Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Sweeney E. Schragg and bassist/vocalist Kristin Olson, Santa Cruz-based Jazz/Folk duo Winterlark unveils their new EP When I Saw You Stranded There on October 8th. Their union as a duo comes from a perfect storm of synergies, with Sweeney’s prior work as a creative writing instructor and Kristin’s experience working at a small business. Both members complement each other with the ingenuity and tenacity needed for chemistry as musicians. To shape Winterlark’s mishmash of folk, bossa nova, and soul, Kristin took note from her experiences listening to bluegrass, R&B, and pop with family and performing classical music from college, while Sweeney borrowed from his beginnings as a rock n roll guitarist and jazz composition student. The duo shares:
“The music on this album is two people bantering, laughing, ruminating, sparring, and liking each other,” Kristin says. Sweeney notes: “It has been a long time since I’ve written songs with anyone. It’s a dream to work with someone I respect both musically and poetically.” Kristin adds: “I laid down my bass years ago, but the timing in my life enabled me to get back into it. Winterlark has also encouraged me to become a songwriter which I’d never thought I would do.”
The EP provides a perfect soundtrack to easygoing settings, such as a scenic drive along a coastal road or a morning hike through a forest trail. The acoustic soundscape reinforces its cinematic nature as the duo performs with a playful and reassuring chemistry, drawing inspiration from their progression from friends into a couple. This is especially evident in the “Make a Mess With Me”, a flirtatious yet humorous track with the lyrics, “The 14th of June, “Sorry ’bout the screen door,”/Was the first thing she had to say./Off came the gloves, kind of like a prom dress./Guess it had been that kind of day”. Another highlight is “If I Could Put my Finger on Your Pulse”, showing yearning through Sweeney’s pondering on whether his heartbeat comes from his partner’s touch or his wooing. A particular standout is the politically charged closer “Rage (Privilege Comes Apart)”, a commentary on racial injustice with vocals delivered in an angrier tone and the lyrics “Never wanna watch another black or brown reduced to just a name”.
Sweeney: “Our EP, When I Saw You Stranded There, features songs about zany beginnings—in a La La Land style traffic jam, on a veranda where smokers laugh, through a broken screen door. Having come together in our own zany beginning, that’s where our fictional storytelling first took Kristin and me.”
Kristin: “This EP gives a glimpse into the dynamic of two really good friends, who kid each other, bounce ideas around, and skeptically consider the world. Sweeney and I spend time everyday throwing words and music back and forth. Whether the story that emerges is our reaction to persistent injustice, as in the song “Rage (Privilege Comes Apart),” or a complete, sassy fiction, as in the title track, it is this back and forth that gives each song its unique energy.”
Sweeney: “Producer Cookie Marenco of Blue Coast Music recorded our uncluttered duo—upright bass, Lowden acoustic guitar, and vocals—in the Extended Sound Environment that she has developed, capturing the live in-studio performance of each song, unvarnished, tonally rich, quirks intact.”
When I Saw You Stranded There drops on all streaming platforms October 8th.
Who else popped their head out of their hole long enough to realize that it’s already Memorial Day Weekend? Yup. It totally is. And we’re looking forward to “treading water” in a rainy, sloppy midwest indoors… but not without an ambiance. And who better to provide said ambiance than stunning indie-pop musical project, fakelife (Matt Couchois). With his new 5 track EP, Fall Behind, hitting airwaves and the collective consciousness TOMORROW, May 22nd, we are pleased to bring you your first listen to the work in its entirety below.
It’s difficult to understand the level of talent that is layered within this gem of a cut, as you can detect something even deeper than raw talent. As Couchois counts varying entertainers and artists as family members and predecessors, his legacy seems to have had an impact on his final product. Whether you’ve been in the mood to sit still and revel in the silence, you’ve been antsy to partake in social interaction, or you’ve been all over the place like an emotional rollercoaster (so, all of us), you will find reprieve in the sonic atmosphere that holds steady throughout each track. So let fakelife envelope you in his storytelling capabilities, and enjoy your holiday weekend with the extra bump of enthusiasm!
Indie-pop act DEWR, consisting of songwriter Brian Dawer, is set to release his new EP Dream Pop Is Over on January 31st.
This release differs from his past works because the EP shies away from the regular indie-pop formula. While DEWR’s previous releases seem cluttered and unorganized, Dream Pop Is Over, is anything but.
This 5-song EP flows like a stream of consciousness giving Dewar the space to be honest.
Accompanied by swaying rhythms and dynamic changes, this EP is both unique and listenable. The opening track “Front Line” drops listeners into Dewar’s mind, and every song following continues this exploration. Through these 5 songs, listeners are exposed to Dewar’s inner turmoils as he comes to terms with the idea that you can’t have it all, and that life keeps moving forward.
