Like a Raymond Carver short story come to musical life, “Shadows” by Meditating Cowboy is both gorgeous and melancholy, which just happen to be two of our favorite types of music. The sparse, mostly guitar-only arrangement and big open production serves MC’s expressive vocals well; giving them plenty of room to dive, dip, soar and expand to fill the space. And just like the best short stories, this one is just a short vignette, a snapshot of a moment in the character’s life that fades before you know it, leaving only the echo of the emotion behind.
January 23, 2021
We Never Asked For This
Our inbox…it has so many treasures…let us share them with you! New music from Friends Don’t Die, Wails, George Moir, Tom Jones, Stephen G. Clayton, Heather Porcaro, icoro and High Viz Jackit Theory.
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January 22, 2021
The B-Side: Love Crumbs
There are great singers and then there are great voices. Voices that grab you from the jump and make you go “WHO IS THIS?” Ali from Love Crumbs falls into the latter category. Yes, there’s a twang and a rasp not unlike Janis Joplin there, but whereas most of the time you hear that in a singer it’s a forced affect – her voice sounds as natural as breathing. The roots soul waltz of “Cavalcades” is a perfect showcase for it, as well as for the tasteful musicality of the group. Quiet when it needs to be, a big shambling climax when the time is right. The lyric “we are bathed in an unstoppable light” isn’t just a positive affirmation within the song, but an apt description of the band’s sound as well.
January 20, 2021
The B-Side: Jon McLeod
Welcome to The B-Side, our new daily column where we bring you a bonus song to check out, fall in love and live happily ever after with.
Sounding quite a bit like the quieter moments of Gish era Smashing Pumpkins, Jon McLeod‘s “Static Air” transports us back to our teenage bedrooms and the very specific type of beautiful melancholy that occupies those spaces. With vocals consisting of long drawn out, breathy notes the song has an almost meditative quality with the lyrics appearing and dissipating, rising above and then fading into the simple but lovely cello and guitar parts. Some songs are a whole mood unto themselves, and this is one of them. Pensive with a touch of desolate wrapped in a comfy blanket, a perfect mid-winter song.
January 16, 2021
We Never Asked For This
Our inbox, it overfloweth with good tunes. Soundtrack your weekend with songs from Ash M.O., Average Joe, Fiebre del Sistema, Hearty Har, The Infinity Chamber, Jenny Kern, Rook Monroe, Realidades, USE and Vatar.
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