s Lullanas’ “Cheap Silver Lining”
There are times when it feels right to play a “feelin’ kind of low” song. It isn’t always about the lyrics fitting where you’re at. People feel low for a million different reasons, at least. If the song has that sense of melancholy that goes with it, and you’re on your own or hangin’ with […]
Lightweight Champion’s “Daisy” is the Age Old She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
Maybe this song was the message he left on her answering machine. He knows Daisy lied that she’d be visiting her family, but he wants her to come over. It’s a bit of a long, rambling, message. It’s a uniquely pedestrian version of a fantasy, about food and a coin collection and conversations and reading […]
Parkland’s “Trainwreck” is the Perfect Amalgamation
Human memory is a funny thing. Every New Year I go in positive. Then every January I remember how horribly cold, dark, and depressing those days can be, and how a task list of a million new ways to change my life is unsustainable. Next year, though? I’ll do it again. You could say this […]
KASIA’s “Great (or Happy)” is Full of (Real) Life
I’ve lived in Nashville for six years now. I’ve never known a place like it. Music is built into the architecture, growing in the landscape, vibrating in the air. It’s a magical place where your favorite artists are your friends and birthday parties are jam sessions. I’m writing this from a coffee shop two blocks […]
Lonely Choir Sings a “Kind Song”
This will be nice, I thought. A kind song, drawn up from the well-wishing wishing-well of someone’s heart. And sweetly, sweetly, Lonely Choir begins, “I hope you get hit by a bus.” So it’s that kind of song, the kind that lets you know right away the title is ironic. This is a detailed anti-prayer, […]
