Shilpa Ray - Heather Maloney - The Delines - DownTown Mystic - Adwaith

Shilpa Ray - Portrait Of A Cat Lady.

"Portrait of a Cat Lady" is a reflection on aging, and a refusal to be invisible. "My body trashed by time / Do you like my story? / Am I captivating?" Ray says the song was influenced by Lucinda Williams, ABBA, Dick Dale, Big Star, and The Byrds. It's genuine, infectious, and fierce. Fans of  Ray's rich catalogue will not be disappointed.

"Portrait of a Cat Lady" is the first single from a collection of post-pandemic / post-hysterectomy songs from iconoclastic singer-songwriter, Shilpa Ray.

The lyrics tell a coming of middle age story from a writer who refuses to disappear and is set against a musical backdrop of what Americana could sound like from a second generation immigrant perspective.

==========================================================================

Heather Maloney - Exploding Star.

Exploding Star was never intended to be released. Written after the death of her father, the songs were the most vulnerable body of work ever created by Maloney- meant and written only for her. The idea of releasing and then promoting an album went against her instincts to keep this art near and dear. Luckily for us, her closest friends and family convinced her otherwise.

Maloney was able to track for 2 days in her childhood home- recording songs, backing vocals, the crickets in the yard and even percussion played directly on the walls and floors of the house itself. The result is raw and exquisitely personal. 

“That house is the backdrop to so many moments with my father that became song lyrics on the record, so having *the house itself* be a part of a few songs was such a beautiful and intense experience for me,” Maloney reflects. “I will never forget what it felt like to return to the place those memories were made, and sing them with such grief and gratitude. At times I felt that my dad was still somewhere in the house, and I was singing directly to him. At other times it felt like I was surrounded by all of our young and distant ghosts.”

==========================================================================

The Delines - The Haunting Thoughts.

The Delines just shared their new single “The Haunting Thoughts,” the next offering from their upcoming album Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom, out February 14 via El Cortez Records. Led by tender piano and sauntering instrumentation, the poignant song tells the story of a woman who’s reeling from an existential crisis, with Magnet Magazine praising its “film-noir feel.”

“‘The Haunting Thoughts’ is about a woman who can’t shake the fear that the world she’s in is going to collapse,” says Willy Vlautin, songwriter and guitarist for the band. “She sees all this desperation around her on the streets of Portland, Oregon, and she’s worried it’ll catch her, too – that she’ll end up on the streets. We wanted that uncertainty and vulnerability inside the fabric of the song. It’s one of those rare tunes that worked from the get-go. It just played itself. Cory's piano is so great on this one and it's my favorite Amy vocal to date. Amy has this pure way of getting inside the world of the lyrics. She just kills me on this one.”

Vlautin on the video: “We’ve been really lucky to get Greg Schmitt and Efrem Peters to film these videos. And Zach Jones who edits them. They’re all so cool and so good. They filmed the band stuff at The Showdown in Portland and the rest was shot driving around the city. Portland has such an edge to it right now, with so many people living on the streets, in broken-down RVs, in cars, and in tents. I’m endlessly heartbroken by it and also I’m scared hitless that it could be me one day. The song has that edge to it and I think the video carries the same edge.”


==========================================================================

DownTown Mystic - One More Chance.

With 7 releases in 2024, US roots rocker DownTown Mystic isn’t skipping a beat to start 2025. The artist has been building momentum with airplay on over 100 Non-com Radio stations with each release.

Following the successful Better Day Digital 45 in October, the new One More Chance single sets the stage for DownTown Mystic’s next album project, The Wish, which shows DTM’s unique RnR style & sound evolving.

The One More Chance single features co-writer and longtime DTM musical Ally Bruce Engler on Lead Guitar. It also features one of the last sessions by drummer Tommy Mastro, with PJ Farley (Trixter, Fozzy) adding tasty bass lines. The single is a mini opus of sorts. Besides a musical interlude in the breakdown section, One More Chance also features the band recorded jamming live as the track fades out, making for a unique musical statement. Check out the One More Chance AI Video.

