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 3, 2022
The B-Side: Paul Cook & The Chronicles
Nothing quite as difficult as playing it simple and true. It’s the true part where most people get hung up. Luckily for us Paul Cook & The Chronicles nail both parts of the equation with “Before I Embarrass Myself.” A lower tempo melodic indie rocker leaning into the singer-songwriter vein / vibe it feels like a lost classic from the very best of the softer side of early 90’s alternative. Shades of The Lemonheads are present with maybe a dash of The Connells thrown in for good measure. It’s catchy and a tad melancholic and perfect for this season. Put on your oversized sweater and curl up with this one, because it’s a good one.
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.
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.
August 30, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Specific Coast
It’s a fine balancing act to carry a melancholic vibe throughout a song without it getting too maudlin, or worse, becomes a one dimensional caricature of an emotion. Specific Coast (songwriter Matt Dunne) avoids that fate and makes it look easy with “I’m Just A Dog;” a laconic tune that straddles self-actualization and self-pity in a way that feels relatable, and in that, reassuring. It has the easy and natural tinted beauty of a Sunday morning coming down, and is one of our favorite submissions in a while.
July 29, 2022
Friday 5×5
Today we keep it tight for you (daddy) with the briefest of reviews of songs so good they don’t need a lot of blah blah blah, they just need you to spank that play button (daddy). Check out the newest from Stephen Peter Rodgers, Zack Keim, Phil Bourne, Post Drive and Jones Carwash after the jump.
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July 26, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Susie Suh
The best voices don’t need much in the way of support, and in fact too many layers of beats and bloops, guitars and gang vocals will often just get in the way for diminishing returns. Susie Suh has one of those best voices and is smart enough to let it shine on “Blood Moon,” with only a simple, sparse piano progression throughout and the faintest of synth pad and backing vocals on the choruses for dynamics. . It’s a breathy and intimate ballad that finds its power in laying everything bare and hanging the song on Suh’s vulnerable, perfect performance.
July 15, 2022
Friday 5×5
It’s been a long week, and so let us dilly dally no more, let us get right to the point with the briefest of reviews of new music by Sterile Cuckoo, INASEH, November Ultra, Father Baker and Cherokee Death Cats.
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July 8, 2022
Week Ender – Jeremy Nathan
The Omega to the Week Starter Alpha, Week Ender is the song we want to send you into the weekend with.
We typically send you into the weekend with an upbeat number, the kind of thing to put swag in your step and some muscle in your hustle, but this week we take a different tact. “Secondhand Smoke” by Jeremy Nathan is not a party jam, it is a making questionable decisions at last call jam and a lovely one at that. There’s a hint of Melvern Taylor here, both melodically and in the presentation of hard luck lyrics in a self knowing and charming way, and that’s a bit of songwriting magic that we will always welcome. Nathan has the lightest of touch on this one, both vocally and arrangement wise, and it’s that simplicity and restraint that allow the plainspoken brilliance of the lyrics to shine through. Simply put, this is a perfect song, one neither propped up nor ruined by over the top production or histrionic vocals, and it is that simple perfection we want to send you into the weekend with.