the cuckoos soundtrack

the cuckoos soundtrack

Last year, I got the insane pleasure of hanging out with Austin-based rock outfit The Cuckoos at SXSW. This year, they’re taking immense strides into the forefront of the industry, nabbing attention from some of the hottest music outlets in the world. Their brand of rock gives off this soulful, vintage vibe, while their style and attitudes reflect that same laid back comfort that has gone missing from so much of our modern music.
Don’t believe me? Check out their latest track “Heartbreak Paradise” below, then sidle on down to a playlist the quartet curated exclusively for Imperfect Fifth, which includes a look into their inspiration and taste. (Descriptions provided by Kenneth Frost.)

Heartbreak Paradise – The Cuckoos 
Just a little shameless self promotion. This is our new song we just released on Valentine’s Day.
The Dude – Quincy Jones
This is just a funky, feel-good track with a little bit of rap, some horns, and Mr. Quincy Jones layin’ it down.
Uptown – Prince 
I love the production of this record– Super funky and raw sounding. This song has some of my favorite lyrics as well.
Do I Make You Feel Shy? – Connan Mockasin 
I’ve been listening to a lot of Connan Mockasin lately. I love the lyrics and the simplicity of this track. It’s very catchy and he always puts off such a watery, seductive vibe with his music which I really dig. It’s romantic.
Dinosaur Carebears – Ariel Pink 
My favorite example of a song that makes you feel like you’re on drugs without actually being on them. It’s pretty much a 3-part psychedelic jam that goes into this weird ‘toy train from hell’ sounding bit before mellowing out into a pretty cosmic sounding groove.
Stay – Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs
It’s a lovey dovey old school tune with great falsetto vocals. It’s only about a minute and a half, so it makes you want to play it on repeat.
Redbone – Childish Gambino
This is probably my favorite track of 2017. Gambino made a dope funky 70s funkadelic Prince-y sounding pop song with some heart and it did really well. So not only do I dig the song, but I also feel like it was pretty ballsy and cool of him to do that style of music and also make it on to pop radio. It reminds me of the next few songs.
Do Me Baby – Prince 
Another Prince tune. Super slow, super romantic. Great lyrics and dynamics. It has this bass pop that just gets me every time. Gambino did it in Redbone too. Both of those really influences TheCuckoos‘ song, Heartbreak Paradise.
I’d Rather Be With You – Bootsy Collins 
A classic.
I Wanna Roll With You – Connan Mockasin 
Another Connan song. The intro is genius and I love the backup vocals on this track.
Orange County Suite – The Doors
A kind of deep cut. Morrison wrote and recorded a version of himself singing and playing this song on piano before he passed. It wasn’t released until the remaining members of the doors recorded the instrumentals to the tracks. I found it on an old bootleg record, but I think they put it out with a deluxe L.A. Woman and on a compilation too. One of their most haunting songs and a personal favorite of mine.
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson 
Bass Line. Production. Music Video. Moonwalk.
Ego Tripping Out – Marvin Gaye 
Marvin Gaye getting funky as hell and telling everybody why he’s the best.
Mary Jane – Rick James
Rick James was cool as shit. The clavinet at the end is gnarly.
China Girl – Iggy Pop
I love ‘The Idiot’. To me this track is just melancholy gothic post punky perfection. Iggy’s screams are godlike.
Something About That Woman – Lakeside 
One of my favorite songs. The guitars, the bass, the synths, the vocals. Everything is so tight.
The Wedding List – Kate Bush
The first song from Kate Bush I heard. She’s one of my biggest influences and I love her music dearly.
True Blue – Dirty Beaches
Sounds like Dirty Beaches doing The Ronettes. I feel like I’ve really been influenced by Dirty Beaches’ vocal style.
A Little Bit Funky – The Cuckoos 
Us again 😉 I feel like this was the first song of ours we got people to dance to and that makes me proud.
This Night Has Opened My Eyes – The Smiths
What’s there to say? The Smiths are cooler than cool. I like the moody stuff.
Little Dark Age – MGMT 
Their new track and album are dope. I dig where they’re going with this new record and I’ve been listening to this a lot lately.
Keep On Lying – Tame Impala
Probably my favorite Tame Impala song. The guitars and keys just put you in a trance. They’re one of the reasons why I started making music.
Into The Groove – Madonna 
Keyboard lick (ugh). How could you not dance? Just an all around banger from the moment you put it on.
When The Music’s Over – The Doors
Probably my favorite song of all time.
The Beautiful Ones – Prince
Probably my second favorite song of all time.
Decades – Joy Division 
Probably my third favorite song of all time.
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Keep up with The Cuckoos here.
the great sadness, weep