As with Better Day, DTM offers up another positive message with One More Chance. DownTown Mystic Writer/Producer Robert Allen comments, "I want to put out positive vibes in the world with my music. It's why I make music. One More Chance is a song of hope and light."


==========================================================================

Adwaith - Heddiw/Yfory, Purdan, Y Diwedd, Ni.

Critically acclaimed Welsh trio Adwaith continue to captivate with the release of four new tracks from their forthcoming album, Solas: ‘Heddiw / Yfory’, ‘Purdan’, ‘Y Diwedd’, and ‘Ni’. Meaning “light of being” or “enlightenment” in Celtic, Solas (out Feb 7th via Libertino Records) marks a significant milestone in the band’s journey. Recorded across diverse locations—including the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, Lisbon in Portugal, and multiple studios in Wales—Solas reflects Adwaith’s growth and evolution as artists. Overflowing with romance and magic, this 23-track double album completes a coming-of-age trilogy chronicling their transformation from teenagers into empowered women, exploring themes of self-discovery, escape, and resilience.

Of the new tracks, the band shares: "'Heddiw / Yfory' is a deeply nostalgic song that captures the intense bond we have with places that shaped us. It reflects on the comfort and familiarity of returning home, where even the simplest things—like gazing out a bedroom window or walking familiar paths—can evoke a powerful sense of belonging.

'Purdan' was written and recorded during our time in Lisbon. The song explores the complexity of being lured into a false sense of security by someone or something, feeling drawn to them despite knowing they might not have your best interests at heart.

‘Y Diwedd’ is a breakup song that delves into the poignant moments of knowing a relationship is nearing its end, yet fearing to acknowledge it. It captures the bittersweet tension of those final moments together, where both parties are reluctant to let go, even though the inevitable looms.

'Ni’ is a song about unity, love, and the importance of finding your tribe—the people who truly understand, love, and support you. It’s a reminder that, even in a world of 8 billion people, there are those out there who will love, embrace, and accept you for who you are."

Libertino · Adwaith - Heddiw Yfory / Purdan / Y Diwedd / Ni

==========================================================================

The Delines - Allegra Krieger - The Royal Foundry - Pierce Turner

Photo - Summer Luu

The Delines - Drowning In Plain Sight.

The Portland, Oregon based country-soul group The Delines have shared the final music video from their upcoming album, The Sea Drift, which will be released on this Friday February 11, 2022 via their new American label home Jealous Butcher Records. The song, a focus track for the album titled “Drowning In Plain Sight”, is a perfect example of songwriter and author Willy Vlautin’s knack for giving you a look into the interior lives of the characters who populate these songs with just a few well-chosen little details. 

As lead singer Amy Boone croons lines like “The kid’s ice cream is melting, my husband’s beer is getting warm / The phone starts ringing an hour after I should have been home”, her soulful and smoky voice gives these storytelling vignettes instant emotional heft, communicating years of struggle in the lives of these characters with just a few words, as lush and cinematic country-soul arrangements gently swell around her. Simply put, the music of The Delines not only makes you feel like these characters are real people you could meet in any of the small towns and cities along the gulf coast of Texas where The Sea Drift is set, but that their lives will continue on long after these songs end.

The music video for “Drowning In Plain Sight” combines footage of The Delines performing the song in their home studio in Portland with scenery from those beach towns along the Texas gulf coast that serve as the setting of The Sea Drift. If you’ve never been to a town like Galveston where this video was shot, the visuals will instantly give you a sense of the way the natural beauty of the ocean is juxtaposed with the desperation, regret and wistful longing of the people who inhabit this world. The houses are all on stilts, the sun sets over abandoned train yards and industrial plants, and lights from carnival rides on the boardwalk glisten across the ocean waves at night.

==========================================================================

Photo - Dallas Starky

Allegra Krieger - Wake Me If I'm Asleep.

