by ImperfectFifth | Mar 5, 2020 | albums, review
Italian-British singer-songwriter Julia Bardo releases EP Phase, which is a piece of work that is centered by the idea of writing out your emotions. Bardo says she writes because “for me, music is about healing what is hurt inside of me. I heal by writing and talking about what troubles me”.
Phase examines the intricacies of trauma and of triumph, each track is written like a journal entry filled with observation. These observations examine the every day changing world through Bardo’s eyes. She captures her work as snippets of who she is at that moment, where she plans to go next, and where she has been. It is all a direct reflection of her life, and for that we are very grateful to witness songs with the raw sincerity of tracks like “Please Don’t Tell Me” and “Lonely Morning”.
Being influenced by Italian music of the 60’s and modern day musicians, Bardo creates a space that shines a light on her homeland of Italy, and her musical future. This 4 track EP was created to amaze, and we hope you get a moment to enjoy it in its entirety as well. Check out the first two tracks off the release below!
Phase is out March 6th. Keep up with Julia Bardo here.
Written by Kendal Chandler + Meredith Schneider
by Madi Toman | Mar 5, 2020 | albums, review
Jerry Williams Jr. has done it all: soul, R&B, country, disco, and, of course, among a myriad of other things, serving as “one of the great cult figures of 20th century American music.”
But he’s not finished.
Jerry Williams Jr., better known since the ‘70s as ‘Swamp Dogg’ (Before you question it, he beat Snoop Dogg to it) is releasing his highly anticipated, (so long as you consider Rolling Stone’s most anticipated albums of the year to be a reliable source), star-studded new album on March 6th. The record is produced by Ryan Olson (Poliça) and features the likes of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) Channy Leaneagh, Chris Bearden and Jenny Lewis (Poliça), and none other than country-folk legend John Prine gracing it’s grooves.
Sorry You Couldn’t Make It is the follow up to Dogg’s critically acclaimed 2018 release, Love, Loss, And Autotune (also produced by Ryan Olson), which was his first LP to debut on 11 Billboard charts and his first chart ink since his immortal 1970 album Total Destruction to Your Mind, which also served as the debut album for William’s alter-ego Swamp Dogg. The now 77-year old cult icon has been on stage since he was 6 years old and began his professional singing career back in the ‘50s before working in A&R for Atlantic in the ‘60s. While he’s worn a lot of different hats over the years, his most enduring persona is the “psychedelic soul superhero” Swamp Dogg, a “musical vigilante upholding truths both personal and political”. His biggest hit came in the 70s with (ironically) country song “Don’t Take Her (She’s All I Got)”, co-written with his best friend Gary U.S. Bonds, which hit Top 40 when Freddie North covered it and #2 on the country charts with Johny Paycheck in 1971. This album sees Dogg finally go back to his roots after a literal lifetime in the industry to finally make a record that bears homage to the country music that he was raised on.
Lead single “Sleeping Without You Is A Dragg” (extra points for the clever and very on brand stylization) exists in a sweetly soulful vein. The album opener is a heartfelt introduction to the record, letting listeners get an initial taste of what they’re in for, which at first listen seems to be a more reflective and heartfelt version of the cult icon, undoubtedly a result of spending over 60 years fighting to keep up in an ever-changing industry. After a very long journey, Williams is finally getting to make the record that he has longed for, and it just feels right.
In a powerful revisit to his 70s hit, “Don’t Take Her”(She’s All I Got)” Williams brings new life to an old story through a devastating new take which features a backing band of 14 musicians, including Vernon and Lee. The sheer number of players incorporated into the track increases its intense beauty ten-fold, but Williams himself possesses the most heart-wrenching mix of country and soul in his delivery and is a force to be reckoned with on his own. His aching vocals shift focus from the persona that Williams has created over the years and brings the attention back to the raw and powerful talent that he’s always possessed, both in his vocals and his storytelling. It comes early in the album, but it’s hard to not point to the track as a climatic moment.