the great sadness, weep

Los Angeles based band The Great Sadness – consisting of members Stephen McNeely (drums) and Cathy Cooper (guitar/vocals) – say they are “upset all the time and they put it in their music.”
When looking into The Great Sadness I started by getting acquainted with the video for “Underground” from their album Weep that was released in April of 2017. Maybe I just have a sick sense of humor, but I found nothing sad about this song while watching as the pair rode bicycles through a cemetery, stopped at the ice cream truck, the laundry mat, and hit up the massage chairs. As I was mid-laugh at the comical occasional middle finger, things got creepy and in their skull masks it felt as if death was out for a walk.
With lyrics boasting, “In this place, underground, there is no God,” one could embrace the sadness behind that realization. The further I descend into this album, the tonal quality and the words themselves do capture all that is wrong in the world. It is a sad place that we have created and The Great Sadness doesn’t sugar coat a bit of it. Cathy has an un-dusted gritty rasp to her voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin, Stevie Knicks, and early Melissa Etheridge. The music has a murky humidity that generates a grass rooted southern swamp rock feel as well as that D-tuned sludge grunge feel (don’t think Nirvana’s Nevermind album, think Nirvana’s Bleach album).
Being a D.I.Y. band and paying for your recording, production, pressing, touring can leave you financially depleted. The Great Sadness truly has a love for creating music no matter the cost and their hard work has paid off as they reached out to all of you to help release Weep on vinyl. Given the style of music, you want this on vinyl.
The shining moment for me was the song “Tonight.”  A droning sometimes psychadelic darkness seems so fitting as she sings loudly, borderline a scream while maintaining great vocal control, “this dance through hell has done us in, hold me love, my breath is thin.” The Great Sadness is best described by this scenerio, if only Linda Blair (the original Exorsist movie, the possessed girl) had a band.

Grab the vinyl release of Weep and sludge through the mucky darkness with The Great Sadness.
danielle duval, “whenever you want it”

danielle duval, “whenever you want it”

Glam rocker Danielle Duval delivers again, this time with her new single “Whenever You Want It”. Danielle Duval is a Montreal born and Toronto-based indie rocker. Duval caught the attention of musical fans and the industry when she debuted her debut EP L’Etranger. Since that release, Danielle Duval has been gearing up to take the world by storm.

“Whenever You Want It” is a song about being fearless. The song tells the listener to be open and ready for whatever comes his or her way. “Whenever You Want It” recognizes love with no fear and encourages the listener to go for it and be unapologetic. The song is great, passionate, and full of lots of high energy.


“Whenever You Want It” is the lead single off Duval’s sophomore album Lose It which is available to own right now. Keep up with her here.

the jacks drop “hello my friend”

the jacks drop “hello my friend”

The Jacks – a rock n’ roll band from Southern California featuring Jonny Stanback on vocals and rhythm guitar, Scott Stone on bass guitar, Tom Hunter on lead guitar, and Josh Roossinn on percussion and drums – has just released their new single “Hello My Friend” from their upcoming self-titled EP.  The song is about watching someone close to you, such as a friend or family member, go through a lot of life changes. The song is about that person getting prepared for the unknown. “Hello My Friend” gives the listener a taste of 90s rock n’ roll. If you are into that rock, this song is just for you.

The Jacks are poised to have a long career in music. If you enjoy “Hello My Friend” check out The Jacks’ self-titled EP coming this March. Keep up with the band here.

steegs, “come through”

steegs, “come through”

Now that she has dropped out of Berklee College and left Boston behind to pursue her career in music as an artist, STEEGS has burned a path of success in front of her that is sure to lead her where she want to go. Not only is this passion and enthusiasm for music shown in her actions, but also in the songs that he has produced. Looking forward, there is a lot of hype that surrounds her upcoming release of, “Come Through” which was released on February 8, 2018. What has been marked as a “tenacious,” this single packs a punch at every turn and ends with an explosive last chorus. The art behind this song, however, is deeply rooted in her raw-guitar work and honesty driven lyrics. Like she has shown in the past, holding back is not an option which is clearly expressed in her music and choice of words.