Brooklyn, NY based singer-songwriter Allegra Krieger today shared two new songs from her forthcoming album Precious Thing, releasing March 4th, 2022 via Northern Spy Records. On the two tracks that open up the album—“Wake Me If I’m Asleep” & “Isolation”—Krieger sings about the fear of loss and her hope to live more presently. Inspired by a pang of fear that struck her after seeing the paramedics leave a neighbor’s house, Krieger’s anxiety is palpable, yet her resolve remains strong. Listen to the songs here.

In October 2020, Allegra drove across the country to record Precious Thing in Marin, CA with producer Luke Temple (Here We Go Magic, Art Feynman) and musicians Jeremy Harris, Kalia Vandever, Rob Taylor and Jacob Matheus who contributed organs, synths, bass and lap steel. Delightfully mellow but never bleak, Precious Thing is a soundtrack for the daily motions of our lives.

On Precious Thing, Allegra Kreiger tries to capture fleeting moments in a world that is sick from itself. With a voice that rings like a windchime signaling a storm coming, Allegra masterfully weaves together ephemeral moments as life barrels by her unforgivingly. From singing about sharing a gaze with a man on the train to Coney Island as the clock strikes 12 on New Years, to saying goodbye to a loved one, to processing the religious trauma of wine, Krieger portrays the particular pang of being a woman alive in a modern world.

At the heart of this album is a young, working woman asking “Do you see this right now? I can’t be the only one.” This is an album about looking, and Krieger fills up each lonely space she enters with her gaze. Krieger asks you to look, to really, really look, so that you can remember something, however small it is, when it’s all gone.

==========================================================================

The Royal Foundry - Hello Dreamer Baby.

Background from The Royal Foundry - You are made to be that which you dream to be. No matter how you get there, who you meet along the way, or how many detours it takes – it will always be waiting for you, so try and try and try and try.

This is the ethos behind our new single, "Hello Dreamer Baby," written after we took a spontaneous road trip and discussed our dreams, goals, and our desire to accomplish them in the now.

The music video, featuring a sunrise that reveals amazing red rock canyons with each passing second.
.
It's so easy to quit and just live with mediocrity, but this life is short so why would you not want to be the best you can be? We wrote "Hello Dreamer Baby" for us, but we hope it resonates with you too.

==========================================================================

Photo - Chris Schoonover

Pierce Turner - Love of Angels.

The internationally acclaimed Irish performer, Pierce Turner, releases a new single titled “Love Of Angels.” Set over a rocking guitar arrangement, the philosophical track combines the teachings of acclaimed The Power of Now author Eckhart Tolle and the idea of the psychological “ego.” This is the fourth track off Pierce Turner’s forthcoming album, Terrible Good, which was created with legendary guitarist Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Rufus Wainwright). The album is set for release on February 25 via StorySound Records.

“For me, lyrics always have to have a message,” explains Turner. “On ‘Love Of Angels’ I take the phrase ‘you are what you eat’ and expand upon it to a further truth. We are everything that comes in-what we think, read, see, breathe, smell, hear, and believe as well as eat. If it’s good stuff, you will be good, guaranteed. How we move affects us too, I swear!!!!! You can dance to this. It’s The Rolling Stones meets Eckhart Tolle.”

An Irish-American musician in the truest, and most literal, sense, Pierce Turner lives half the year in his hometown of Wexford, Ireland, and the other half in his longtime adopted hometown of New York City. Both places are reflected in his songs, which frequently move between these two different worlds. Since he began his solo career in the 80’s, he’s worked on a broad range of projects including writing for opera, scoring movies, and composing a contemporary Mass. His genre-bending songwriting has led Turner to collaborate with legendary producer John Simon (The Band, Leonard Cohen, Cass Elliot) on 1991’s Now Is Heaven and composer Philip Glass on projects such as 1986’s It’s Only a Long Way Across and “Yogi with a Broken Heart.”

==========================================================================

The Delines - Colatura - Onsloow - North Mississippi Allstars (featuring William Bell)

Photo Credit: Jason Quigley

The Delines - Kid Codeine.

