Glide Magazine

Veteran singer, songwriter and musician Jesse Harris has just announced the release of new album No Wrong No Right, out Feb. 10 on Dangerbird Records.

The Grammy-winning Harris had his breakthrough in 2003, having written Norah Jones’ first and biggest hit “Don’t Know Why.” He subsequently has had a vibrant solo career of his own, along the way writing for and collaborating with renowned artists such as Bright Eyes, Cat Power, Feist, M. Ward, Melody Gardot, Mike Patton, John Zorn, Solomon Burke, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.

On No Wrong No Right—Harris’ 13th solo album—he drew inspiration from Neil Young’s approach on After the Goldrush. “Some of that record was done with Crazy Horse, and it’s a rock record,” Harris explains, “but then you also have these hushed acoustic folk songs, and it keeps shifting back and forth between the two distinct moods. I always loved the way that worked, so I started there, but with No Wrong No Right, I also added a third element.”

The three elements Harris speaks of are an inspired set of full-band tunes recorded with guitarist Will Graefe and drummer Jeremy Gustin of experimental duo Star Rover; a more subdued, acoustic-anchored series of duets with guitar virtuoso Julian Lage; and a trio of evocative instrumental tracks.

The album initially grew out of Harris’ discovery of Star Rover and the friendship and musical chemistry that developed between them last winter. “I fell in love with their band,” Harris says. “I was sort of a groupie, checking out their gigs all the time. One day they invited me over to their loft to play, and it felt great from the first song. Which inspired me to write a bunch more songs.

“Will and Jeremy, musically, are adventurous and free, and at the same time completely supportive of the song. They love to work out arrangements, but they play with a lot of looseness and expression. It’s so hard to find that perfect combination—either people don’t want to rehearse, and just play all over the songs, or they’re too rehearsed and there’s no spontaneity. As a singer and songwriter, I feel like they support the music, but at the same time completely challenge it.”

Glide is premiering the dreamy new track off No Wrong, No Right titled “River of Stars” (below). With his haunting voice and intricate folk, Jesse Harris’ solo work  now rivals his most significant collaborations.

“I took the title “River of Stars” from a line in a book I was reading by Alejandro Jodorowsky,” explains Harris to Glide. “The lyrics are about how even the most subtle mental changes can have hugely beneficial effects on your life. Jodorowsky seemed equally, if not more, obsessed with his personal journey as his career journey, which was very appealing to me. I definitely made some some mental changes in my life after that, though not through meditation as Jodorowsky does in the book.” LISTEN HERE…

Recorded in her hometown of Atlanta, the Brooklyn/East ATL-based Sara Rachele’s debut, Diamond Street, rides out slow and dark as a jet-black 1960s Chrysler New Yorker. The live-to-tape LP—produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52’s, Balkans, Coathangers)—was recorded in just two days, and captures the East Village nightlife of a young songwriter in what Glide previously called “a timeless, vibrant rock ’n’ roll statement.” Diamond Street’s sparkling lo-fi charms span the decades, Rachele channeling everything from classic Fleetwood Mac and Petty’s Heartbreakers to Lucinda Williams and David Lynch muse Julee Cruise.

On recording with producer Sampson (who also plays in New West Records band Ponderosa), Rachele says, “Kris really challenged me on this album. Even though we were working quickly, he had patience with the songs, and he took the sound to a new place for me without it seeming disingenuous.” The results have landed Rachele in esteemed outlets like American Songwriter and No Depression, critics comparing her work to that of singular artists such as Neko Case, Stevie Nicks and gorgeously moody ‘90s alternative band Mazzy Star.

In addition to producer Sampson, Rachele’s new debut Diamond Street features the musical contributions of budding folk hound J. Thomas Hall (New West’s Normaltown Records imprint) as well as a cast of Atlanta-based heavy hitters including Lightnin’ Ray Jackson (Washed Out, Gringo Star), Spencer Pope (Ocha La Rocha), Spencer Garn (Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics) and Snowden’s Chandler Rentz.Diamond Street represents the gorgeous clash of Rachele’s folk-centric upbringing and her beat rock & roll adventures in New York City. With five years of stories under her belt, she has created a moody musical pulp, resounding with smoky memories of ambling city nights.

Glide  is proud to premiere Sara Rachele’s video for “Black Mile,” a track that reflects Rachele’s aching vocals and sense of melodic virtuosity stirs immediate comparisons to Stevie Nicks’ most recognized ballads with Fleetwood Mac.

Rachele goes on to describe the track:

“Black Mile” is about loneliness—about those moments you’re thinking about mortality. I’ve always felt that those songs, about death, are the hardest to write, but the most comforting to listen to. It’s about accepting our fear of mortality—my friend Melissa Ferrick has a song where she just repeats, “The journey is the destination… the journey is the destination.”

There’s an old jazz song called “Black Nile,” and it got me thinking this concept of life as a journey, and death as a journey, too. I felt compelled to write a song about, and the guys in the studio really got into that vibe with me. The result was “Black Mile.” I wrote the song in one sitting… it kind of wrote me, in a way. Once we were in the studio, it all came together, really out of nowhere, as a full-band composition—the way Chandler Rentz played drums on it really stirs something in me every time I hear the song. He really made it my favorite song on Diamond Street.

