When you think of trendy musical scenes, Portland, Maine might not be first on your list. Yet the homespun, heartwarming music of family-oriented indie folk group GoldenOak provides evidence that the dense woods of the Pine Tree State might just be a better muse than the slick streets of New York and LA. That music scene has thrown its arms around GoldenOak, and, in return, the band is helping to draw more attention to it with their excellent new songs. READ MORE…
Kanye West’s outrageous 2004 track “The New Workout Plan” introduced us to many things: Tracee Ellis Ross’ comic timing; the idea of parody in rap videos at a time when gangs and rivalries ran amok; and Ye’s outsized production talent. Turns out, we’ve also got Ye to thank for the eclectic and bold musical stylings of Abhi the Nomad, the Indian-origin, Austin-based rapper whose Spotify ratings are off the hook these days. READ MORE…
Like a fine Kentucky bourbon, the Louisville band Bridge 19 has come of age with its new album In the Afterglow (out 4/26). Mature and bold but sweet and satisfying, Bridge 19 offers it most revealing and meaningful songs to date.
Through lush, polished vocal harmonies, frontwomen Audrey Cecil and Amanda Lucas sing about serious, timely topics while ensuring that their songs remain charming and fun. Using moody electric guitars, horns, accordion, pedal steel, and drums, Bridge 19 presents riffs that bend and blend genres. Touches of Americana, lively pop, vintage Nashville, Motown, singer-songwriter, and even disco float from song to song. You’ll want to dance and sing along.
On his new EP What’s There to Say?, Kyle Daniel blends country with Southern rock, enlivening a genre hybrid that can often feel overcooked with his vulnerable yet vital songs about heartbreaks (the title track) and the opioid epidemic (“Born to Lose”). But he also makes time to cut loose and play loud, like in the rousing “God Bless America (Damn Rock n Roll).”
The latest video from San Francisco’s LOUIZA is just as fluid as the genre-bending track itself. “I wanted to write a song about seduction and true seduction brings you to the moment,” she said. “Musically, I’ve felt the interplay between space, melody and the drone of certain ragas has that ability: to pull you in and give you a sense of peace in it.”
His new album A Sweet Thing is a cathartic emission of everything he thought he knew about life, himself and what it meant to process such overwhelming heartache. The heaviness in his heart spills out onto the record in spades, but is never overwrought or too grim. Rather, it’s as much an emotional release for the listener as it is for Rossi.
“Be Your Man” is a laid-back folk ballad carried by layers of piano and electric guitars awash in reverb. It details a failed romance in which both partners are unable to let go, still texting and communicating on regular basis while both knowing full well that there’s no hope for a long-term romance.