Portland, Oregon based country-soul group The Delines share the third single and music video from their upcoming album, The Sea Drift, which will be released on February 11, 2022 via their new American label home Jealous Butcher Records. The new song, titled “Kid Codeine”,  has a 60’s pop feel and is more upbeat than previous singles; but the song captures the same weary world and deep, wistful emotions that musician and author Willy Vlautin has become known for. 

The song is accompanied by a music video starring The Delines lead singer Amy Boone, walking around the streets of the band’s hometown of Portland with her hair done up just like the song’s titular character “Kid Codeine”, who has a boyfriend who is a boxer and is described as always wearing a perfect bouffant hairdo “just to walk down the street”.

Speaking to the real life inspiration to the character of “Kid Codeine”, Willy wrote: “Years ago in Los Angeles, Richmond Fontaine was playing at a club downtown called Al’s Bar and after the gig the bartender invited us to a strip joint. She was maybe thirty-five and had a big bouffant and a twenty-one-year-old boyfriend who never said a word. Nothing. It was almost like she had him on a chain. She took us to a place where the dancers come to your table. 

The woman who came to ours was a friend of hers but a junkie and nodded out and crashed into our table. Drinks spilled everywhere but the bouffanted bartender got hers out in time and she and her boyfriend got up and she said, “I gotta run but bet the third horse in the fifth race at Hollywood Park tomorrow.” Man oh man, she was really wild and she drove the coolest car and nothing seem to phase her. I hadn’t thought of her in years but during the time I was writing The Sea Drift tunes I just woke up one morning and she came to me and I wrote the song.”

==========================================================================

Colatura - Team Sport.

New York City trio Colatura released their latest single, “Team Sport,” last Friday, to announce their debut album, And Then I’ll Be Happy, for an April 22 release. The band will celebrate that night in Brooklyn, at The Sultan Room.

Featuring the triple songwriting attack of Jennica (bass/vocals), Digo (guitar/vocals) and Meredith (guitar/synths/vocals), Colatura has been called, "Fleetwood Mac with shoegaze guitars," by Fadeaway Radiate, and described by Popmatters as, “Drawing on a range of influences from '50s female-fronted outfits to Manchester post-punk and all manner of noisy things, Colatura sounds both of and out of its time, delivering music that seems to have always been.” 

Sonically, their foot is in a number of genres, writing music that is sometimes dreamy, sometimes heavy, with pop-leaning melodies and post-punk atmospherics.

Discussing “Team Sport,” Colatura calls it, "A sad song that sounds happy. It's a feel-good tune until you start to listen to the lyrics… 'who knew drowning was a team sport?’. The song is about two people who try really hard to make a relationship work but can’t seem to, despite their best efforts. It explores the difficult reality that in many relationships both people want it to work, but can’t seem to get on the same page, and in trying to make the other person happy, both end up feeling like they’re drowning.”

==========================================================================

Onsloow - Unstoppable.

Onsloow's eight-track, self-titled album sees release digital release via How is Annie records on January 21, 2022. The Trondheim, Norway's band is a fresh, well-crafted indie rock band that creates rousing and dreamy powerpop sounds with nuances and nods to pop punk.

The sweet, feminine energy of Johanne Rimul's charming vocal work mixes confidently with the confident and ferocious playing of guitarists Mathias Nylenna, bassist Lasse Berg and drummer Morten Samdal, and finds the band in league with contemporaries like The Beths, Tigers Jaw, Girl In Red and Paramore, and even Superchunk, Weezer and The Get Up Kids.

It's no surprise then that among their fans it's easy to find aging parents of young children who long for the sweet nostalgia of their glory days as well as young hipsters who have embraced the aesthetics and charm of melodic guitars and catchy singalongs that wouldn't have been out of place in the '90s.

Onsloow was produced by Marius Ergo (Lukestar, Truls and The Trees, Insomniac Bears), and the album is proceeded by the album's first single, "Overthinking," which was launched to rave reviews in the British music press, a second single, "A Good Day to Forget," which is currently on heavy rotation with NRK-P13, Norway's BBC 6 equivalent.

