Memphis blues rockers Southern Avenue performed at the Winter Blues Fest in Des Moines. Winners of Best Emerging Artist Album at the 2018 Blues Music Awards, Southern Avenue‘s sound is youth-infused vintage R&B soul electrified by the powerful voice and charming stage presence of front woman Tierinii Jackson.
Over the next few weeks, we will be expecting a few new tracks from alt/rock/punk project A Day Without Love (Brian Walker). Today, we’ve got his latest track “FASHIT” featuring Bartees Strange. With the most rock-worthy guitar, this song is approached with finesse and a bit of reverb to really make it feel hard and fast, when truly the pace is pretty easy-going. The energy in the track lifts and lowers with such subtlety, that it will leave you on a high long after it ends.
Keep up with A Day Without Love here.
Originally formed in 1981, Los Angeles-based alt-country rock collective The Long Ryders may have been through a few lineup changes over the years, but they’re back and strong as ever with new full length Psychedelic Country Soul. Within this twelve track stunner, Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy, Tom Stevens, and Greg Sowders have developed a truly enjoyable work of art, beginning with the easygoing sounds of “Greenville” and bouncing all the way through to the title track in slot twelve.
But of course those aren’t the only two songs of note on this work. If you’re into names in songs – we’re still trying to find one for all of our friends – then “Molly Somebody” is perfect for you. You can choose to replace “Molly” with any name, but this story has some specificity to it that wouldn’t otherwise translate, so be aware before you try to declare your love with the grand gesture of song. “If You Want to See Me Cry” is a slow, beautiful track, the soundscape reflecting its melancholic title. Additionally, if you’re looking for the perfect backdrop for that next cross country road trip, “California” is pure perfection. You can imagine it playing in the background while driving on a back road, your hair blowing in the wind. (In slow motion of course.)
If you’re interested in new music with solid lyricism, a band with interesting history, and a little bit of twang, you will truly enjoy Psychedelic Country Soul. Take it for a spin below!
Keep up with The Long Ryders here.
In an era of computer-made, beat-driven music, Grand Canyon is the antithesis of modern pop music. However, by focusing on musicianship and timeless songwriting, and drawing on the inspiration of the classic sounds and arrangements of the 70s, it is the kind of pop music that will be wafting through the canyons for a long time. Here, guitarist Joe Guese shines looks back on a rock legend that inspired his career, as well as countless others.
“Oh, I await the dayGood fortune comes our wayAnd we ride down the Kings Highway”
Beginning with a little tongue in cheek dialogue, Anja Kotar‘s single “Kids” is infectious and honest, its accompanying music video no different. As the artist parades around in candy colored outfits, rocking each of them with a confidence that addresses the self love aspect of the track better than any other visual could. This is one of our new favs, and you’re going to want to check it out.
Keep up with Anja Kotar here.
Tommy Bazarian’s, known by his musical space Lampland, debut album No Mood is debuting with a thunderous wave of emotion and sounds that will make you sway. Bazarian utilized his day job of being a radio producer to form the album’s lyrics, and his past formed the stories that are portrayed with drum loops, synths, and even a dash of some trumpets.
Bazarian’s vocals remind this listener faintly of The Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan. The whispering-moody feeling is definitely present throughout, but Bazarian makes it his own with his ability to compose unique music that is not like that of the loose comparison I have made.
This description on Lampland’s website, which you can find here, perfectly encapsulates what this debut album brings to the table sonically:
“In the spirit of Paul Simon’s solo albums, No Mood features almost as many genres as tracks. Alt-country rockers sit next to Elliott Smith four-track recordings, followed by dramatic full band arrangements. It’s all held together by Bazarian’s distinctive voice, by his vivid lyrics, and by his restless energy. Which, by the end of the album, he’s come to accept. ‘I know that you don’t blink insanely’, he sings. ‘Well, I do.'”
You can find more information on Lampland and No Mood at https://www.lamplandband.com/.
With their new 8-track album Songs Nine Through Sixteen, Denver-based psych folk rock collective DBUK provides a vitality to the cold winter weather that is incredibly welcoming, especially in the frozen tundra of the midwest. “Bonnie Clyde, The Big-Bull-Hen Of The Women’s Prison” is electrifying, starting the album energetically before slowing down immensely for “Deerslayer”. Just by the title, the listener can tell we’re going in a melancholic direction with “From The Estate Of John Denver”, though the pace and mystery pick up with the very 60s inspired “In San Francisco Bay”.