The legendary John Prine appears on not one but two tracks on the record, which is probably smart since according to Dogg, “It’s the first time I seen John since the sixties!”. Certainly seems that everyone would benefit from getting a couple of legendary collaborations before another 60 years manages to pass us by. Prine features on subtly psychedelic “Memories” and album closer “Please Let Me Go Round Again”. The latter was originally written and demoed by Williams in his 40s but is just now making its way onto a record, which feels just right as a perfect full-circle moment for Williams. The reflective number is a plea for one more chance at life, and knowing Swamp Dogg and his ever-changing identity and roles, it’s a chance he’ll probably get.
While more tame than much of Swamp Dogg’s work, SYCMI is still not your conventional country album. “Family Pain” is a blues number about a family ravaged by a crack addiction. “A Good Song” dives into Williams philosophy on the flexible border between country and R&B. But other songs fall more into the traditional vein of the country genre, calmly delving into lost love, regret, and reflectiveness. “Billy” depicts Williams visiting his late wife’s grave and telling her about their son. The duets with Prine delve into aging and regrets as the two old men look back on their lives. “Memories don’t leave like people do. That’s why in my mind I’m always gonna be with you”, Williams croons on “Please Let Me Go Round Again”. While SYCMI still possesses Swamp Dogg’s trademarks, it’s also a new side of Williams’ always outgoing alter-ego, one that borders on being- Well, Jerry Williams Jr. again. Perhaps the convergence of the two is just what was needed. Here’s to getting that one last chance, Swamp Dogg.
I’m Sorry You Couldn’t Make It is out March 6th via Joyful Noise Recording and Pioneers Works Press. Keep up with Swamp Dogg here.
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 4, 2020 | albums, review
Erik Harris leads electronic project Memory Cult into a stratosphere of sound like any other we’ve played around with for a while. Known for being wildly experimental, his latest release — a full-length titled In Conflict — is just as entrancing and out of left field as ever, and we’re certain today’s release is going to get your mind reeling.
Lead single “Pityful” is purely and electronic lover’s dream, and the perfect way to introduce the album as a whole. It doesn’t hurt that it was released as a single at the end of February, and has been dancing around in our heads for some time. But even the peculiar sounds of that track can’t adequately prepare you for what’s to come in this 9-track experimental stunner. Second track “The Center (Crawl Home)” reaches 50 seconds before soft, high pitched vocals are even introduced. By third track “Undecide”, the dance vibes are laid on so thick that we’ve already definitely decided we’re hanging on to see where this album takes us.
Whereas its predecessor is a bit muddled, fourth track “Estranged” is very obviously inspired by sounds of the 80s and 90s, a clear and gorgeous entanglement of R&B vocals and dissonance. We continue in the same version of ambience with “RE: Rejection”, and continue to climb into more trance-like, morbid sounds with “Apathy”, which is actually more of a rock ballad than anything else.
Once we reach the title track, there is a feeling of wonder and an almost otherworldly layer to the music that brings us into a different headspace. “Devotion” is haunting in its existence, not quite the reassuring jolt we were considering needing after this Matrix-adjacent masterpiece’s release. In fact, once you reach final track “Anorexia”, there is a mentality that you might be trapped in some pretty magnetic music, which has now captivated your senses. If you don’t think of the brainwashing scene in Zoolander during this song, then I wonder where your head started and how to pull yourself out. This song leaves you in a trance itself, however intensely inspired if you open yourself up to it.
And isn’t that what great music is all about?
Keep up with Memory Cult here.
by Kendal Chandler | Mar 2, 2020 | albums, review
Singer-songwriter Sophie Allison, better known as Soccer Mommy, releases sophomore album color theory, an album heavily looking at internal worries and concerns of any person in their 20’s. Just like with her debut record Clean, Gabe Wax was the producer. Wax is credited for working on projects for indie artists such as the War on Drugs and Deerhunter.
