Saturday afternoon. Your phone has rarely been touched since your time on the farm began. It’s sweltering, and it’s just past 2pm on Saturday, which means there is still plenty of daylight left to mess something up. It’s a series of texts and a missed call by bands you’re scheduled to photograph soon. They’re both finished with previous engagements early, and both ready to take some quick photos.
Liily — an intriguing Los Angeles-based alternative quartet comprised of Maxx Morando – (drums), Sam De La Torre (guitar), Charlie Anastasis (bass), Dylan Nash (vocals) — has found one of the coolest areas on the farm, both in temperature and in vibe. It made it easy for us to round out some incredibly cool, relaxed photos.
Alright. You all know what we do around here by now. Mid-month, we release genre-inclusive soundtrack features that are jam packed with new music videos specifically for your viewing pleasure. We know that people exist in the world that curate playlists to evoke a specific emotion, or to bring people back to a specific point in time.
These soundtrack pieces are not specific. These soundtrack pieces will jump from hip hop to indie rock to alternative to gospel and back again, and there’s not much we’re truly willing to do about it. Because, as the month’s cause would suggest, love is love. Music is music.
Bring me everything new, no holds barred!
Check back all month for new music videos throughout the end of June 2019!
HēranSoun is about to truly take the world by storm. His brand of indie alternative has been crafted through years of obsession with music. His perspective is wildly different than most, as he lived mostly in silence until the age of nine. It was at that age that he was able to hear fully for the first time, and music became his muse. You can truly tell that this is the case when listening to his debut single “Barricade”. Sprawling, ethereal, enigmatic. Check it out below.
Goosebumps. The immediate sensation one gets when listening to the intro to Judah and the Lion‘s new album Pep Talks. The aptly named Pep Talks gives the listener a metaphorical punch in the mouth with numerous vocal buildups, booming horns, and a steady building guitar. This is the band’s third album, and it does not disappoint from start to finish.
Big band feels with heartfelt lyrics is how this listener likes to describe Pep Talks. 17 tracks long, Pep Talks boasts features from Kacey Musgraves and Jon Bellion, but the majority of the focus is on Judah and the Lion’s ability to captivate audiences with their pop-alternative style. The constant presence of the variety of strings, and the pounding of drums, just make you want to move. Even as I write this at my desk, my head is consistently bobbing, and my feet are thumping with every single beat. Emotionally stirring, Pep Talks is raw in every sense of the word, putting on display every single talent that Judah and the Lion possesses.
The release of Pep Talks signals the announcement of a worldwide tour from Judah and the Lion. With festival stomps throughout, the band will be touring from May until November. Without a doubt, the songs on this album will be triumphs live, all of them have a live feel even when you are streaming them through a computer. I for one cannot wait to witness Pep Talks live, and I can only hope that Judah and the Lion incorporate the intro track “Pep Talk” into the performance. It gets me amped just thinking about it.
You can keep up with Judah and the Lion on their socials and their website judahandthelion.com.
As an up-and-coming alternative pop musician in South East London, Little Pale has her work cut out for her. But she seems to be taking it all in stride, having just released a re-imagined version The Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored”. In this particular track, she has taken the rock perspective out almost completely, and replaced it with an ambient, gorgeous kaleidoscope of sounds that perfectly cradle her effervescent vocals.
Says Little Pale of choosing this particular song to cover: “I came to this song quite late and found its lyrics to be especially poignant, more so now than ever, in the context of social media and its influence/rs”.
UK-based band Saltwater Sun’s newly released EP may only have three songs, but each one is unique and provides a truly electric listening experience. “Trying” is the funky opening track with some really great guitar riffs paired with a showcase of lead singer Jen Stearnes’ strong vocals – especially towards the end of the song as she belts out a disclaimer about somebody she can’t seem to forget about:
“It goes to show that’s the way I go on, still thinking about you.”
“The Great Deceiver” serves as the title track and has a more subdued vibe compared to the rest of the EP, but that doesn’t mean the lyrics are any less biting. As the title suggests, the song is all about how we are our own great deceiver. And amidst the indie pop sound, the lyrics explore the ideas of self-worth and confidence.
The final song, “Blood,” was my favorite of the three tracks. It opens up with an atmospheric ten seconds before bursting through with an alternative rock song that fills you up with a catchy guitar jam and deeply existential lyrics. It’s energetic in the way an uplifting pop song is, but deals with the angst of personal loss. Stearnes’ voice sings out for those we’ve lost, but her lyrics also bring about an important message – that those who die never really leave us:
“Every thought, every time, this is how you never die.”
The Great Deceiver is a truly beautiful collection of songs with an undeniable vigor, approaching things like self-worth, love, and grief in an unconventionally upbeat way that allows their listeners to feel a sense of hope by the end of it.Be sure to check out their music, and keep up with Saltwater Sun here.
March has been mad for more reasons than just basketball, and we’re here to share those reasons with you! Each month, we round up our favorite new song releases in a Spotify soundtrack feature for our fans. Whether you like sad boy music, hip hop, indie, alternative, or a little bit of twang, there is a little bit of something for everyone in this collection. Alycia Lang, New Luna, Kat Saul, Good Fuck… And it’ll just keep growing from here, so check back regularly throughout the remainder of the month for more new gems!
The Head and The Heart have announced their new album Living Mirage will be out May 17th, and leading up to this release that have debuted a new track titled “Missed Connection”. Containing a smooth bass line, heavenly vocals and harmonies, “Missed Connection” holds a little bit of a different sound from the rest of what The Head and The Heart has had to offer, according to drummer Tyler Williams. “A lot of the beats on that song are quicker, and there are high hats that were never in our music before”.
With that being said, “Missed Connection” still has that feel that we have grown accustomed to experiencing from TheHead and The Heart. This means a perfect combination of alternative, pop, and indie-folk, creating another hit for the six musicians. This upcoming album suggests that this will beThe Head and The Heart’s best work to date. Member Jon Russell has stated proudly that, “this is literally the most work we’ve ever done on an album,” and it definitely shows in “Missed Connection”. Let’s hope for more of the same when “Living Mirage” releases on May 17th.
Rooney has released a new single “Time and Time Again”, and it is part of the soundtrack to Robert Schwartzman’s new film THE UNICORN. This soothing track has an almost alt-western feel to it. Though it was exclusively written for the film, it is easily enjoyed by anyone who has an ear for melodic music. As stated previously, the song has a western vibe, but is ultimately an alternative song containing smooth vocals and a tapping snare.
Schwartzman had this to say about the record:
I wrote “Time And Time Again” for THE UNICORN, a feature film I had the pleasure directing and working alongside a talented cast and crew. When you write a song for a film, it changes the context, the foundation, and frames the writing process in a certain way that supports the film’s story. I like to write songs with a specific focus, purpose, and intention, otherwise it all feels a bit disjointed. I’m happy I got to contribute “Time And Time Again” to the film and it’s exciting to release a new Rooney single on the project’s 20 year anniversary.
You can check out “Time and Time Again” on streaming services and the feature film soundtrack for THE UNICORN. Keep up with Rooney here.