A sharp title, “Coca-Colonialism” is quirky and catchy, perhaps one of our favorites on this work. “The Misrepresentation Of The Thompson Gun” slows to an absolute crawl, and though it is a very specific journey DBUK leads you on with this track, it perhaps isn’t the most entertaining we have heard. Though we will admit the pace picks up slightly and the instrumentals are absolutely glowing. “It’s Killing Me” provides a cacophonous composition that is glittery, and vies for the title of favorite on this collection as well, while “And God Bless You” seems to be set out as the staple ending track specifically for its title. It does have a lullaby factor that we’re keen on, making this album ace to get you through the remaining cold months.
US TOUR DATES:
Thu 3/14 St Paul, MN- Turf Club
Fri 3/15 Green Bay, WI- Lyric Room
Sun 3/17 Cincinnati- MOTR Pub
Tue 3/19 Detroit, MI- El Club
Wed 3/20 Cleveland, OH- Now that’s Class
The 3/21. Buffalo, NY – Revolution Gallery
Fri 3/22 Pittsburg, PA- Cattivo
Sat 3/23 Philadelphia, PA- PhilaMOCA
Sun 3/24 Jersey City, NJ- Monty Hall at WFMU
Tue 3/26 Providence, RI- Askew
Wed 3/27 Lowell, MA -Uncharted Gallery
Thu 3/28 Boston, MA-Haymarket Lounge at City Winery
Fri 3/29 New Haven, CT- Cafe Nine
Sat 3/30 Brooklyn, NY- Safari Room at Cortez-
Sun 3/31 Washington, DC-City Winery Garden Room
Mon 4/01 Richmond, VA-Capitol Ale House/ Richmond Music Hall-
Tue 4/02 Chapel Hill, NC- Local 506
Wed 4/03 Atlanta, GA- EARL
Thu 4/04. Asheville , NC- Greg Eagle
Sat 4/6 Knoxville, TN- Pilot Light-
Sun 4/7 Nashville , TN-Little Harpeth Brewery
Mon 4/8. New Orleans, LA- Santos Bar
Tue 4/9 Houston, TX- Rudyard’s
Wed 4/10 Austin , TX – State Theater at Paramount-
Thu 4/11 Dallas, TX- Three Links
Fri 4/12. Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Keep up with DBUK here.
The first four songs on our list – “Good Times Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin, “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles, “With or Without You” by U2, and “Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp – are collective choices. They’re also songs we covered on our recently released EP “Them.” We started playing music together in our family’s bluegrass band (we’re all brothers) when we were little kids. As we grew up and started playing electric instruments, we’ve had many influences, but the earliest were bands our parents turned us on to including Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Supertramp. We all kind of discovered U2 individually, but they’re a big part of our collective musical DNA. The idea of the EP was to strip the songs back and record them as if we’d written them ourselves.
We each chose a few songs individually:
Kurt Doerfel (Percussion)
“Lost Tonight” by Saje – When Ed & Ben first started going to Nashville, I’d stay behind and have mini vacations and just enjoy myself. One day I was out with a buddy shopping in Key West and we heard this song in a fishing store. The sound grabbed both of us and we immediately shazammed it. It’s such a simple and groovy tune, but sonically, something I never got tired of listening to. This song inspired me to get serious about producing & writing. I wanted to make something that sounded THAT good.
“Beautiful Escape” by Tom Misch – I hate to sound like that guy, but I was listening to Tom years ago when he had under 10k followers on Instagram. I knew he had something special just by his sound. The classic disco groove, the jazzy/unique melodies, modern hooks, and quality of his music really set him apart from everyone else. I was so eager for him to release music, which he does slowly, but it was always worth the wait. It has been amazing watching his status grow. I definitely think we can all learn something from him.
“Changes” by Mutemath – Mutemath has achieved the perfect balance of siiiick audio production and live performance. In pop these days, I am SICK AND TIRED of a snap sample driving the percussion in a tune. I have only found it to be acceptable and perfectly fit in this tune specifically. These guys have been around for a while but have adapted perfectly to how music is evolving whilst maintaining their roots.
“Way to Go” by Empire of the Sun – Okay, so apparently these guys have been around for a LONG time. My cousin would show me their songs every now and then and we’d just laugh over their music videos and how outrageous they were. I had no idea who they really were because we called them “Dragon Boys” for some reason. One day he told me their actual name, and I actually took time to listen to their most popular songs on Spotify and fell in love. I love everything about them. The simplicity, vocals, synth drums, classic but unique sound, the outfits…all of it! They’ve inspired me to not try too hard to mimic what’s in fashion right now and just let the creative process go where it truly calls, even if it may seem uncomfortable. Every time I’m sad I listen to these guys!
Joseph Doerfel (bass/vocals)
I don’t really have something specific to say about these songs to be honest. I’m more of an album guy. I don’t have favorite songs, I have favorite albums. When I listen to music, I can’t help but put my favorite bands’ tunes on and just spin the whole album and lose myself in the atmosphere it creates in my mind. These songs just happen to be my favorites on some of my favorite albums.