==========================================================================

North Mississippi Allstars (featuring William Bell) - Never Want To Be Kissed.

North Mississippi Allstars will release Set Sail on January 28th via New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Luther and Cody Dickinson and follows their Grammy Award nominated 2019 album Up and Rolling. Set Sail features an appearance by Stax Records legend William Bell on the album standout “Never Want To Be Kissed” (which Bell also co-wrote and co-produced). The album has already been met with critical acclaim with Uncut Magazine stating, "Bloodlines and geography figure into every NMAs album, but on Set Sail, Luther and Cody Dickinson make family and setting the conjoined theme..." in their 8 out 10 Star rated review.

The “Never Want To Be Kissed” video which was shot at William Bell’s recording studio outside of Atlanta, GA.  Luther Dickinson said of working with Bell, “He had the whole plot of the song conceptualized, as if it was a movie. I’ve never seen a song written like that before. Usually, for me, story lines unfold as they are written. We simply helped William turn the plot into lyrics and added music but we were truly only helping William realize his vision. We recorded a voice memo at the session and built the song up from there. Some of the audio on the record is from the original voice memo. It’s an honor to work with a living legend and soul music pioneer.” William Bell said, “Luther and Cody are my kind of people, locked in the tradition of Blues and Soul stories and songs. Pure perfectionists at their craft!” See the Cartter Fontaine-directed “Never Want to Be Kissed” Video HERE.

After 25 years, twelve albums, four Grammy Award nominations, and sold out shows everywhere, North Mississippi Allstars open up their world once again on Set Sail, welcoming other family into the fold. As sons of the legendary producer and musician Jim Dickinson, Luther and Cody Dickinson started the band in 1996 as a loose collective of like-minded second-generation musicians who shared a local repertoire and regional style. Over the years, the lineup has shifted by design, and with Set Sail, they mined the talents of Jesse Williams on bass and Lamar Williams, Jr., the son of Allman Brothers bassist Lamar Williams, Sr, on vocals. During the Allman Betts Band Family Revival, the Dickinsons first linked up with Lamar, becoming fast friends and collaborators, paving the way for Set Sail.

“The chemistry we have with this lineup is powerful,” observes Luther. “We are all second-generation musicians and share a telepathic, relaxed ease about creating and performing. I believe music is a form of communion with our loved ones and conjuring this vibe with members of musical families can be inspirational. Lamar and I are like-minded. I’ve never had the pleasure of working with a singing partner like Lamar. He has a true-blue quality in his musicality that will pull you in and break your heart. At the same time, Jesse grew up playing music with his brothers and his father—as did we. He plays like a sibling. I’m drawn to musical families, regardless of style. Playing with second- or third-generation players allows us an easy unspoken musical dialog. It’s not a big thing; it’s just what we do. We never had to figure out what it means and takes to be a musician. We all inherently know.” He continues, “Each generation has to reinvent itself and shed the skin of the elders. On Set Sail, we feel as if we’ve once again ‘broken the code,’ and know what we want and how to get it.”

==========================================================================

Josienne Clarke - Anna Sun - The Delines - The Wild West - Amy Jay

Josienne Clarke - Driving at Night.

When award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Josienne Clarke was performing at a show prior to lockdown, a moment meeting a fan afterwards remained fixed in her memory. “There was this one woman who came up to me at the merch table in tears. She was a fan pleading with me to write something in the style of how I write, but more positive,” Clarke recalls, saying that while the fan had been visibly touched by her emotive, melancholic songs, she was craving something more joyous. The fan told Clarke she was going through her own difficult time. “She wanted something with hope, something with a bit of light in it,” Clarke recalls.

