Nilüfer Yanya will make her headline debut at London’s Slaughtered Lamb on November 17. “Keep On Calling” is the second track online from the buzzed about singer (following August’s great “Small Crimes”). “Keep On Calling” excels on its cool jazzy melodic phrases and A+ command and setting of mood and tone.
“Palo Alto” is new from Australian songwriter Holly Rankin a/k/a Jack River. Wound around a Nirvana-esque groove (“About a Girl”), “Palo Alto” blends elements of West Coast US indie with that aforementioned grunge feel. The result is differentially cool blend of styles made great by Rankin’s strong sense of melody. Listen below.
We’re digging the cool blend of A+ pop songwriting and spare forward-thinking production from newcomer HARLŒ on “All In My Feelings”. The L.A.-based HARLŒ (whose writing credits include work with Charli XCX and Britney Spears, is on to a refreshing sound (buoyed by airtight melodic writing) that is unlike pretty much anything else out right now.
“I Would” is the second track online for Gueorgui Linev’s KAN WAKAN project. “I Would”, which follows the blogger favorite “Molasses”, is as an arresting statement of formidable artistic skill. Wow.
Foreign Air will tour North America this fall (dates below) behind their new (out now) “Free the Light” EP. Ruddering the new release from the duo of Jacob Michael and Jesse Clasen is perhaps out favorite track to date from the twosome, the piano-driven but Kanye-influenced in its instrumentation “Better For It”. Built on some frankly heart-wrenching melodic writing (nearly every time the verse heads into falsetto is pretty much soul crushing), “Better For It” deserves/will grab on to your attention immediately. Listen below.
*w/ The Strumbellas
^w/ Aurora
10/24: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe*
10/25: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall* (SOLD OUT)
10/27: Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall* (SOLD OUT)
10/28: Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts*
10/29: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom* (SOLD OUT)
10/30: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
11/25: San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore^
11/27: Los Angeles, CA @ Red Bull Sound Select Presents, The Fonda Theatre^
11/28: Los Angeles, CA @ Red Bull Sound Select Presents, The Fonda Theatre^
12/2: Seattle, WA @ The Showbox*
12/3: Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre^
If only everyday could sound like Hope Sandoval.
“Read My Lips”, new from NY-based King Deco, is 3 minutes 46 seconds of all accelerator, pedal to the floor perfect pop. Sat in a frame of hook after hook after hook after hook (etc), “Read My Lips” is a big track and a big step forward for King Deco.
Propelled by a potent megaton alto vocal and 90’s British pop production nods, “Damn” the latest from L.A.’s Red Rosamond is a sleek and cool sounding ton of visceral bricks. We like it. Listen to “Damn” from Red Rosamond below.
Like something cast forward from a different, much more advanced, dimension, “Lonely World”, the new track from Moses Sumney sounds nothing like most and run circles around just about everything else out. Look for “Lonely World” appearing on Sumney’s “Lamentations” EP, out Friday.
From the gut-puncher, supremely potent vocal to the cool bits of cleverly plotted countermelody/harmony in the track’s production “Be Your Love”, the latest track from Bishop Briggs is how this forward-thinking pop music thing is done. Another A+.
“Solid Air” is the debut track online for Dublin IE duo Bad Sea aka the pair of Ciara Thompson and Alan Farrell. Initially connected through Tinder the Irish twosome’s musical partnership is based on a mutual adoration of a disparate span of artists that includes Angel Olsen and Carly Rae Jepsen. “Solid Air” is a leisurely-paced bit of warm seaside pop subtly fashioned around some impressive turns of hook writing. Sample “Solid Air” below and get into Bad Sea.
More than just an awesome band name, the Michigan Rattlers hale from (you guessed it) Michigan with a fresh breath of Americana. The duo have a distinct delivery with their harmonized vocals and guitar with upright bass in tow. Like all great songs of the genre, “Sweet Diane” tells us a story with the right balance of musical and lyrical simplicity and complexity. A rebirth of roots friendly Americana seems on the horizon, and alongside the paths of artists like Sturgil Simpson and Kacey Musgraves, the Michigan Rattlers hint towards a career of relatable integrity, so long their music stays as on point as it is with “Sweet Diane”.