Although “Come Through” is one of the first singles that STEEGS has released to the public, it is not her first experience with performing and brining music to her fans. While participating in a dark pop-rock band with two of her three sisters, she was able to win over the hearts of those on the Santa Monica Pier as a street performer. Since then, this artist has evolved and grown into herself and is ready to take the music industry by storm, with nothing standing in her way.

Keep up with STEEGS here.

echo bloom talks names, album creation, influences

echo bloom talks names, album creation, influences

Echo Bloom’s founder and frontman Kyle Evans creates rigorous, detailed and well-thought out music. With the creation of Echo Bloom, Evans took their freshman album Jamboree and honed specific songs to create Blue, Red, and now, their latest album, Green. Accompanied by vocalist/keyboardist Aviva Jaye, Alex Minier playing bass and Cody Rahn on drums, Evans has created a collection of music that covers a variety of soundscapes and genres. Echo Bloom has been based in a variety of places, recently in New York City, and the multitude of locations mirrors the multitude of sounds they put out. Keep an eye out for Echo Bloom’s Green, out March 9th.

We were able to catch up with Echo Bloom recently — here’s what they had to say:

Echo Bloom is an evocative name. How did it come about?

The Baby Boom generation were folks born post WWII, so ~1946-1964.  I heard once the phrase “Echo Boom” talking about the generation of kids that the baby boom generation had.  My family always gardened a lot – we had this great big vegetable garden in our backyard – so “Echo Boom” became “Echo Bloom”.

Favorite live show played to date?

Breminale, in Bremen, Germany, in 2016.  We performed under this beautiful circus tent, and it was our bass player Alex’s birthday, so we got about 500 folks to sing to him on stage before we started.  It was about 400 degrees out and there a ton of lights, so everyone was *covered* in sweat by the time the show was done.  But we got two encores, and ended the night at kind of this hub of Bremen called “Heartbreak Hotel” singing and toasting and laughing.  It was the 8th or 9th show of a 60 date tour, and set the tone really nicely.

Recording: disciplined and rigorous or laid back jam sesh style?

More on the disciplined and rigorous side.  We went into the recording of a record we put out a few years ago with a note-by-note score of everything, so the actual recording was more a documentation effort. We’ve gotten a little more away from that – we work more as a band to collaboratively arrange everything. But once we get in the studio, we usually have a very good idea of how everything is going to turn out.

Biggest influences for Green?

Ah, that’s tough.  Musically – Big Star, Brian Eno, Neutral Milk Hotel, Debussy, and Pink Floyd.  Lyrically -Georges Seurat, John Steinbeck, and Carl Sandburg.

Best part of touring?

The family.  I am constantly amazed and humbled by the generosity and spirit of giving that we experience on the road.  There is an amazing community of people that support art and go to shows – and being on tour allows you to experience that directly.

How did you come up with the idea for the album processes evolving from and following Jamboree?

It was pretty intentional.  I finished Jamboree and took stock of what we’d come up with – there were a lot of good songs on there, but stylistically it was too diverse to make for any kind of consistent listening experience.  We had a reggae song, a metal song, a country song, a weird French-sounding song.  It was a *ton* of fun to make, but listening back to it – I mean, maybe we’re not a metal band?  Maybe we’re not a reggae band?  So I did an audit, and tried to figure out what the best songs were on the album.  I took the three best songs, and wrote albums around each of them.  The first was Blue (off of the song ‘The Prostitute’), then last year’s Red (off of the song ‘The Businessman’), and now Green (off of the song ‘The English Teacher’).

If you had one word to describe Echo Bloom to someone who had never heard of you, what would it be?

Handmade.

___

Keep up with Echo Bloom
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rivvrs, “don’t wanna know”

rivvrs, “don’t wanna know”

California-based singer-songwriter RIVVRS is gearing up to release his track “Don’t Wanna Know” on February 9th. A guitar-and-drums filled, mellow yet intriguing track with classic rock elements, “Don’t Wanna Know” brings a variety of pleasant sensations to the ears.

