“Hey Coffee Eyes!! (I Think You’re the One!!)” by Mapleway: A Gripping Emo Demo
Who doesn’t love a good demo? There’s something so exciting about your favorite artists releasing the early versions of their best songs. It gives us all the chance to dissect their songwriting process, muse over how differently their songs could have sounded, or sometimes, even just jam out. The Boston-based emo band, mapleway, just released […]
“Telephone Dreams” by Wolf Circus: Fresh, Charming Synthpop
One of the things that I love most about music is how it refuses to be a static art form. Musicians and songwriters are never satisfied with complacency in musical development. Instead, they are endlessly pushing the envelope of music—how it’s made, what it sounds like, where it goes. Yet, even with this constant sense […]
8 Best Music Business Tips for 2021
We made it. 365 days, a global pandemic, and about a million crises later, we finally rang in 2021 and said a bittersweet goodbye to 2020 (okay, it was really just sweet). The music industry, along with almost everybody involved in it, was taken for a mostly-downhill ride last year. Live events were nonexistent. Countless […]
“Different Man” by Paceshifters: Brooding, Hypnotic Indie Rock
The Dutch rock band Paceshifters is roaring back into the music scene with a fresh sound, look, and record label. Known for their electric live performances, loyal fanbase, and passionate vulnerability, Paceshifters embraces a new era without compromising their best qualities. Their dark, urgent sound comes to the forefront in their January release “Different Man.” […]
“Michelangelo” by Cassandra Jenkins: Being Unforgivingly Open
It’s never easy trying to articulate how you feel inside, especially when you’re doing it on a public platform. Aside from it taking an enormous amount of courage to be so open, it places a great vulnerability upon anyone, let alone an artist trying to survive in this world. A popular way to somewhat sidestep […]
Cathal Coughlan on “Song of Co-Aklan,” His Illustrious Career, and the Pitfalls of Technology
Over the course of Cathal Coughlan’s forty-year career, he’s made brooding sophisti-pop alongside future High Llama Sean O’Hagan in Microdisney; he’s made spiky, seething post-punk with Fatima Mansions; he’s released gorgeous, shatteringly sad material under his own name (listen to The Sky’s Awful Blue if you need a good punch to the gut.) But whether […]
Ellie Dixon and Austin Prince Look for Hope in “New Waves”
Thanks to a powerful on-shore breeze, Ellie Dixon and Austin Prince’s “New Waves” rolled in right on time. Just as the title suggests, this song is about waves — sound waves, radio waves, emotional waves, and creative waves. It articulates the feeling of being stuck, and finds a way out through reinventing how music can […]
“Automatic Love” by Lo Talker: Thoughtful Indie Rock
Andrew Shepard – front man of the rising folk-rock band Lo Talker – is no stranger to the music scene. Before starting the Lo Talker project, the Georgia-based songwriter headed Roadkill Ghost Choir, a popular indie rock band. During his eight years with Roadkill Ghost Choir, Shepard performed at countless music festivals. He penned some […]
Antonio Lopez on Roots and Wings and the Warriors Inside Us All
Antonio Lopez takes flight in his newest album Roots and Wings. In an Icarian journey towards insight and unity, Antonio leaves his wax wings on the floor and trusts the ones he has inside him. The gentle Indie folk sound sways like leaves in a carefree wind, but deeper down is a powerful testament to […]
The 10 Best Songwriting Books to Read in 2023
Songwriting is freaking hard. At least, it is for me. Maybe you’re in the same boat. Or maybe you write a hit a day, like Ed Sheeran, in which case you should probably stop reading this article and go work with Justin Bieber or something. For the rest of us, though, there’s good news: songwriting […]