Unlike her first release, color theory is a darker look inward at the human response to transformative transitions. The sound feels dimmer and the emotional weight stronger. From the opening lyrics of the first track “bloodstream” listeners know this record is taking a different direction. Regardless of the change in mood from the urgency of youth, found on Clean, to the overarching concerns of what happens when the light of adolescence fades, the music style of color theory is still authentically Allison.
Keep up with Soccer Mommy here.
by Madi Toman | Mar 2, 2020 | albums, review
Psychedelic indie project The Undercover Dream Lovers just released its debut album, It’s All in Your Head. TUDL is the brainchild of LA based artist Matt Koenig, an all around DIY badass who’s stayed true to the OG meaning of indie, navigating the industry label free throughout his career. Koenig cites his influences as everything from The Beatles to Tame Impala to Led Zeppelin and views himself and his music as a bridge between eras, a statement that I can confidently say reigns true after listening to the record.
It’s All in Your Head was recorded in Koenig’s home studio in Los Angeles, where the multi-talented Koenig handled writing, production, and mixing himself. The record is largely influenced by Koenig’s desire to create a “bustling, vibrant, and groovy” live show, which is immediately clear even via digital consumption. He is known for his quickly recognizable disco-influenced bass lines, a staple that consistently appears on this project as well as his Koenig’s older work.
The album opener, “A Way Out”, was one of the first tracks that Koenig made for the record, and is meant to serve as an initial taste for listeners to get a feel for the direction that he takes the record production-wise, which delves into new territory for Koenig. The disco rhythms that would end up influencing the rest of the album are introduced here through infectious dance floor rhythms that are a constant presence throughout the record.
One of the standouts on the record, “Plane Ride”, was largely influenced by the fatal car accident that took the lives of rock duo Her’s while Koenig was on tour with them. He took a break after the tragic event, and “Plane Ride” was the first thing he worked on after returning. The verse was written before the accident and was about Koenig feeling caught in life’s distractions. The rest of the track comes from the traumatic experience, with the ‘ride’ being a metaphor for life and the plane crash talked about in the song representative of death. Koenig kept that verse even after the meaning of the song shifted for him, allowing it to represent the ‘before’ of the accident and letting the number be symbolic for how quickly what we view as important can shift when trauma comes into play.
“Soon Enough”, co-written with Dent May, is a hopeful track sprinkled with vibrant-driven guitar riffs and a light and airy chorus. “Chardonnay” drips with groove and (fun fact) was created in a room in LA by three people named Matt. Every track on the project boasts unique differences in production, vibe, and lyrical themes while keeping to a uniform overall feeling that makes the album itself feel like a collective work of art, a refreshing element frequently missing in modern music where albums seem to be carried on the backs of singles which often feel worlds apart from the rest of the record.
While much of the album seems to exist in an intergalactic air-space, album-closer “Everyone’s Confused” feels down to earth in comparison. The groovy guitars that stand out on many of the album’s best tracks blend seamlessly with rolling rock riffs that feel as though they could be pulled straight from the 70s. “Everything is fake, and well, everyone’s confused” Koenig sings in a moment of blunt honesty.
Keep up with TUDL here.
by Madi Toman | Feb 28, 2020 | albums, review
San Francisco Bay Area group The Seshen are releasing their third full-length LP, entitled CYAN on February 28th. Inspired by the group’s experience while touring the United States in support of their 2016 release, Flames and Figures, CYAN is fueled in part by the heaviness that the band inevitably felt as they witnessed political and social issues firsthand during the 2016 presidential election, which happened to be occurring while they were on the road. The group’s vocalist, Lalin St. Juste, also looks inward for the work, drawing on her personal battle fighting depression. Inspired by a color that the group considers to be “both soft and strong,” the band unravels their progressions both as individuals and as a band for the LP.
The album exists somewhere in the realm between the real world and a dream world, presenting itself as a drifting cloud of electronic sound with St. Juste’s grounding vocals being the exact right flavor of complimentary juxtaposition. The sound itself feels three-dimensional, slyly tricking listeners into believing that they could reach out and touch it if they only tried.
