Here’s to the songs that subvert our expectations. For the first 32 seconds of the Jointheinternet track “About A Second” it seemed like we’d received another chillwave indie rock track with the usual easy going vibes and catchy melody – the sort of thing we get hundreds of each week. But then the vocals come in at the 33rd second and our ears are perked, our heads tilt and we realize what we thought was just another Wave / House / Beach / Day (combine any two of these to get a current indie rock band name) track is actually a glorious little weirdo in an easy pop disguise. Not unlike Ween’s most accessible material, it has all the hooks to make it a legitimate radio single but also the freak DNA to make it stand out.
September 9, 2022
Week Ender – Jointheinternet
September 9, 2022
Friday 5×5
TGIF amiright? You know what that means. That’s right, it’s Tunes Goodenough Itsdumbto Fillyourscreenwithwordsbecausetheyspeakforthemselves. Check out the latest from Jessica O’Donoghue, Blue Lupin, Lukka, Hunter Ellis and Niall Summerton and our micro reviews of each after the jump.
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September 8, 2022
The B-Side: Wreath
Y’all remember Midwest emo? Specifically that genre’s version of a power ballad? Sensitive and thoughtful yet still mathy with squiggly guitars and unconventional rhythmic elements? Well, whether you do or you don’t Wreath is here to drop a fine example on your eardrums with “Voodoo Doll.” Patience is a virtue and this one is most upstanding. Slowly building and then receding into quieter moments, all the while teasing a big bombastic release that…never comes. Waves rise and fall throughout and things get churny at the end of the song, but no big crash upon the beach. Musical edging or masters at their craft avoiding an easy payoff? Either way it leaves us feeling funny inside in a good way.
September 7, 2022
The Midweekly – The Suffers
It starts with love, the love for oneself in order to find the confidence to be who you want. That’s just one of the great themes on the new record by The Suffers. Coming out of Houston, this neo-soul group gets bodies moving, faces smiling, and tears falling. It continues with love, the love of friendship, womanhood, and community, as the lyrics take on these subjects, sung amazingly by lead vocalist and activist Kam Franklin. The production has that nicely polished R&B sound. Bright horns, smooth bass, fiery, Latin-inspired percussion. It continues with the love of positive music like this.
September 7, 2022
Wordless Wednesdays
After a few weeks of non-stop wordsmiths, we’re happy to dip our toe back into the pool of tranquility that is instrumental works. Check out the latest from Versa and T.O.L.D. after the jump.
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September 6, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Tender Glue
Effortlessness is the hardest thing to achieve in art. That quality that a thing wasn’t made out of great effort, but rather just sprang into being fully formed and uninterrupted. “Sad Sometimes” by Tender Glue feels like that for us. An introspective indie rock number loosely in the vein of Band of Horses, the song’s melodies and tempo changes float and turn in ways that feel obvious after the fact; as if there really couldn’t be any other way for them to go that wouldn’t sound like a nudge and a pull. It sounds as right as the wind in the trees and as hippy dippy as that sounds, that’s where we land on this one.
September 6, 2022
Week Starter – Laveda
Did you have a good Labor Day? Did you chill in the pool and hang with friends? Did you eat too much and enter a near trance state of satiated bliss? Well if you want to keep that good feeling going a little longer might we suggest “Surprise” by Laveda. Falling on the poppier side of shoegaze, it’s a hazy slice of indie rock goodness that isn’t so much a throwback to the classic 80’s/90’s sg sound as it is a timeless addition to that tradition. Turn it up and keep the dream of summertime three day weekends going.
September 2, 2022
Week Ender – Penny Rich
Live long enough and you get to see the good shit come back around again. After a long drought of Indie and Underground music that started off as ironic easy listening dreck before becoming full on in-it-to-white-wine-spritzer-win-it easy listening garbage it seems that the kids are ready to rock again. The UK’s Penny Rich bring such rock with “Stolen Goods,” a gloriously balls out, pedal to the metal jam that mixes punk, grunge and noise to create something that feels a bit like the younger brothers of IDLES on a few gallons of cold brew and attitude. There’s truth in the layers of distortion and we’re happy to hear it once more.
September 2, 2022
Friday 5×5
Kick off the last few weeks of summer with five new tracks that they don’t need all the blah blah blah from yours truly. Check out songs so good they speak for themselves by Spectral Planet, Luke De-Scisco, Tripper and the Wild Things, Ruth Lyon and Valère Géron after the jump.
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September 1, 2022
Thursdays With J.R. – Tommy Alexander
This week I learned just what quiet can do with the track “Silence” by Tommy Alexander. Drums and bass bring us in and they are well produced, thick and dry with great bass drum and snare tones. The guitar comes in lurking behind a beautifully dark melody. It reminds me of George Harrison in the best way. Tommy’s vocals are haunting, soft and buried in the mix yet dark with lyrics that cut through you. Words like “heartbreak on my shoulders” and “the red birds flying by your window” leave you feeling like you’re starring in the latest AMC show, dark and racy yet relatable. The song structure is common with the verses and choruses dancing in tandem, each taking its turn. My favorite part of the song is hands down the guitar. It flows in and out with the chorus and tremolo laden rhythm guitar. Just when you arrive the second electric trills and rips and bends on note after note. I wouldn’t say its ever enough to classify it as a solo, just really tasteful lead electric guitar. Silence is the way, if you’re listening to Tommy on this track preach it over and over, but I say bring the silence, turn up that knob and give it a few spins. Turn that silence up as loud as you want to. Great tune Tommy, I’ll be back for more.