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NPR’s All Songs Considered debut’s “Sorry, Not Sorry” from Sydney Eloise and the Palms

Fifties girl group crooning and echo chamber drums. Sixties wall of sound. Seventies California canyon sway. Eighties laser-sharp production. Nineties alt-country twang. Aughts vocal callbacks from Neko Case to Jenny Lewis to Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. Such is the stylistic chronology of indie-pop outfit Sydney Eloise & The Palms, whose latest single, premiering here, cherry-picks from 50 years of influences.

“Sorry, Not Sorry” has an unmistakably millennial title, but every note of it nods to predecessors. And with decades of backup, what could have been a flippant, hashtag-ready kissoff sounds instead like a rich, substantial reflection on getting out from under a bad situation.

Frontwoman Sydney Eloise said in an email that she wrote the song trying to maintain some dignity in the end of a relationship:

It may seem like a song of rebuttal, retaliation or revenge, but really “Sorry, Not Sorry” is me putting my hands up — getting to that point of numbness in a relationship where you can no longer carry another person’s emotions on your back … For me, this song is about reaching that moment where I had to stop thinking about this other person’s feelings because it was time to acknowledge my own. Like, “sorry this may hurt, but I’m not sorry for speaking my truth.”

Her low voice, indulging in few flourishes, flirts with nonchalance in the same way Cosentino’s does. Yet hearing this song that way would miss its affecting lyrics and the band’s fearlessness in casting a wide and sometimes contradictory net of references. “Sorry, Not Sorry” came from a numb, disconnected place, but it’s got a half-century of heart. LISTEN HERE…

by Baby Robot Media

NPR’s Songs We Love features Sara Rachele’s “Rebecca”

This song couldn’t have been released as anything other than a single. A full-length album would collapse under the plaintive, heartbreaking weight of Sara Rachele’s “Rebecca,” and picking songs to cushion it in a track list would be nearly impossible.

The Decatur, Ga. singer-songwriter’s pure, rootsy voice has a thick twang and deep vulnerability that garner immediate trust — which is vital before following her into the tangle of emotions her narrator feels after having an abortion. In range and rhythm, this is not a complicated vocal performance. But she is masterful in the myriad ways her singing envelops the nuance and intensity needed to tell this story.

The song was recorded solo, while Rachele sat in the grass outside the Danielsville, Ga. studio where she recorded the other track on her Madison County single. The rustles and chirps around her act as a response and a bolster. She sings about being lost in memory and “what ifs,” but all around her, life goes on.

Madison County is out now on Angrygal Records.

LISTEN HERE…

by Baby Robot Media

CMJ premieres Sydney Eloise and the Palms’ “Reckless”

This new track from Sydney Eloise And The Palms ambles along like the dusky moods of Neko Case dragged through some valerian root. It’s drowzy, but soon starts rousing from it’s rootsy slumber. This could be due to the fact that lead Palm, Ms. Eloise herself, made the debut album that this song comes from, Faces, over the course of a year, relaxed and friendly in its cooperation with co-producers Damon Moon and Chandler Galloway, plus guest noisemakers like Paul Stevens (Grand Vapids), Jenna Shea Mobley (Book Club) and Matt Jarrard (Royal Thunder,Spirits and the Melchizedek Children).

That doesn’t sound particularly reckless, but we wagered that Eloise has had her moments. So we asked her about ’em. Dig into her answers while lisetening to the premiere of Reckless, below. Faces arrives September 22 via The Cottage Recording Co. LISTEN HERE…

by Baby Robot Media

Baeble Music premieres video for Zach Vinson’s “You’re the One”

Zach Vinson, a Nashville indie pianist with the quintessential male-pop hairstyle, has been on a perilous journey with the music business. Between living in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, and Boston, Vinson finally ended up in the Tennessee music epicenter in 2010, ready to evade the competitive and sinister parts of the industry. But, gaining a professional music career proved to be a taxing engagement. Vinson took the following years off to rediscover himself, his love for the art, and his own personal motives.

Luckily for us, Vinson has returned offering a new EP and a new video for his song “You’re the One”. With flip-book magic and a luminescent stage, Zach Vinson and his band showcase the victorious spirit of defeating negative beliefs and continuing, confidently, down the music industry road. Evoking vibes from bands like The Head & The Heart and The Decemberists, Vinson’s alluring piano pop is enthralling and unique while remaining true to influential bands who’ve come before him. In the midst of the indie-rock ensemble, it’s the bright clang and rhythm of the piano chords that add nuance to the arrangement. Vinson’s joviality about finding love through all the uncertainty is simultaneously a vehement testament to perseverance. Whether gaining love or success, it seems Vinson has found the secret to his happiness. Get the new EP How We Spend Our Days out now. WATCH HERE…

by Baby Robot Media

Death+Taxes previews track from Jet Trash’s upcoming self-titled EP

It’s raining in much of the country and it probably won’t be hot enough for us New Yorkers go to the beach this weekend, but that doesn’t mean we can’t cheer ourselves up with a bit of jangly surf rock from the West coast. Specifically: A song aptly named “California” by San Francisco’s Jet Trash, which premieres here today.

Created in the grand Californian tradition of garage pop, “California” is a fun little surf ditty with lovelorn lyrics and an airtight hook that manages to remain rough around the edges. It’s got echoes of Surfer Blood, Beach Fossils, Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin, masters of sweet and sour all. Listen below as you dream of sunshine and ice cream cones. It’s really going to happen, I promise. LISTEN HERE…

by Baby Robot Media

PopMatters debuts Gringo Star’s new single “Undone”

If based on their name you suspect that Gringo Star are a bit cheeky, you’re probably right. There’s a definite playfulness to the band’s brand of pop, as their latest single “Undone” makes plenty evident. The track, whose most distinctive features include plinked piano notes and a whistling melody, sounds like the kind of tune that would play well over a Wes Anderson film’s closing montage. As such, it’s utterly appropriate for the coming summer months; after one or two spins, you’ll be whistling along to “Undone” as you walk out into the sunny season.

Singer and guitarist Pete Furgiuele tells PopMatters a great deal about the song and its influences: “We never really set out to make songs sound a particular way or fit into a particular genre. It’s more of a process of filtering out the things we don’t like. We’ve always loved to mix things up and try different instruments and sounds while still keeping true to the Gringo Star sound. The way we see it, there are so many cool sounds and different approaches in music that it’s cutting yourself short to write the same song and go for the same sound over and over. We like to keep things evolving. I know this is an approach we’ll continue to have as long as we’re a band. LISTEN HERE..