talker Captures the Zeitgeist on “Everything is Something (I Never Saw Coming)”
On rare occasions, a song brilliantly captures a shared societal moment. LA artist talker’s new song “Everything is Something (I Never Saw Coming)” is an emotional distillation of what 2024 actually feels like (for the artist and for the rest of us, too). The song’s hook, sonic texture, and powerful lyrics add up to Song […]
Friendship Re-defined in Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Make Friends”
What does it mean to be recognized? Say you’ve moved to a new neighborhood. You’ve noticed a few neighbors mowing their lawns, walking their dogs, rushing to work. You’ve found your go-to spots: grocery store, bar, café, park. You start to recognize the people who populate your little corner of the universe, and they start […]
The Ecstatic Catharsis of “Staring Into Heaven/Shining” by Sour Widows
Sour Widows is one of my favorite bands. When I first heard them on my local college radio station several years ago, I was immediately captivated by their mix of delicate harmonies, lush guitars, and deft and driving rhythms. Grunge, folk, shoegaze, indie rock – they seamlessly integrate these different elements into a coherent whole […]
Hailaker’s “M3” is a Breakup at the Pace of a Summer Drive
As I was zipping along in the pop ride that is Hailaker’s “M3,” the song’s title hardly occurred to me. I must confess, I had no idea what “M3” was supposed to mean, and I possibly still don’t. But I investigated. The all-knowing Interwebs showed me photos of a slick 2024 BMW “M3”—silver, green, red, […]
Mistakes Are Okay On Everything But The Girl’s “When You Mess Up”
Tracey Thorn has one of the most beautiful voices in pop. She sings with Everything But The Girl less frequently these days, and with an even more evocative sound than before. But the sudden appearance of 2023’s album Fuse was worth the wait. The band left their jazzy, acoustic beginnings to experiment a little more […]
Nostalgia Wins the Day on “So Sick Of Dreaming” by Maggie Rogers
The moment “So Sick Of Dreaming” starts, it whisks me back to a warm-coloured, fuzzy-photographed version of the 70s. The dreamy electric guitar, slightly washed with a chorus effect, pairs with Maggie’s close, clear, dry vocals to make the song feel like an old classic. And if that wasn’t classic enough… well, this song is […]
Kacey Musgraves Has Questions About Creation for “The Architect”
I’m no theologian, but it seems to me the title character of Kacey Musgraves’s “The Architect” is probably God… The name Architect is not too far off from Creator. This song approaches the world as a work of art, and reaches out for the artist’s hand. Musgraves hides complexity in simple questions. She begins with […]
Jason Wozniak Floats Dreamily on “It’s All The Same”
The power that music has to move you is phenomenal. It seems to physically make a part of your brain go from one place to another – in this case happy to melancholy, simple acceptance to complicated doubt, light to shade, sun to clouds. That’s what Jason Wozniak’s “It’s All The Same” does to me. […]
Destitution Meets Compassion in Holly Humberstone’s “Easy Tiger”
Well, I spent the whole of last week underwaterOn occasion, I would surface from my roomGot a first-class view from right here in my fortressGot a staring contest going with the moon Holly Humberstone’s “Easy Tiger” is not lacking in slow, deliberate destitution. The song begins with the kind of sadness that settles like humidity […]
Elbow Create a Monster Called “Balu”
Elbow (and lead singer Guy Garvey particularly) are a sort of underground national treasure in the United Kingdom. They play shows for royalty, but they appear to be the kind of band you’d want to spend the afternoon in the pub with. Garvey himself presents a popular and very enjoyable regular radio show. But his […]