Standout track “Don’t Answer” showcases the soft side of the album. It rises and falls like a gentle slumber, somehow still feeling angelic as it brushes heavy subject matter. St. Juste is an ethereal force to be reckoned with, supported by heavenly strings and floating background vocals alongside her breathy vocals that make for an all-around dream of a track. Despite its soft nature, the track was inspired by St. Juste’s own struggles to get out of bed every day as she fought depression. “Depression can grab a hold of you and it tries to stop you from breathing… but each day comes and each day I choose this life, I choose my truth, I choose to push through” the vocalist says. The positive light that she chooses to view her battle with is in turn cast over the beautiful song, making us all feel like we can breathe again.
“Can’t Pretend” has a completely different feel, but the trend of ethereal vocals continues. St. Juste’s voice carries her listeners into the high heavens where this album seems to reside comfortably as she navigates her falsetto with grace and ease. The instrumentation feels cool and modern, with a mesh of sounds coming together to form the echoey space that the track manages to exist in.
“Dive” continues to delve deeper into electronics, with the trippy electro-feel of this track making you feel like you’re orbiting around the moon in a cyan-colored spaceship. The intergalactic-fueled synth beats and bright and shiny vocals will surely make you want to make a quick pit stop a few light years away on a distant planet for an alien disco party. Space suit up.
“Stones” is effortlessly cool. “Take It All Away” floats by on a static cloud of silky smooth vocalization and instrumentation. “Still Dreaming” wades into an ocean of sound, with bright and shiny digital sounds painting the rolling waves with vivid auditory colors.
St. Juste serves as a guide to her listeners through a vast sonic soundscape, the only force keeping them down to earth as the rest of her group attempts to defy gravity and carry them off into a different dimension. The Seshen is fresh, but in that cool, we-aren’t-really-trying-to-be way that makes them seem even cooler.
Keep up with The Seshen here.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 28, 2020 | albums, review
As if we hadn’t been blessed enough this week, Munich-based pop rock quartet KYTES – expertly comprised of Michael Spieler, Kerim Öke, Timothy Lush, and Thomas Sedlacek – releases their new album Good Luck today. Eleven power-infused pop tracks, replete with punchy lyrics and accented vocals are about to put you in the best mood ever, despite some of the subject matters. Like first track “Runaway”, for example, during which we hear the protagonist either setting boundaries with a conflicted relationship, or acknowledging his runner mentality in life. Either way, we start on a highly relatable note, and that doesn’t fade as we melt into the 80s-inspired work.
“Go Out” keeps the energy going at the same pace, while the coming of “Emily” leads us into what we would prefer to identify as a quintessential ambient love song. A sense of nostalgia is established within the lyrics, leading perfectly into the highly danceable “Take Me Home”. “Want You Back” comes in with a slight disco feel, the guitar parts absolutely standout. While “Alright” doesn’t exactly convince us that he is quite alright, “Shot of Love” has a very Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” feel to it over spans of verses.
“Like a Dream” is as sticky sweet as the title would suggest, “Fast Life” is a bit quirkier in both composition and lyrical content, and will definitely get you on your feet, while “Wheel” is the defining ballad of the album. Bonus track “Livin’ in Havana” serves as our last sounds from this euphoric release, and it puts us in such vacation mode that we are almost looking forward to our next two days off… even if that means we are midwest-bound.
Keep up with KYTES here.
by Madi Toman | Feb 21, 2020 | albums, review
San Diego blues belter Whitney Shay will soon be releasing her new album, Stand Up!. An album for “dancing, drinking, and dreaming”, the flaming haired songstress brings old soul to the modern age with her high energy rhythm n’ blues, which is sure to have you crying over lost loves that never even happened. Yeah, she’s that good.
More and more artists are getting their start online these days, but Shay came up the old fashioned way, with word of mouth spreading her impressive reputation far and wide. While many modern artists have nothing to show for their work other than their streaming stats, Shay is a four-time winner at the San Diego Music awards, recipient of a nomination at 2019’s prestigious Blues Music Awards, and has been called a “future blues icon” by Blues Matters magazine.
