“Sweet Melodies” is ViperSnatch’s first single in over a year, and it crashes through the silence like someone finally losing patience with being polite about their heartbreak. It’s a breakup song, yes, but not the “staring quietly at rain” kind; more like the kind where you slam the door so hard the drywall flinches. Written […]
“Sweet Melodies” Isn’t Asking for Closure or Catharsis; It Takes Them Read More »
There’s a delightful absurdity in how “Game of Love” even exists. On paper, it sounds like the setup for a logistical disaster: Michellar recording in San Francisco, Rad Datsun chiming in from Minneapolis and then just to keep things interesting, the whole thing being fed across the world to a Romanian producer named Marius Alexandru,
“Game of Love” Feels Like Michellar Letting Herself Have Fun in Public Read More »
“Up Brown” is one of those songs that doesn’t politely knock on your door so much as slip in through the emotional cat flap you forgot you even had. It’s atmospheric indie-pop at its most deceptively delicate: a soft, melancholic little ghost drifting through warm guitar textures and whispered refrains, quietly rearranging the furniture in
Mark Anthony Bartolo Leans Into Restraint on “Up Brown” Read More »
“Shout!” is the kind of song that feels like it escaped from a parallel universe where the pandemic didn’t crush everyone’s soul; it merely mildly inconvenienced a group of overachieving musicians who decided to respond by becoming even funkier. What’s immediately obvious is that d’Z the artist behind the composition, arrangement, and production of “Shout!”
I’ll be honest: I understand only a bit of Italian; just enough to recognize when someone is talking about love, death, food, or all three simultaneously, which is about 90% of Italian music anyway. And yet 21 Grammi, the new album from Giuseppe Cucè, completely disarmed me. It’s one of those records that bypasses language,
21 Grammi, the New Album From Giuseppe Cucè, Completely Disarmed Me Read More »
On my last deep-dive on Bastion’s Wake, you’ll remember his central argument: that the band’s debut showed a lot of potential. It was a blueprint, a proof-of-concept; the sound of musicians circling the perimeter of something bigger, stranger, and more emotionally ambitious than their own early confidence could fully articulate. Go Tell the Bees, their
With Go Tell the Bees, Bastion’s Wake Doesn’t Just Level Up; They Arrive Read More »
Bailey Grey enters the indie arena with Love It All, a 15-track debut that behaves less like an introduction and more like someone finally deciding to live with the lights on. It’s a near-hour of emotional overabundance; the kind of debut that refuses to politely occupy a corner of your listening queue and instead sprawls
Love It All Has Become Something Larger Than Its Components: A Person Read More »
There’s something refreshingly unpretentious about Shani Weiss’s All About Life. It’s not trying to reinvent folk-rock or redefine singer-songwriter introspection. Instead, it’s quietly confident; the sound of an artist who knows that small truths hit harder than grand statements when they’re sung with sincerity. Across six songs, Weiss pokes at the weird, tender machinery of
Across Six Songs, Weiss Pokes at the Weird, Tender Machinery of Adulthood Read More »
Here’s the thing about “Forsaken”: it’s not content to just exist as another riff-heavy alt-rock track. It feels like it’s arguing with itself; a slow-motion collapse disguised as a song. Rooftop Screamers, the ongoing project of Portland veteran Mike Collins, has always been a space for collaboration, but here, with Stephen McSwain on vocals, Collins
“Forsaken” Is the Kind of Song That Sounds Like It Was Built in a Thunderstorm Read More »
Every so often, a song comes along that doesn’t try to overwhelm you. It just sits beside you, patiently, until you realize it’s been saying something important the whole time. “Wasteland Whispers,” the new track from Indianapolis alt-rock outfit Pentrilox, is one of those songs. It’s not a cry into the void so much as