“Dreaming” by Motoi: Dreamy and Atmospheric
You know that strange, groundless feeling when you first wake up? Before you rush back into your body, before your brain flickers all the way on. For a full five seconds the world is blurry and the dreams are still caught behind your eyes, and you lie there blinking, trying to remember who and where […]
“Pretty Funny” by Pepper Said: Raw, Honest Fun
Some of my favorite childhood memories take place in the backseat of my mom’s blue minivan, music blasting and windows down with me and my sister’s hair whipping around our faces. Without fail, when we got in the car and the local alt-rock WFNX radio station was on we knew we were in for a […]
Josh Gilligan’s “Where Can I Go”: Sharp, Emotional Lyricism
Josh Gilligan’s forthcoming release, “Where Can I Go”, feels like rain battering against the window. Like watching the steam unravel from a mug of tea. Like aching for someone you shouldn’t want anymore. It’s nostalgic, visceral, and devastatingly tender. In a sound or a word or good company/Oh you come when I’m finally feeling free […]
GoodLuck’s “Back in the Day We Used to Run”: Wistful, Breezy Nostalgia
As the year draws to a close, the urge to look back and take stock of all that’s transpired becomes understandably irresistible. After enduring what has felt like one trial and hardship after another for the better part of the last twelve months, the notion of comparing our current and weary selves with the doe-eyed […]
“Mint” by Glom: Tackling Personal Disappointment
Disappointment certainly ranks high as one of life’s most unpleasant experiences. As someone who has lived through more disappointing moments than I’d care to recount, I can confirm that there is nothing worse than having your expectations dashed by the brute and impersonal force of reality, particularly if there was a good amount of emotional […]
“Keeps Me Running” by Esther Rose: Sweet, Upbeat Indie Music
Esther Rose’s music takes us on a journey through places, experiences, and moments through country indie-pop numbers. She has the sensational ability to build a world around you through song, a world that’s warm and inviting and feels like home. Listening to her music is like stopping at a friend’s house out in the country […]
“Satisfied” by The Staves: Warm Indie Folk with Familial Chemistry
There’s something special about music made by a family. The Staves is made up of three sisters, Emily, Jessica, and Camilla, whose lives revolved around music from the beginning. Influenced by legendary rock artists like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, the trio made their mark back in 2012 with their first album, Dead & […]
“Snow Day” by Shame: Not Just a Song, but a Journey
If there is one style of music which I’ve never really been opposed to, yet never gone looking for, it would have to be spoken word. Regardless of the instrumentation or genre, I’ve always been really big on melodies in songs. In my journey of placing such a large emphasis on melodies as opposed to […]
“Paper Fog” by Cory Hanson: Unearthing an Underappreciated Genre
To my knowledge, a subset of musical genres which seems less explored than it should be is acoustic-psychedelic rock. Some of my favorite music from legendary psychedelic-rock band, Pink Floyd, comes from their work in the early 1970s, which incorporated a lot of this sound into the albums which they were producing. To me, there […]
“Wider Spaces” by Seafarers: A Relatable Musing
Songs can be an avenue to transcend time and space, using hooks to take us back to cherished memories or transporting us to a bygone era with an iconic guitar riff. However, they can also be immensely powerful reflections of our own feelings. It’s into this camp the luxurious jazz-folk track “Wider Spaces” falls. This […]