The EP’s title feels like a play on words. While his other works fall victim to indie-pop tropes of being over digitally-enhanced, Dream Pop Is Over feels natural and organic.
California-based duo Quietwater might not be releasing their debut self-titled EP until the 16th, but – not to brag or anything – we’ve got the exclusive streaming premiere. This 4-track stunner is filled to the brim with percussive intensity, gorgeous, full strings, and boasts a mood mysterious, frantic, and calming, somehow, all at once. Admits the duo:”This EP is very dear to my heart and I’m delighted to finally get it out to the world. Stay tuned for more to come.”
So, if you’re jonesing for some new music for your earholes, check out the magic of Quietwater.
Been noodling around the internet, looking for new tunes to tantalize your eardrums for a while on this gorgeous Thursday? Well, you can stop right here and hang out for a while because we’ve got the exclusive streaming premiere of Payson Lewis‘ new EP Take Me Apart. Lewis – a musician hailing from Philadelphia and residing in Los Angeles – brings his fresh, invigorating vocals to upbeat, pop instrumentals in six gorgeous tracks laid out before us on this EP. And though “Take Me Apart” and “Can’t Go Back” exist as slower, more practiced ballads, we see no reason for this to not be a go-to set for next year’s festival season.
Explains Lewis:
Take Me Apart is like a wild ride down my pop-nostalgia super highway. When I was writing and making this record, I loved following every stylistic twist and turn and seeing where it took me. It was so fun not to get pigeonholed into one specific sound, but instead letting the energy and authenticity be the cohesive thread that leads you through the record’s narrative. It’s definitely an EP that was meant to be played down from top to bottom. You know, just like a road-trip adventure, you just gotta fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride.
San Francisco-based dark indie pop duo New Spell – comprised of Leanne Kelly and Jacob Frautschi – dropped their 4-track EP Of Time, Part II today, and we’ve got your exclusive sneak peek at the release in its entirety. While aspects of “You Win” feel electronic – the song oozes quirky instrumentals that mirror our favorite video games – Kelly’s light as a feather vocals carry it into a more ethereal soundscape. The duo took the time to add fluid-sounding instrumentals to second track “Like Water”, and brought the entire tone of the album down for third track “Merely Mortal”. “Of Time” maintains this darker demeanor, while still leaving its listener feeling uplifted and – at times – breathless as it winds the release down.
Alternative electro-synth pop artist HiRSH – the ethereal, enchanting brainchild of musician Beau Hirshfield – is releasing his new EP Going on Friday. If first track “Ready to Go” didn’t offer the expression of his readiness to take on this industry with strong instrumentals and luscious vocals in its soundscape, the lyrics tackle that question head on. “Beating Heart” brings the tempo down, though somehow maintains a “party anthem” feel to it despite its dark lyrical tones. And while “Feels Like” boasts enviable percussion, Last track “The Well” perfectly rounds out the EP, riling up every emotion a human soul is capable within its 3 minutes and forty-seven seconds of smooth vocalization.
Says Hirshfield: “Trial and error. Guess and check. Ebb and flow. Peaks and valleys. Go ahead and pick any cliché you like to describe this journey. We are all in a mad dash to get somewhere while nobody has any real clue where were actually going. Life.”
Going is out June 29th. The EP release show is at The Peppermint Club in LA on June 29th. Tickets are available here. Keep up with HiRSH here.
Today, Utica, New York’s alternative musician Anthony and the Mountain premieres its Storm Fruit EP, the first collection of music we have gotten from the project since 2016’s I Felt Tall and Full of Blood. Three songs deep, “Fatboy” serves as the first track, a dramatic narrative from Anthony’s childhood. Anthony croons “Watching the ocean pull away from me” in an all-encompassing way, truly capturing a feeling in tandem with the lyrics. And while “Little Ceramic Dolphins” maintains a similar tempo, the song itself feels darker, more existential in its presence than its predecessor. Anthony’s third song is the title track “Storm Fruit”, which draws from intense vocal registers and a more seductive emotional state to evoke a romanticism that perfectly rounds out the release.
Says Anthony about the EP:
The three songs that make up the EP were slowly written over the past few years and paint portraits of myself at three very different points in my life, both chronologically and emotionally. It’s about relationships. From growing up as a queer teen andthe relationship i’ve had with my body, my relationship to religion, and ultimately my relationship with myself. I wrote them at the piano, trying to connect with the part of me that started writing songs in the first place. The desire was to do something that was meditative, and orchestral, cinematic even, with my voice being the emotional center. I wrote them mostly in seclusion, with the recording happening very quickly once I set down to do it.