The songs range from personal to socio-political in theme. “Being a strong, independent woman, raised by a single mother and grandmother, many of the songs on the album deal with themes of equality and female empowerment,” Shay says. Shay and her band are taking the album on the road for Ruf Records’ 2020 Blues Caravan showcase, and, not shockingly for someone that puts so much feeling into her work, a lot of the music is about the live performance experience. “When I perform I want people to dance and be engaged. To me, music has always been about catharsis, the purging of sad experiences. If I can make the audience leave smiling and feeling like they’ve forgotten about the trouble of their day, I’ve done my job.” Shay says.
And her opening track certainly does its job, setting both tone and theme for the album quickly and cooly. “Change With the Times” immediately lets listeners know not only that Whitney Shay is here and in charge, but also that she’s going to talk about some real shit. Shay’s studio band quickly proves that they’re just as top-notch as their vocalist, with the wailing organ on the track rivaled only by the saxophone solo. This super upbeat opener must be one of those drinking and dancing songs Shay told us all about.
“I Thought We Were Through” is a special moment on the album, with Shay’s level of control and expertise quickly becoming crystal clear here. She carries herself vocally with class as she attacks the number with impressive restraint and control, managing to paint the track with just the right amount of strength without overdoing it. This one is elegance in blues.
“Boy Sit Down” shows off a more playful side, although Shay loses none of her commanding power or grit. Her band really shows up on this one, utilizing horns, a particularly sick blues guitar solo, call and response vocal, and piano that sounds straight out of an old-time saloon to get her point across, which is all about equal rights for women.
Horn-heavy “Tell the Truth” is gritty and commanding while tracks like “Getting In My Way” showcase Shay’s more bluesy, sulty side. “P.S. It’s Not About You” somehow manages to skillfully combine a funk track with elements of rock n’ roll, intriguingly making me want to both head-bang and dance, while “Equal Ground” is tinged with country instrumentation. Shay and her band are not shy of dipping their toes in more than one musical pond, and they do it with skill and ease.
“I Never Meant to Love Him” is the real standout on the album. Shay’s rich voice navigates the deep waters of the Sam Cooke-esque tune, swimming in the depths of her range one second and soaring into the sky with angelic falsetto the next. But don’t let words like angel fool you; this woman is a powerhouse, a freight-train, a force of nature, and just about any other metaphor for strength that you could dream up. Shay’s soul doesn’t just shine through; it sparkles.
Stand Up! is out today via Ruf Records and will be played via Shay and her band in Ruf Records 2020 Blues Caravan showcase.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 20, 2020 | albums, review
Southern California singer-songwriter Pi Jacobs is set to release her newest album Two Truths and a Lie on Feb. 21. This album is one about strength, struggle, romance, and the resilience of everyday women.
Jacobs unique style combines electrified rock and rootsy Americana, created by incorporating staple bluegrass and standard rock & roll instruments. These instruments accompany Jacobs’ bluesy, unforced vocals as effortlessly as though everything came together at the same time.
Most of Jacob’s music reflects on the broad perspective of travel, Two Truths and a Lie, is an outward and inward look at women, including herself. In songs like “First Thing Tomorrow”, she rocks the blues, admitting struggling with thoughts of freedom and putting off plans to “put this bottle down, wake up and take a stand.” This is relatable, because we all struggle wanting to change the world around us, while simultaneously trying to distract ourselves from it. “Party Girl” is a vulnerable track, allowing her to admit that she — as most others — has worked hard to fit in with people in her life, perhaps not always turning to the right decisions for it.
One of our absolute favorite tracks? Eleventh and final track “Slow On Down”, because of its relaxing nature, and its clear departure from its predecessors to bring you back to a peaceful state of mind, amidst all of the heavy topics covered throughout the album. It’s almost comforting to be in the presence of this track, and that’s everything we could wish from the end of a blues album.
Check out the latest video for “Rearview Mirror” below, and take your full listen to this album this Friday!
Keep up with Pi Jacobs here.
