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.
November 24, 2022
The B-Side: Mandi Mapes
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.
November 17, 2022
Thursdays With J.R. – Wild Child
Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good “room sound” on a recording. Sometimes you get this naturally with a raw recording and sometimes artists go for this sound. It literally puts you IN the room. This week’s song sits you down next to the guitar and lets you just be. I spun “Photographs” by Wild Child and was transported to the room where it happened. The song starts off with room ambience before the guitar begins ever so slightly, pulling you into what will happen next. Gentle sounds of the Rhodes piano guide you into the beautiful and gentle vocals. They are complimented with a keyboard or guitar pedal that sounds almost sick, trying to fight its way into the song. The chorus is catchy and layered with horns. Rimshots, hand claps and snaps change the dynamic of verse two. The vocals become syncopated and full of attitude before we glide into the chorus again. The horns add so much here, not what you expect when the song begins so sparse. There are also subtle strings and keys that round out the sound. The sick guitar effect comes back at the end to stake its claim, it never overwhelms but keeps you interested. This song will surprise you all the while making you feel like you’ve heard it before as the chorus has a familiarity even after the first spin. Highly recommend this tune, starts simple and ends simply fantastic.
November 16, 2022
The Midweekly – Long Mama
The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.
Named for a cactus, imbued with both endurance and fragility, the music of Long Mama takes on those characteristics as well. Out of Milwaukee, they have dropped their debut, Poor Pretender, a record that has bloomed beautiful flowers, guarded by prickly thorns. Simply put, it’s folk, country, and Americana. No frill or gimmicks, just classic songwriting. Stories that shake the dust, and ache the heart. There’s a light touch to the rhythm section, a sharp twang to the guitars, and a magnificent voice over all of it. Handle this one with love and care, and if you get pricked every once in awhile it’s ok, just pretend it didn’t hurt.
November 11, 2022
Friday 5×5
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.
Friday? More like Friyay amiright? It’s been a long week round these parts and we’re ready to wrap it up with five tunes so good they do the heavy lifting. Letting us kick our feet up and go ahhhhhhh. Thanks Paul Bäcklin, Gillian Stone, Awon, Peaceful Faces and Throne Of Iron for doing all the hard work. Employees of the month, all of ya.
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October 31, 2022
Week Starter – Dawn Riding
Not only is it Monday it’s also Halloween (heard of it?) and so we want to start your week off with this spooky little number from Dawn Riding. “Hold On” is no campy holiday tune, it’s an eerie and menacing tune that feels a bit like Nick Cave taking a few steps toward the semi-ominous gypsy folk of Leonard Cohen’s early work. Singer songwriter Sarah Rose Janko doesn’t sound like Captain Bad Seed, but there is very much a red right hand vibe to this. Like a phantom in the night the song entrances and then fades away just as you’re starting to get a hold of it. As the kids used to say, its a whole ass mood and one we think is perfect for the night of celebrating the dark shadows we walk through.
October 27, 2022
The B-Side: g. spinn
A lot of people try to tiptoe through that sacred space of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith – hushed and intimate but yet lush and expansive – and most do it by directly aping those masters catalogs, especially “the hits.” What a delight it is then to hear g. spinn putting their own spinn (sorry, had to) on the genre with “Solitude.” It’ll give you all the same feels but gets you there in a way that feels refreshing and original but still within the lineage and tradition of the melancholic troubadour. It’s lovely, it’s a little sad, it’s perfect for shortening days and longer nights.
October 25, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Brody Price
Fall is one of our favorite seasons. Easily top 4. There’s just something about the melancholic beauty of leaves going out in a blaze of glory and breezy days still with a hint of summer warmth to them giving way to crisp cool nights that makes everything feel a bit more art house cinema. Brody Price captures the vibe well with “Fall,” a song that is equal parts regret and hope served up over a folk rock track that feels a bit like shuffling through the leaves. Life’s cycles repeat and all we can do is keep on moving through them.
October 21, 2022
Friday 5×5
Once again it’s time to microdose those reviews and let the music speak for itself. Five tracks so good we only need to drop five words to accentuate them. Check out the latest from vern matz, Markus Nikolaus, Sista Bossen, Brandon Isaac & Free Mind and fearofmakingout.
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October 20, 2022
The B-Side: Gareth Inkster
A flurry of strings opens this heady track from Gareth Inkster and immediately you know you’re in for something special. “Link” is a beautifully orchestrated, ambitious indie folk track that matches its moments of musical grandiose with lyrics tackling the connections between life, love, death and a few other things along the way. It is beyond lovely, it’s moving and simply one of the best tracks we’ve received in a long time.