“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 […]
How to Get Fans of Your Music
When I was a kid, my brothers and I would record ourselves singing in Audacity. Then we’d lay down some rhythm using a few pots and a basket of legos, and some guitar riffs using the only two chords Jon knew at the time. When a song was in its final form, we’d sit our […]
“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 […]
Lily Kelso on “DETAILS” and Balancing Study with Songwriting
After a brief period of stagnation in the latter half of the past decade, indie rock is in a particularly healthy place right now, due in large part to the success of female artists. While they haven’t crossed over in terms of radio hits, artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Mitski have captured the hearts and […]