This is where Clarke’s new EP, I Promised You Light was born. After the release of her critically acclaimed album A Small Unknowable Thing earlier this year (which earned four-star reviews from the likes of The Financial Times and MOJO), Clarke set about her next project with the words of her fan front-and-centre. “It stayed with me,” Clarke says of her message. “It made me really think: do I need to try and frame things more positively? Maybe I haven’t been able to in the past because I’m still working through things – my work is very autobiographical and cathartic – but I’m only now just finding more positive threads through new experiences and what I’ve learned over this last year.”

Clarke has certainly worked through a lot. Rejecting the male-dominated system, in 2020 Clarke ripped everything up and started again. She went solo and for the first time she was in complete control of everything from her songwriting to arranging and production – and she even released on her own label, Corduroy Punk. The result, after years of being told women couldn’t do all those things in a patriarchal industry, was an album variously described as “the sound of an artist in full bloom”, “a remarkable, impeccable collection” and “her finest work to date.” The experience gave her confidence to try a new direction on her latest EP.

Lead single, ‘Driving At Night’, saw Clarke going directly back to a time she lost her own way. “It’s essentially a song about escaping,” Clarke says, explaining it was about driving away from the last ever gig she performed as part of a duo at the interval. “I literally drove for hours across Europe. I wanted as much physical space between me and my previous career as possible at that point. The feeling of release of having finished that final gig was huge, as was the exciting air of possibility that came about having left behind a thing that was so difficult for me for a long time. It was like a literal lift: I felt everything would suddenly be easier now.” The song’s message, she says, is simple: “it’s – just leave,” she laughs. “It’s alright to leave because all this other great stuff awaits you if you just walk away.”

==========================================================================

Anna Sun - What A Shame.

(New York, NY) On the new single, “What A Shame,” Anna Sun delves into a deeply personal story, capturing the trauma of loss through a filter of enthralling vocals and explosive energy. The song is the latest single from the indie-pop-rock trio’s upcoming self-titled debut EP, due out January 14, 2022. 

“What A Shame” was written as a catharsis for lead singer Samantha Aneson as she was losing her mother to dementia. “I’ve grown to love the dichotomy of pain and lightness in art. How one can make the other so much more pronounced,” Aneson reflects. “I was in a place (am forever in a place) of begrudgingly agreeing to this reality that’s been forced upon me. Having to move forward without railing against existence for doing something that once seemed so unimaginable. Having to find light in my nightmare.”

As evidenced in this single, the core of Anna Sun’s appeal lies in Aneson’s diary-like songwriting. Drawing on her background in theatre, her songs dig much deeper into relationship dynamics than the average pop song, all while remaining exceptionally catchy.

Across its six tracks, the Anna Sun EP manages to capture the triumphs and anxieties of being alive in such a strange time. Sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes heartbreaking, these songs always seem to find an underlying sense of optimism, a reflection of their writer’s personality.

Originally Aneson’s bedroom project, Anna Sun has since grown into a collaborative trio including drummer Nikola Balac and bassist Andrew “Shwogs” Shewaga, who previously played alongside Aneson in the folk-rock band, Satin Nickel. When that group disbanded in 2020, Aneson began adding original indie-pop-rock songs to her repertoire and recruited her former bandmates to bring them to life, marrying classic pop aesthetics with adventurous modern production. Making music that is meaningful and accessible is a rare thing these days, but Anna Sun seems to have achieved a perfect formula for their unique brand of expression.

==========================================================================

Photo - Summer Luu

The Delines - Past The Shadows.

Portland, Oregon based country-soul group The Delines share the second single and video from their upcoming album, The Sea Drift, which will be released on February 11, 2022 via their new American label home Jealous Butcher Records. 

The new single, titled “Past The Shadows”, is a sultry and smoky ballad that wraps the heartbreak of its lyrical themes in a warm blanket of horn arrangements and tenderly played keys. The song is accompanied by a music video of the full band performing “Past The Shadows” in the studio, highlighting the rich backing instrumentation that serves as the bedrock for The Sea Drift as well as Amy Boone’s spellbinding vocal performance at the center of it all.

