Lem Jay and Charlyne Yi on “Stroll,” Voice Acting, and Heart-Shaped Baby Grand Pianos
“Stroll,” a new song by musician and songwriter Lem Jay alongside actress and singer Charlyne Yi (you may know her from House M.D. or her extensive voice acting career), is a song that hearkens back to the ramshackle roots of twee pop. Nowadays, the term is used to describe groups like Alvvays or She and […]
Mia Porter’s “daisies”: Dreamy, Existential Pop
Time is money. Time waits for no one. Time heals everything. We drop these idioms into casual conversation. We snap watches over our wrists. We set appointments, celebrate birthdays, and count down the seconds until the next rite of passage. Our world is ruled by time—but how can we make sense of this abstract, passing […]
“Most of the Time” by Jocelyn Jayne: Strong Songwriting from the Heart
In “Most of the Time,” singer-songwriter Jocelyn Jayne shares complex lyrics set to keyboard, speaking of the pain it feels to care for someone who is emotionally and mentally unavailable. “I keep a cold eye ready for you to wake up And I take you, you would be mine I won’t remember you ever being […]
Erin Ash Sullivan’s “Take It From There” is a Warm-Hearted Reassurance
As the cliched adage affectively reminds us: “home is where the heart is.” And from the long list of hackneyed five-and-dime maxims, one could certainly pull out the equally cloying and superficial “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Yet, for Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Erin Ash Sullivan, no matter how trite or archaic these truisms might seem, they’re […]
Ingrid Serban is Turning Over New “Leaves”
In only one hundred and six words, Ingrid Serban lays out an entire story of transformation parallel to the seasons changing. Bound in simplicity, leaves shift from falling off the tree and growing back in a brighter color is inevitable. It happens despite the external forces. The process may be painful, but it happens anyway. […]
“Cold” by Greg Dallas and Catey Esler: After a Crisis, Life Goes On
Songwriter/composer Greg Dallas released the alternative rock album The Storm on May 1st, 2021, featuring vocals from Catey Esler as heard on the song “Cold”. The album as a whole seems to encompass a heartbreak. The song “Cold” zooms in on the loneliness felt after a difficult decision or a situational crisis, possibly involving the […]
“Kindred Spirit” by Annie Keating: Yearning for Connection
Annie Keating’s new single “Kindred Spirit” is a testament to emotional uproot—to hands that reach, desperately, in the cool blue dark and tangle with someone else’s. It’s a song about recognition: eyes meeting across a room, waves lapping against the side of a boat, a warm and familiar scent. Keating has historically been compared to […]
“Deep in the Shadows” by Anne Bennett: A Beguiling Mystery
It’s drama, it’s smoke and mirrors, it’s wandering down a dark hallway in your nightgown, “Deep in The Shadows” pulls back the curtains into the eldritch world of Anne Bennett. Heavy piano chords open into a progression of twinkling keys and echoing drums, synths swell in minor keys like a ghostly choir. Bennett pulls together […]
“Broken & United” by Millefolium: Warm, Welcoming Indie Folk
When I first heard the name “Millefolium” I knew it sounded familiar. A quick google search told me it was another name for Yarrow, which, if you’re familiar with the work of Cicely Mary Barker, was the plant assigned to my favorite flower fairy as a child. In the late summer my mother would bring […]
“Kind” by Tendayi Sutherland: Heartfelt and Spiritual
Tendayi Sutherland is a singer, songwriter, and poet from Kent, England. Her single “Kind,” out now on Goosebumps Records, is a deeply spiritual, emotionally fulfilling story about restoration and healing. “Kind” tells the story of a woman’s relationship with motherhood. Sutherland sings “I went to sleep with a lie/That I couldn’t hold a baby inside […]
