The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.
As smooth as butter, and as creaky as a porch swing, the soul coming out of this record hits all the right notes. It’s the latest, and fourth solo LP from Son Little, originating out of Philadelphia. This one is called Like Neptune, and like that sea god controlling the tides, this impressive singer ebbs and flows with steady downbeat rhythms. Production wise it’s subtle with sparse instrumentation, blending acoustic with electric, but also takes more electronic turns that actual became the best highlights of the album. He touches on different moods as well, from sensual R&B to painful blues, delivering certain lyrics that will occasionally break you from the trance of his terrific voice. The love of the genre is really felt on this one, by a truly talented artist.
Wordless Wednesdays is our column where we spotlight the best new instrumental tracks.
We’re still in November, but we’re just about over the holiday music already. The jingles, the sleigh bells, the saccharin sweet melodies designed to do something sinister to the collective brainwaves (we’re assuming). Lucky for us and you we have two new instrumental tracks and one basically instrumental track to cleanse the old ear pallets and regain a sense of non-holiday self. Check out the latest from faintface & Anita Tatlow, Rosa Canina and Irkid. . .
We will often talk about the magic of effortlessness in music. A quality that when reached for is ruined, but when it happens is magic. “Organic Tea” by Jacob King does not reach, it does not ruin. It flows easy and flavorful and as such sounds as natural as the subject matter itself. It’s classic indie singer-songwriter where vulnerability is mixed with a touch of detachment and the 4-track home recording medium isn’t a put on, it’s just the perfect medium for the song. Heaven forbid this gets remade one day in a fancy studio with a big string section and horns and a guest verse from T.Swft or J.Vernon because that my friends, would be a most egregious reach.
Week Starter is our Monday column where we give you a new song to help you get on out of bed & help you power on through the working week.
Happy Cyber Monday to all of those who partake. We’re assuming that our in office internet woes today were due to all the deals deals deals. Anyway, better late than never, here is today’s tune to get your week started. Who says you can’t start the week at the end of the day Monday? Not us. From the UK we have Guild Theory and their tune “Cackled Smile.” The duo of Rob Lewis and Matt Smith (probably not the Doctor Who one, but who are we to stifle your imagination while listening) have crafted something along the lines of Deftones minus the heavy parts. Does that work though? All that brooding tension without release? Yes. Yes it does. Melodic and, well not sinister, but certainly a tad dark, it’s a hypnotic feel that stays with you. I guess what we’re trying to say is it’s cool and it’s perfect for coming out of the gluttonous haze of the weekend and/or looking over your credit card statement next month.
The Omega to the Week Starter Alpha, Week Ender is the song we want to send you into the weekend with.
We’re in the part of thew year where we get to overeating in the name of family, country and religion. We’re hard pressed to think of a better song for the occasion than “Lazy Boy” by the Love Hounds. Are we basing this around the line “Woke up with my Lazy Boy stuck in recline, it happens all the time?” Yes partially, and while we know within the context of the song it’s about being drunk and a mess let us not discredit the powerful food drunk of the season. Also the regular binge drunk that the holidays can bring out of us. But we’re mostly basing this pick on the fact that it’s a cow punk, garage rock barn burner. The type of thing your coolest of uncles or older cousins would turn you onto, perhaps while on a run to the liquor store that they let you tag along on. And as they turn it up and say “this is REAL music” you nod your head, because that is the truth.
Friday 5×5 is our segment where we give you five new tracks to check out and give ourselves the challenge of describing said tracks in only five words.
Need some tunes to keep you leveled out as you battle through the scrum that is Black Friday? We got you. Check out these songs so good they don’t need a bunch of hyping up for you to want to bring them home to the family. New tunes from Nick Noon, Miriam Clancy, picnic., Lazy Queen and Farewell Horizontal. . .
Happy Thanksgiving. We’re thankful for our dedicated visitors who check in on the blog every week to get their new music and we are thankful for perfect little slices of sunshine like “Surely Goodness” by Mandi Mapes. If today is about gratitude we are hard pressed to think of a more perfect song for the day than this one. It’s a mantra for counting your blessings and a catchy one at that. Making a song that sounds this simple and natural is no easy feat, but Mapes nails it bringing a Carpenters level of songwriting mastery to the table. Let the gentleness of the tune wash over you as you remember all the goodness in your own life.
The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.
For late era gen x’ers coming into their teen years, looking for a new take on rock music, it was easy to miss out some hidden gems in that alternative movement of the 90s. Maybe you heard their name in passing as an opener for a bigger band, or maybe caught their video briefly on one of those late Sunday night MTV shows. Then 30 years later you hear Archers of Loaf, and damn. The original lineup of these North Carolinians have put out their first record in 24 years. There’s maturity in their sound now, uplifting tunes and somber piano, but still holding onto that youthful post-punk noise of their peak as well. Thoughtful crooning and clever lyrics on the state of society, and the emotions we go through navigating all life’s problems. Never too late to find a cool artist that could’ve inspired your youth, and hopefully they get the band back together to inspire your present.
Wordless Wednesdays is our column where we spotlight the best new instrumental tracks.
We get our fair share of instrumental tracks sent our way, what with us having a dedicated column to that wide and diverse genre and all. We’re hard pressed to remember a track that balances groove and chaos as well as The Bodies Obtained does with “Dilly Dally.” Most instrumental artists try to create a sense of space but TBO is all about movement with this one. It’s a hip swiveling electro strut with the occasional glitch spasm that keeps you on your toes. Throw in a breakdown that subverts expectations and you have one of the more interesting tracks this column has had in a while.
Well our week got off to a late and rough start but we’re fully back into the groove today. Yay us. One of the things helping us find our funky footing again is this banger from Baltimore singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ, and producer, Abby T. Why did we list so much of her resume’ on our notoriously short and sweet blog? Well, because all of those skills are on display in “Want It All” and each one is done with complete mastery. Switching from singing to rapping effortlessly and stylishly over one of those beats that is so simple yet so flawless that it instantly has you bobbing your head. Production flourishes making each section of the song distinct while still feeling natural is the icing on the cake. This is, as they used to say, that good shit.