“Death and All His Friends” by Coldplay – The first time I heard a Coldplay song, I honestly did not like them at all. I had no idea who they were, or how long they’d been around for. By the time I gave them another chance, it was easy to see that there was something to their sound that kept bringing me back to listen again and again.
“Stay With Me” by Thrice – Thrice is my favorite band of all time. They’re the first band I ever listened to that made me really focus on what they were writing about and singing in their songs. That and the way they have evolved their sound is something that I always think about when trying to make new music.
“Of Mind – Nocturne” by TesseracT – TesseracT is pretty much my hype music. The melodies and push and pull feel they have are mesmerizing and so easy to listen to.
Ben Doerfel (guitar/vocals)
“Where I Belong” by Switchfoot – Switchfoot is an essential piece of my musical life. “Where I Belong” is my ultimate on-repeat-always-hard-hitting-slow-jam-of-destiny. From the beautiful melody to the fat drum sound and the grungy guitars comes a masterpiece that never leaves my head. Lyrically it helped me If I was ever down, it would remind me why and that its all good in the hood.
“Falling Out” by Relient K – Relient K introduced me to the amazing world of alt rock. I wore out their album “Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right” and more specifically, “Falling Out.” This was the first song I heard that I actually loved the singers voice. Matt Thiessen has been my favorite singer since my 1st listen of this song. The tight rock groove and again beautiful melody made me feel like listening to this song I could accomplish anything!
“Between Me And You” by Brandon Flowers – From a songwriter/producer stand point, this song is just incredible. There are so many aspects of this emotional pop crusher that it’s hard to find just a few talking points. This song made me want to be a great songwriter. Brandon’s lyrics are so unique. Simple yet complex lines that anyone would say but hardly anyone sings. Wrapping the verse around the chorus so it comes back around and falls right where he started, all the while slowly building the song into a massive thing of beauty.
Edward Doerfel (keys/mandolin/vocals)
“Ode to A Butterfly” by Nickel Creek – This is probably one of the most meaningful songs of my musical history. It was the song that really got me into the mandolin way back when I was around 9 years old. Early in my mandolin career I embarked on a musical journey to learn it note for note to play in a competition. 6 MONTHS later of non-stop practice I played it and took home 2nd place. It was an encouraging point in my young career.
“Needle And Haystack Life” by Switchfoot – This song “fueled my fire” in a big way. This was the opening track of the Switchfoot album that turned me into a fan for life! I always liked the band and casually listened to a few of their songs here and there, but growing up I was never a die-hard until the first time I played this song and album, saw them play live for the first time, and also met front man Jon Foreman! Switchfoot even said in an interview that this was a turning point for them musically as a band. It has inspired me both lyrically and musically.
“Forget And Not Slow Down” by Relient K – When I “forget and not slow down” I strive and make leaps in my creativity….just trying to be clever with the song title.. But in all seriousness, I listen to this song when I’m feeling down or uninspired about something. It’s a reminder to me that sometimes creativity doesn’t just come. You need to work for it.
On Friday, acid rock trio Protovulcan – comprised of Deric Criss, Will MacLean, and Nick Ammerman – released a new 8-track EP titled The Split. From the very first chaotic chords of “Pine for You”, the listener is drenched in this gorgeous, layered rock n’ roll sound that stands out among the rest. Though Protovulcan’s songs are void of human vocals, we are provided muffled robotic ones, along with a heightened sense that the past and future met on this work of art. While “The Force Remains the Same” is a party song instrumentally, “Snake Legend” has a sound that seems to layer into itself, a kaleidoscope perhaps less so in any type of vintage origin, and more so in its progression. The texture alone is something to write home about, and this is one of our favorite tracks on the release.
“Waking Up Dinosaurs” lands itself in that psychedelic area that we assumed its predecessor would take us to, a bit belated but equally as impressive. “Purple Sky” is, in reality, a glittering, chaotic cacophony of sound for the most part. By the time “Celestial Slingshot” hits, the robotic vocals are so prominent that they lead the track, sounding like a clash between an electronic keyboard and a accordion. The Oscillator Bug Remix of the same adds more lightweight instrumentals into the soundscape, bringing it to an even higher ethereal level than the original. We’re especially smitten with the way they placed the two tracks back-to-back, so a layman could identify the differences and insane progression from one into the next. By track eight, we are being dragged back into “Purple Sky”, though this badass track is an Odd Nosdam Remix, so there are ver important details that have been manipulated from the original, making it a standalone track on its own and the perfect way to round out the EP.
Keep up with Protovulcan here.