Speaking on his inspirations for “Past The Shadows”, songwriter Willy Vlautin said “I was thinking about that self-destructive dream of never having to live like anyone else, of not having to be a part of regular society. That pull of living like a vampire, the romance of it, the freedom of it, but also the darkness of it. We wanted the song to be a seduction itself, easy and catchy, warm and velvety but underneath is a world of scars and failure.”


==========================================================================

The Wild West - Comes A Time.

Calling themselves The Wild West, six of the most treasured female singer-songwriters in Los Angeles forged a strong bond of friendship that led them to write and record their first single “Better Way.” The empowering message of the ensemble’s first single is shared equally by its members, all of whom have enjoyed significant success as solo artists: (pictured above L-R) Manda Mosher, Deb Morrison, Amilia K Spicer, Tawny Ellis,  Pi Jacobs, and Heather Anne Lomax.

Touted by Relix as a “Female supergroup,” The Wild West is currently working on their upcoming EP and were listed in Holler Country's The 10 Best Emerging Acts of Americanafest “They offered an impressive performance boasting no shortage of verve and variety - it would be hard to find a combo with a greater degree of talent or tenacity. Clearly, this bunch is ready to rumble.”  --Holler Country

They were also touted in No Depression’s Guide to Americanafest. with Amos Perrine is quoted as saying, “…the definite highlight promises to be The Wild West, six of the most highly respected female singer-songwriters in Los Angeles: Tawny Ellis, Pi Jacobs, Heather Anne Lomax, Amilia K Spicer, Deb Morrison, and Manda Mosher. Expect fireworks.”

All six members of The Wild West write, produce, and oversee the recording process for songs they bring to the band. They take turns singing lead while supporting each other instrumentally and topping each song off with The Wild West's signature harmonies.

==========================================================================

Photo - Katrina Sorrentino

Amy Jay - Commute.

Amy Jay has released the single, "Commute," taken from her upcoming album, Awake Sleeper, to be released on 2/4/2022.

Exploring the boundaries between acoustic and synthetic, minimalist and ornate, Awake Sleeper echoes a breathtaking cross-pollination of introspective songcraft, surprising textures, and hypnotic soundscapes. The album was produced by Amy's longtime collaborator, Jonathan Seale of Mason Jar Music, known for his work with Feist, Fleet Foxes, Aoife O'Donovan, and more, as well as his solo efforts released under the moniker Son of Cloud.

Jay's day-to-day life in New York City profoundly influenced Awake Sleeper, which you can probably pick up from "Commute." "Another mundane morning commute with train thoughts. I am a stranger in this city even though I've known it for over a decade, even though I see the same faces in the same train cars day after day. The window of the train car was left open that morning, and the tracks were screeching and air blowing so loud I couldn't think about anything else," she says of the birth of the song. "Ironically, I rarely listen to music or podcasts on the train, so I looked around to see if anyone else noticed or was bothered by the sounds. Everyone looked like zombies... heads down on their phones, completely consumed. I realized this sound is not the loudest' sound' in the room. Their phones are. And even if I screamed at the top of my lungs, I'm not sure I would break through the noise to get anyone's attention."

Amy Jay · Commute

==========================================================================

The Delines - Someone - Julian Taylor - Tidal Wave

The Delines - Little Earl.

The Portland, Oregon based country-soul group The Delines have announced their third studio album, The Sea Drift, will be released on February 11, 2022 via their new American label home Jealous Butcher Records.

The stunning first single and opening track of the album “Little Earl,” is out today accompanied by a music video directed by Jordan Mosser. “Little Earl” is the perfect introduction to the sights, sounds, and characters that populate the vivid world The Delines have conjured in The Sea Drift, their most cinematic and visual album yet. Written by songwriter and author Willy Vlautin, and performed by lead singer Amy Boone, “Little Earl'' is a tender and moving song that manages to blend soul, country, folk and indie rock into a sound that feels warmly familiar yet totally unique. “Little Earl” is the first track from a collection of songs The Delines describe as “songs and stories found drifting up and down the Gulf Coast.”

