Something Real (seen/heard here) is from Letitia VanSant’s just released long-player, Circadian (February 2020), and it highlights an artist with enormous skill at creating music with a strong message. There are some amazing moments within these nine tracks. Take the lead-off track, for instance, which is up for interpretation (is it a response to #MeToo, is it about not having the guts to speak out because of the voices in your head that deny you?) “Too long you’ve lived inside my mind You paid no rent, you stole my time Now I’m taking…
Read MoreSpygenius are,… well…, genius!…, at least as far as song-craft is concerned. Their latest long-player Man On The Sea, out now on Big Stir Records, is absolutely one of the best long-players I’ve heard this year. Enter Café Emery Hill (seen/heard here). The playful animation in this video is a perfect match to the lyrics, melody, and spot-on harmonies. It’s just a hint at what awaits you as just one of 17 tracks on Man On The Sea. As the title of the long-player suggests, nearly every track here has a…
Read MoreThe Trusted make their first appearance on Vodka with a great indie-pop tune, The Innocent (seen/heard here), that melds present-day indie-pop with 70′s post-punk. It’s a sound that works very well for this UK four-piece! There is something exuberantly positive in the feeling that this track evokes, even as the band sings of wanting more and being, perhaps, a little too willing to believe that they can have it all: “Hanging from the edge of nothing with a pair of dangerous eyes I’m hungry for something else stuck in an endless suicide yeah…
Read MoreVodka Austin Favorite – Chelsea Williams’ countrified pop was one of the artists that weren’t at the SXSW this year, due to the cancellation of the event because of the virus outbreak. You can still enjoy her music, though, by getting out there and purchasing some of her tunes! Perhaps a little more Americana than Vodka usually likes, there’s just something about Williams that has me shelving my personal preferences for now. Could be it’s the attitude that she portrays, but more than likely it is that the music…
Read MoreBroken Bones Matilda has just the right balance between melody, harmony, and raw edges that help define and enhance the lyrics. In this case, Everafter (heard here), talks about teenagers coming of age, something that we have all lived through, and the angst of love and relationships in that time. The duo speaks of missed opportunities, of shy boys who can’t bring themselves to say what they want to say to the girl they like. It’s a mixed emotion, a conflict between insecurity and longing that is stated…
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