When you are having trouble with inspiration and the weight of the world appears to be on your shoulders, the best course of action is to volunteer somewhere where people are worse off than you are. That was the philosophy that Deep Sea Diver band leader Jessica Dobson took after touring left her without much musical inspiration. What she did, was to volunteer at Aurora Commons in Seattle, where she gained a “new depth of empathy” and found her musical inspiration again. Out of that experience, the long-player Impossible…
Read MoreWhether quality releases are slow because it is the first part of the year or whether they have been depressed by the pandemic (probably a little of both), it’s been a bleak search for new music this month. Rather than post something that is less than the quality that I look for here, It seemed more appropriate to take a look back and revisit a review from a few months ago. Enter Sandtimer and You Never Had Control from their wonderful digital-only release at the end of 2020,…
Read MoreYou may know Tyson Kelly as a touring John Lennon impersonator-because he is that-but he’s also a songwriter in his own right and a performer of frenetic hit material like Am I Ever Gonna See You Again (seen/heard here), which is just one song in his latest 4-song EP, Plastic Rockstar (available on streaming services now). And while this has nothing to do with Tyson Kelly’s own talent, he is the son of Tom Kelly, who has written hits for the likes of…
Read MoreSometimes there just isn’t a good video, and during the pandemic, that is becoming the case more often than not, but when a song grabs you, it shouldn’t be rejected simply because no video exists. Enter Sam Valdez and the single, Clean. This is a song about a toxic love affair that should be over, but isn’t, for all of the wrong reasons. The lyric cuts like a knife-wielding attempt at metaphoric suicide: “You finally turned up clean today Your parents brought you bread…
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…
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