Today we clean out the inbox and find treasures from Annie from the Canyon, Nasty People, Savage The Poet, Niia, Sonny and the Sunsets, Rather Vapid, The Jupiter Effect, Julie Title and Paul Cortese & Oscar Martin.
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Annie of the Canyon – “Rosie, Rosie”
We often talk about songs that have a cinematic quality to them, but usually when we do that it’s a wall of sound dynamic. Layers and layers that give a song depths and shading and movement beyond the usual rock song. Equally cinematic however is this stripped down number from Annie of the Canyon, which as the kids would say, is a whole ass mood. Starting with a downward sliding guitar part reminiscent of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” the song settles into a minimalist western tinged showdown that plays out a bit like a gritty reboot of the Loretta Lynn classic “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).”
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Nasty Party – “People On The Street”
This? This right here? This is THE SHIT. A protest song that is equal parts Gang of Four and The Clash but also with a dash of Devo in the choruses, “People On The Street” feels like it was built in a lab just to win us over. The Australian duo Nasty People certainly have our number, and if you know what’s good for you you’ll put this in regular rotation.
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Savage The Poet – “Head Up”
Anyone who’s been following the blog for a while knows that our favorite hip hop is socially conscious hip hop with a focus on the positive. Not that there’s not room for other flavors in the mix, but that’s our number one go to for sure. “Head Up” checks that box in permanent marker and does so with style and swagger. With a flow that at times reminds us of Tupac, Savage The Poet keeps it real while preaching the gospel of keeping that head up over a laid back jazz tinged track.
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Niia – “If I Should Die (feat Girl Ultra)”
A slow simmering stew of a song, “If I Should Die” by Nia is equal parts R&B, latin pop and indie electronica, swirling and mixing together at a low boil. What makes it so damn tasty is that it never breaks from that simmer, no big hooky chorus breaking through, no awkward break down for awkward break down’s sake. The restraint and confidence to keep it at a hushed intensity is what makes it intoxicating and what makes this one stand out.
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Sonny & the Sunsets – “Ring My Bell”
“Ring My Bell” is a charmer that dresses up a 60’s pop influenced indie number with a classic country pedal steel for a result that feels a bit like Jonathan Richman playing cowboy. It’ll be the most lighthearted song on your Americana playlist and the most tastefully throwback pop onbe on your indie rock playlist and is equally deserving to be on both.
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Rather Vapid – “Backdrops”
The Bowie is strong with this one. An otherworldly noisy, art rock, post-disco song with high reverbed out vocals it plays almost like a long lost track to the”Scary Monsters” sessions. Whether or not Bowie was a direct influence (we’d be shocked if not) Rather Vapid is definitely playing in Bowie’s sandbox with this one, but doing so confidently and making one hell of a castle.
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The Jupiter Effect – “The Journey”
Pretty sure there’s no deserts in Austria, but that hasn’t stopped Austrian group The Jupiter Effect from writing a new desert rock classic in “The Journey.” Swaggery riffs and melodies to rival the best from Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss and Fu Manchu. Saying too much about the track seems counterintuitive so we’ll just say it rocks and you should play it very, very loud.
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Julie Title – “After the Sun”
With a richly textured voice that grabs you from the jump, Julie Title enchants with this stripped down and straight forward ballad. Starting with just a finger picked guitar part the song slowly builds in both instrumentation and intensity, but wisely never gets in the way of Title’s vocals, which are just so very, very good.
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Paul Cortese and Oscar Martin – “Reflection for Piano and Viola”
We don’t know a lot about modernist classical music, but we know what we like and we like this one from Cortese and Martin, their take on one of Benjamin Britten’s “Reflections”. Exploratory and bordering on atonal at points, synced up and melodic at other points, the piece indeed feels like a reflection in a pool of water. Sometimes mirror like, sometimes rippled and distorted, but always beautiful and serene in the more than capable hands of Cortese and Martin.
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