“‘Little Earl’ was one of the first tracks I brought to ‘The Sea Drift’ rehearsal sessions, and as it turns out the one that helped create the sound and feel of the entire record,” Vlautin writes. “It’s a soul/Tony Joe White inspired groove, and Cory Gray’s horn and string arrangements set the cinematic tone for two brothers who get in a shoplifting-gone-wrong incident at a mini-mart outside of Port Arthur, Texas. I love songs that just drop you in the middle of a scene and that’s what we tried to do here.”

==========================================================================

Photo - Bibian Bingen

Someone - Empathy.

Ahead of the live dates, Someone shares the new video for album track ‘Empathy’. It is a song indicative of Someone’s debut album Shapeshifter as a whole, which weaves suave, cinematic psych-pop with an intimate, acoustic song writing style inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell, befitting of the album’s introspective themes of isolation, escapism, and mental health.

Someone describes ‘Empathy’ as “A track about feeling disconnected with the world around you.” A darker psych-pop song inspired initially by American politics (namely the horrors of Trump administration) but one which dispels its shadowy hues as the song climaxes, like the sonic equivalent of the sun shining through breaking clouds.

The video, created by Someone shows a statue-like figure who stands unchanging as the rest of the world is built up and broken down around it. It was inspired by the sculptures of Nicolas Party at Dijon’s Consortium Museum which appear as torsos rising from the floor in the middle of the room, as if they’ve been cemented to the ground. As Someone expands” I wanted the statue-like figure in the video to be buried in the ground. Like a tree, like part of the earth itself”.

==========================================================================

Julian Taylor - 100 Proof.

Toronto-based singer-songwriter Julian Taylor is releasing a new, standalone single today, a cover of a song called “100 Proof,” written by a friend of his, Toronto-based musician and award-winning music teacher Tyler Ellis. The single bridges the gap between Taylor’s next album, which is in the works, and his award-winning 2020 release, The Ridge, which scored him worldwide critical acclaim and eight award nominations in 2020 and 2021, including two Juno Awards, the Polaris Long List, and two Canadian Folk Music Awards, in which he won Solo Artist of the Year.

“100 Proof” is an allegory of a man and the love he has for his family and the pearls of wisdom that he leaves them, and Ellis wrote the song as an antidote to the difficult times of May 2020 as headlines spoke of Black Lives Matter protests, the pandemic, and social isolation. 

“This song is a guide for somehow managing it all,” Ellis says. “Telling the truth about how you feel is ok; asking for help is ok and is not a sign of weakness. And, like Jackie DeShannon said, ‘let kindness be your guide.’ I wanted to acknowledge those internal struggles that everyone goes through and to say that you're not alone, you can reach out, and no matter how dire things seem there is hope.”

==========================================================================

Tidal Wave - Tidal Wave (E.P).

Tidal Wave is a seven-piece art rock band known for their powerful soundscapes and diverse instrumentation.

Formed in 2018, the group met each other working and performing in the local live scene in Toronto. This eclectic group of songwriters was initially put together by guitarist and lead vocalist Connor Young who assembled guitarist Marco Carboni, guitarist and producer Marcus Retterath, drummer and keyboard player Mike Poisson, violinist and vocalist Joey Assaad, violinist Brittany Iwanciwski, and bassist Kyle Texiera.

Whether you are listening to their recorded or live material, the band meticulously layers it’s elements to give the music a full wall of sound with forward momentum. It is an ever present atmosphere composed of rich textures of guitars and synthesizers, with a delicate balance between soaring string lines and strong vocal melodies. The name of the band rather accurately depicts the overall tone of an unrelenting unstoppable force.

Tidal Wave evokes the melodic elements of indie rock bands like Arcade Fire, while creating compelling production-heavy ambient synth and guitar textures comparable to Godspeed! You Black Emperor and My Bloody Valentine. In 2020 they released their single “Our Silhouettes” on all streaming services and will be releasing their EP in the fall of 2021.

Tidal Wave · Tidal Wave EP

==========================================================================