“Easy Graces” by Sean Waters & and the Sunrise Genius: Grounded, Poetic, Striking
Few songs manage the transcendent balance between lyrical quality and expressive soundscape, but Sean Waters’ & the Sunrise Genius pulls it off with wrenching ease in their 2020 release, “Easy Graces.” This is a song to listen to in rain-soaked cityscapes, with a blanket bunched around your knees and your heart propped open. It’s notable […]
“Scapegoat” by Mark Newman: An Outlaw’s Groovy Anthem
Mark Newman’s 2019 release “Scapegoat” is a witty, rebellious track driven by an impressive stylistic commitment to Southern rock and storytelling. It both contributes to the elaborate history of its genre while simultaneously providing a subversive narrative about the nature of law and justice: “I’m an innocent man living outside the law.” Warm, vintage, and […]
“End Times”: Iliad Stone and the Monarchy’s Take on the End of the World
Fittingly, the first time that I heard Iliad Stone and the Monarchy’s “End Times” I was attempting to purchase a set of cloth masks online while watching Black Lives Matter protesters gather in Boston. Faced with the current climate of uncertainty and turmoil, the title alone was enough to pique my interest. Paired with Stone’s […]
Chatting with Maya Lavelle about “HOBO”
The video for Maya Lavelle’s fascinating new song “HOBO” comes with an eye-catching parenthetical: “picnic with a real bear”. That’s not something you see every day, especially not in an indie pop music video, so I watched and listened to see if it delivered the goods. I’m pleased to report that there is still some […]
Jamie Lawson – The Story of Moving Images
I first heard Jamie Lawson five years ago when “Wasn’t Expecting That” blew up on mainstream radio. It’s a brilliant track. It’s got hundreds of million of plays, but if somehow you missed it, you should know that it’s The Notebook in song form, and I mean that in the best way; driven by simple strums […]
“Prom Night Blues” by NRVS LVRS: Teenage Angst in IMAX Proportions
I didn’t go to prom in high school. I didn’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, for one thing, and my two best friends at the time were occupied with their own significant others. (I’m still friends with one, while the other has become an extremely online quasi-libertarian who I don’t talk to anymore.) Even […]
John Wages & Junior Cheyne’s “Close Enough for Jazz”: Classic American Pop
Reader, I have a confession to make: I have been growing tired of Americana. I’m not necessarily tired of American iconography, or even of the musical genre that traffics in that iconography; America, whatever else you’d care to say about it, is a goldmine for a creative songwriter. I’m talking about the bland, mannered Americana […]
Chatting with Rikky Gage of The Memories about “In My Heart, I Am Sailing”
“In My Heart I Am Sailing” by the Memories is a bubbling cauldron, a breaking surface, a sharp breath full of water. Flooded lungs, heavenly gasping, reaching for a handful of sky. It’s a deeply peaceful song – a song about giving in to the currents of life, about sharpening your vision and looking both […]
Frank Rensen’s “Someday”: Like Sands Through the Hourglass…
I cried the first time I stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. This wasn’t unusual in and of itself; I was seven years old at the time, and I was a sensitive kid who was easily overwhelmed by big crowds and loud noises. But that wasn’t why I was crying that night, standing […]
“Same Way” by Victoria Reed: Dreamy, Overflowing Beauty
I first listen to Victoria Reed’s “Same Way” in the car, under a dark and sprawling sky. Mosquitos crackle against the glass. No one else is with me. The song unravels first with synth layers – warm, rising, a gentle warning – and melting vocal riffs, setting the tone of the song in clear terms. […]