A talented artist who has even gotten songs on TV shows, RIVVRS (aka Brandon Zahursky) is no rookie to the music game, but still provides freshness in every track. RIVVRS will be releasing Cosmic Dream this year, having already released its lead single, “Don’t Give Up On Me”. RIVVRS says of his music: “I hope people listen to the songs that I have, and can somehow hear what is happening in their own lives. Everyone wants to feel a connection.”

His single “Don’t Wanna Know” does just that – it is approachable, relatable, and of course, enjoyable. With guitar that has you hooked from the first notes and vocals to match, “Don’t Wanna Know” is equal parts compelling and calming. RIVVRS also brings a hint of Americana to the song with just a bit of twang in his voice. Keep an eye out for not only “Don’t Wanna Know”, but all of Cosmic Dream as well.

Connect with RIVVRS
YoutubeiTunes –  InstagramFacebook –  Website –  Twitter –  Spotify –  Soundcloud

we can’t stop talking about ruby boots’ don’t talk about it

we can’t stop talking about ruby boots’ don’t talk about it

Australia’s Ruby Boots, now based in Nashville, TN is about to release her label debut Don’t Talk About It February 9 with Bloodshot Records, having previously released a 2016 album, Solitude. Born Bex Chilcott, the talented artist is backed by The Texas Gentleman and produced by Beau Bedford on this album — and we’re here for it. With confident vocals and sumptuous instrumentation, Ruby Boots delivers a treat for the ears. To sum it up, the album is an experience, a journey. Navigating a country/Southern-rock inspired soundscape that is still accessible for the country-hatin’ folks, Ruby Boots oozes real emotion and authenticity, especially in tracks like “Believe in Heaven”. From the bold opener, “It’s So Cruel” to the title track, “Don’t Talk About It”,Chilcott displays both her range and variety of styles while maintaining the album’s theme. “It’s So Cruel” already has a music video to accompany the scathing track, full of neon lights and rockin’ vibes, utilizing slow motion and close-ups to pack even more of punch for this track.One of the indubitable highlights of  Don’t Talk About It is the stunning acapella track “I Am A Woman”, perfect and raw. Ruby Boots says of the song, “As tempting as it was to just write an angry tirade I wanted to respond with integrity, so I sat with my feelings and this song emerged as a celebration of women and womanhood, of our strength and our vulnerability, all we encompass and our inner beauty, countering ignorance and vulgarity with honesty and pride and without being exclusionary to any man or woman. My hope is that we come together on this long drawn out journey. The song is the backbone to the album for me.”“Infatuation” is another great track on Don’t Talk About It, full of both yearning lyrics and a catchy beat. Closing out with “Don’t Give A Damn”, which combines all the soulful elements of a country blues song with a tinge of almost jazzy piano. Don’t Talk About It is a strong album for a variety of reasons, but it is clear that Ruby Boots knows what she’s doing. Whether you’re looking for some rockin’ folk or some folksy rock, Ruby Boots has got you covered.

We can’t wait for Ruby Boots to drop this masterpiece of an album tomorrow!

Connect with Ruby Boots:
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everett bird, “bucket of dark meat”

everett bird, “bucket of dark meat”

Fueled by their passion for music, Everett Bird – an emerging Montreal-based trio – is preparing to release their debut album this month. Through clever and catchy song writing, Everett Bird is able to convey relevant and relatable content with twangy hooks that rings similar to popular 90’s hits. Written in an old Montreal apartment, their first full length album was written with the help of band members Mikey Arcidiacono and Liam. Together, their music heavily reflects the popular sounds and vibes of their hometown and is deeply rooted in the indie rock genre.

Though this album is their first to release to the public since signing on with Royal Mountain Records, they have not been shy when it comes to performing around Canada. These three have performed in some of the hottest cities, such as Vancouver and Montreal, which has brought them a significant fan group eagerly awaiting the release of their album on February 23rd.

The hook to this band is found in their wide variety of incorporated styles. They have written music that dabbles in not only traditional indie rock, but also music with noticeable jazz, R&B and punk undertones. Their song, “Bucket of Dark Meat,” which is included in the album, has already been released to preview  – so grab some dark meat and tune into Everett Bird’s new release, “Bucket of Dark Meat!”

Keep up with Everett Bird here.