by Meredith Schneider | Sep 16, 2021 | premieres, singles, wolf tracks
Do you thrive with routine, or with a life that throws new situations at you left and right? How do you think you would fare on the road, having every day be a new adventure? On one hand, it could be an incredible and mind-blowing existence. On the other, having stability can really be a must for mental health.
Musicians don’t often have the luxury of choosing, since touring is such an integral part of the business. While artists cope with the pitfalls of van life, touring can be an eye-opening experience. Madeline Hawthorne’s new track “Strange Familiar” examines the concept in a way that is almost thrilling. Her angelic vocals float across stirring guitar chords, humanizing a life that is strange, yet also familiar.
“Strange Familiar” for me is about struggling to find normalcy in a world where everyday is new and different. It’s about trying to find a place where I can thrive everyday without routine; routine like waking up at the same time, waking up in the same place, going to bed at a normal hour…those aren’t routines afforded to most touring musicians, especially when you’re just getting started. And yet we all have to find a way to be in it and enjoy it; even in the dark crevices of 4ams, 10 hour days on the road, empty shows and long stretches of time away from home.
I remember closing my eyes when I wrote the first line of this song and put myself back in the tour van with the band. The van (affectionately known as Loretta) was my normal life. Getting to Loretta after a show and being with the band felt like being with family. So I just tried to paint a picture of what I’d see everyday, getting into the driver’s seat and taking off for the next town. The rest of the song fell into place pretty easily after the first few lines. I know many of us are struggling to find normalcy everyday, regardless of whether or not we go to bed at the same time or wake up in the same place. This is a song that encompases that feeling for me and I love the groove we came up with in the studio. Hope you enjoy!
The release is technically out tomorrow, but we’ve got your exclusive first listen.
by Meredith Schneider | Sep 14, 2021 | singles, soundtrack
September is already halfway over. Don’t ask us how it happened, we feel like we blinked and the month is already gone. However, the level of talent in the music industry just. Doesn’t. Quit. With so many incredible project releases on the horizon toward the end of the year, we’re raking in the single releases like crazy. Here are a few of our favorites.
by Elizabeth Schneider | Sep 10, 2021 | singles, wolf tracks
Artist Brandon Calano, known by alias Becoming Young, has introduced their latest single “Wild & Free”. Utilizing robust vocals and urgent music, Becoming Young delivers a message of hope and freedom:
I’m picking up speed
Like a warrior, you’ll see
I’m gonna take the power back,
Nothing’s ever gonna stop me.
The Nashville-based artist explains, “’Wild & Free’ is about rediscovering your power and finding freedom in knowing you can overcome anything. We’ve all had our tribulations. It’s easy to get caught up in them, and we often let missteps and struggles weigh us down. But this song is an acknowledgment that we are collectively coming back stronger—no matter what happened in the past, we are resilient.”
Take the track for a spin below.
by Meredith Schneider | Sep 9, 2021 | premieres, singles, wolf tracks
If you’ve been looking for a new track with light as a feather vocals cascading over stunning – yet simplistic – guitar and piano, then Emily Frembgen‘s bittersweet new “He Held Onto Me” will be just up your alley. Truly a blues song at its core, Emily has recognized its topic as something highly relatable.
“He Held Onto Me” is obviously about some kind of relationship ending. I remember writing it really quickly as I was rushing out the door, it was a feeling that I urgently needed to express. I’m real proud of this one & Hugh Pool and Brian Mitchell’s evocative instrumental touches are so perfect here. I’d say it’s a good way to close a breakup album, wouldn’t you?
A song that almost relies on the silence between the notes for impact, “He Held Onto Me” is a sweet whisper of a song that will bring back feelings from loves past, if you choose to let it. Experience it for the first time below!
It’s Me or the Dog (self-released) will be released on September 24th.
by Elizabeth Schneider | Sep 8, 2021 | videos, wolf tracks
The latest release from the Los Angeles-based trio MUNA is “Silk Chiffon”, an exuberant pop melody with appealing lyrics that will inhabit your spirit long after the song is over. Or, as producer and guitarist Naomi McPherson has described it, “a song for kids to have their first gay kiss to.”
Life’s so fun, Life’s so fun
Don’t need to worry about no one
She said I got her if I want,
She’s so soft like silk chiffon.
MUNA has recently signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ label, Saddest Factory Records. Bridgers is featured on the song and in the video of “Silk Chiffon” and the sound that they create together is fantastic.
MUNA is headed out on a North American tour this month, opening for Bridgers; then will be on Kacey Musgraves 2022 tour.
“Silk Chiffon” – the single and the video – is out now.
by Elizabeth Schneider | Sep 1, 2021 | albums, premieres
Broken Stars is the latest EP from Jake Benjamin. With Broken Stars, he has created a set of five songs that move effortlessly from one to the next. Benjamin very intentionally has taken us on a journey through not only his mind, but the mind of Vincent Van Gogh. The project “…was inspired by reading the Letters of Vincent van Gogh, a collection of correspondences from Van Gogh to his brother, Theo.”
The first single off the EP is “Hemingway” and it sets the table for all that follows. Benjamin has utilized jazz influences in each song, some more heavily than others – “Hemingway” is one of those. It also has some lyrics that really spoke to me: “You should enjoy, what you don’t understand/I have lost all sense of control/I am on the surface of a life I’ve never known.”
My personal favorite of the five songs is “Heartfelt”. Musically, there are nods to Steely Dan in the arrangements – lush and full of horns. Jake Benjamin’s voice is a perfect accompaniment to his music.
Broken Stars is part of a larger project that is in the pipeline – an LP of the same name. After the release of this EP, we are very excited to see what will be on the LP of Broken Stars. Expands Benjamin:
This EP is a small serving of what the LP version of Broken Stars will be in March 2022. These songs were definitely the earlier writings on the record, they were the gateway into me finding the overall theme of mentality and space. They venture through different atmospheres of mind, artists, and cities. I really consider this collection to be a step further out of my comfort zone lyrically and harmonically.
The recording process of creating these tracks was probably the most ambiguous one I could ever have imagined. I recruited many musicians of many different instruments to play; I got to work with a string quartet, a horn trio, and include artists who brought beauty to these songs. Some of the arranging developed at the studio before Pascal would hit record while other arrangements I had fleshed weeks before the sessions took place. The pandemic really made this into a collecting pieces of the tracks over the course of a year.
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Broken Stars Playlist
- Hemingway
- Under The Lights
- Doncieux
- Heartfelt
- The Call