At peace. That’s where this song puts me—in a conversational way, talking to death, addressing mortality and my own life each time I sing it… looking right down the barrel of the gun and saying, “I’m okay with whatever happens.” That’s the way I want to live my life; not in fear, but in communication with life itself. With acceptance.”  WATCH HERE…

More than anything else, Tesla Rossa is an organism that has evolved rapidly and constantly through touring, writing, and common living over the past five years. After years of heavy touring and writing, Tesla Rossa is finally celebrating their first full-length release due November 11th.  With the upcoming release due, Glide is excited to premiere the self-titled album’s track “Heavy Love, Pt. 2,” (below) a revealing composition that combines the melodic mood wings of My Morning Jacket along with cryptic underbelly that spells listener rewarding authentic rock and roll.

“Heavy Love Pt. 2 ” started as an outro to another song that we’d play in our basement all the time. Friends would be over hanging and listening, and we’d just keep jamming on it, and turning it into this reverb-soaked Motown-inspired thing, ” explained singer-guitarist Jason Denton.

“We had an instrumental demo of the song, and one night I took a mic and a laptop into this weird dungeon closet in my basement, and I recorded the lyrics over it. They were from a poem I’d written. It was avery turbulent time in my life. Most of my lyrics from that time are me telling myself that I can get through anything—writing songs rooted in a positive desperation.  Anyway, I could’t wait to let the band hear. “Heavy Love, Pt. 2? quickly became one of our favorite songs to play live. It’s the first chill song we ever wrote together. When we brought it to Vance, it was already so developed that we literally set up, rolled tape, played it once, and that’s the version you hear on the record. It was the first song cut in those sessions.”

Tesla Rossa worked with several notable producer/engineers on this forthcoming self-titled debut, including former Wilco drummer Ken Coomer and Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather).  Powell assisted in narrowing down their numerous demos into a cohesive record and bring it to life. They cut the chosen tracks live in Powell’s studio and brought on Kyle Dreaden, now producer of the band, to mix.

The record itself spans a wide variety of styles from dicey blues-rock strut to expansive arena melodies.   In their most recent work, powerful groove-based drum parts and earworm melodies stand at the forefront. Perhaps the key to the band’s dynamic is their diversity of taste. “We all have very different listening preferences,” Denton  points out. LISTEN HERE…

Since they formed two years ago, The Wans have been kept with their heavy Nashville rock ethos, while mingling together the classic elements of 60?s 70?s and 90?s rock. Having already opened for artists such as Pearl Jam, Beck and the Black Lips, and their music has been featured on ABC’s Nashville, A&E’s Longmireand USA’s Necessary Roughness.

Their new album He Said, She Said (out Sept. 9) was produced by Dave Cobb (Rival Sons, Jason Isbell) & mixed by Vance Powell (Jack White, Arctic Monkeys). The band wrote over 40 songs for the new record before whittling them down—with the aid of producer Cobb—to the 10 best. “We tracked all the songs in one week at Dave’s studio, which is completely analog,” says lead singer/guitarist Simon Kerr. “He has this old mixing board that some of our favorite albums were recorded on—The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. The sound of that board really guided us on He Said, She Said. We cut it completely live—even the vocals.” LISTEN HERE…

NYC/Atlanta based Sara Rachele will be releasing her debut album Diamond Street on September 2nd. Recorded in her hometown of Atlanta,  Diamond Street is a live-to-tape LP—produced by Kristofer Sampson (B-52s, Balkans, Coathangers). The LP was recorded in just two days, and captures the East Village nightlife of a young songwriter in a timeless, vibrant rock ’n’ roll statement.

On recording with producer Sampson (who plays in New West Records band Ponderosa), Rachele says, “Kris really challenged me on this album. Even though we were working quickly, he had patience with the songs, and   he took the sound to a new place for me without it seeming disingenuous.”

In addition to producer Sampson,  Diamond Street features the musical contributions of budding folk hound J. Thomas Hall (New West imprint Normaltown Records) as well as a cast of Atlanta-based heavy hitters including Lightnin’ Ray Jackson (Washed Out, Gringo Star), Spencer Pope (Ocha La Rocha), Spencer Garn (Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics) and Snowden’s Chandler Rentz. Diamond Street represents the gorgeous clash of Rachele’s folk-centric upbringing and her beat rock & roll adventures in New York City. With five years of stories under her belt, she has created a moody musical pulp, resounding with smoky memories of ambling city nights. LISTEN HERE…

San Francisco-based City Tribe is prepping to release their debut album Undertow on July 29. Glide Magazine is proud to premiere the new single and title track from the project.

“Undertow” opens with a hypnotic, relentless line in a minor key, signaling something ominous, something foreboding – a warning call, which is then joined by a haunting vocal line drenched in reverb. But after a minute of this intense buildup, the wall of sound, propelled by a warm bass-line, crashes into major key and all of a sudden it’s as if the sun has appeared behind a thick screen of clouds.

City Tribe’s four members all hail from California, which is readily apparent in these songs. That laid-back, cheerful vibe infuses their debut album with buoyant confidence; however, what makes a song like “Undertow” so compelling is their interest in playing traditional California beach music against the moody, alt/indie sounds of the 90s and 2000s. It’s this tension and aesthetic unison that gives these tracks such depth, and demonstrate the band’s already well-honed hand at songwriting. LISTEN HERE…