The Earthshaking Soul of The War and Treaty
When The War and Treaty hit you, you know it. The husband and wife duo’s debut EP, Down to the River, simmers like some kind of secret home-brew, one hundred proof and burning all the way down to the pit of your stomach. Steeped in the history of the Delta blues, doused in soul sonics, […]
The Effortless Flair of Duets and Stuff’s “Serve Somebody”
There’s no denying it, making a good single is hard. It can take days, weeks, or even months for a song to go from a mere idea to a finished product, with hours being spent on everything from lyrics to melodies and instrumentation to production. Sometimes, you can hear that effort in the final piece, […]
The Many Melodies of Pink’s “Beautiful Trauma”
When you’re writing a pop song, you really only have three jobs. 1. Write a melody for the verse. 2. Write a melody for the chorus. 3. Add a kinda slowed down and slightly different melody, and play it as a bridge before the last chorus. That’s it. That’s a pop song. So when a […]
“Sorry” Shouldn’t Apologize for Being Good
There are lots of things in life that are easy. Beating Floyd Mayweather in a spelling bee is easy. Not living up to your potential and slowly growing to hate yourself more and more every day is easy. Your mom is easy (got ‘em!). But I’m not sure that there’s anything in this world easier […]
Why I Love “I Love the Way You Lie”
If I’m being completely honest, I’ve never been a fan of Rihanna’s music. Like, I don’t hate it, but if I was on a road trip with someone and they were like, “Do you want to listen to Rihanna or something else?” I’d probably choose “something else” every time, and take my chances. And I […]
Lord Huron Gets Darker with Vide Noir
Lord Huron is an American indie band based in Los Angeles. The band takes its name after Lake Huron, where Michigan-born front man Ben Schneider would spend evenings playing music around the campfire. Vide Noir was released on April 20, 2018. It arrives from Whispering Pines/Republic Records (a new arrangement for the band, whose previous […]
Elvea – The Story of “Breathing Underwater”
Elvea is one of those musicians who’s definitely an artist, in the fullest sense of the word. I mean that she’s a creator to the core. But I also mean it in the first, more literal sense, too – like, she’s a painter. With music. Something in the sounds she chooses evokes painting to me. There’s […]
The Beauty of “Praying”
There are some people in this world who I really don’t care for. It’s natural. When I was in 7th grade, I had the door of a locker room bathroom stall kicked open on me (I was using it, obviously). It was an honest mistake (the guy explained he’d been TRYING to bully a kid who […]
The Genius of “Castle on the Hill” Is in the Details
If you read the articles I write for this website, or if you’re going to start reading these articles religiously after being blown away by the inescapable genius (and occasional delusions of grandeur) contained here within, then it’s going to become pretty apparent to you that I love Ed Sheeran. It’s just a fact. I […]
Simeon Ross – The Story of “Arise”
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a moody rock song. For all of the feel-good music I listen to (and as I try to hurry spring into existence, there’s a lot of it), so many of the songs that actually make me feel the best are the ones that make commiseration easy. Commiserative songs are the ones that invite you […]
