Ambient duo Fye & Fennek have created a soundscape just as exciting and sultry as this summer has been calling for. “Clouds” dances along at an almost graceful pace, vocals ethereal and vibrant at times, raw and raspy at others, while the electronic instrumentals interchange behind them. The song boasts intricate pop undertones, making it impossible to get out of your head. And we’re definitely OK with that.
Keep up with Fye & Fennek here.
Brooklyn-based alt-dance/pop duo Glassio – comprised of Sam R. and Charles Pinel – recently unleashed the music video for their latest single “New York, New York II” unto the world, and we’re floored by how visually attractive it is. Hard angles, color blocks, insane contract, a technical yet natural flow to how everything fits together. A projector plays video of New Yorkers singing pieces of the track on the streets of the phenomenal city that they live in. The striking visuals match the lyrical content for impressiveness, and there’s a cool as a cucumber vibe emanating from it all that makes “New York, New York II” perfect as the backdrop to your next summer party.
Keep up with Glassio here.
Nashville-based dream pop singer/songwriter Athena released a brand new single titled “Human” on Friday, and we are absolutely smitten. Her sultry vocals hit home from the very beginning, opening the song with a soft hum before developing into a layered gem of a track. As she begs you to let her underneath your skin, you begin to feel the rhythm pick up, as you get lost in dreamlike trance.
If you need a break from the stress of your Monday – or everyday – it’s time to breathe through this song.
Keep up with Athena here.
Nashville-based rock outfit Creamer – led by brainchild/soloist Philip Creamer – has really been making the rounds in the short time they’ve been making music. Though he is a veteran in the music industry itself, he’s really been enhancing the Nashville music scene, especially since his North American tour spot opening for Wilco.
Creamer’s new video for “Drugs No More” is the perfect way to experience the band’s life performance tactics, though in an enhanced kaleidoscope way that ran rampant in decades passed. The mid-tempo tune is absolutely invigorating to enjoy solo, but the video adds that visual aspect that really puts you in a relaxing mood, the message of the song just as nurturing as Creamer croons, “I don’t believe in drugs no more.” The song is solace for people suffering from the effects of substance abuse in some aspect of life, whether it’s a personal struggle or as an observer. It’s an important conversation to have, delivered in a vivid, stimulating way.
Keep up with Creamer here.
Though Matthew DeMello has been sharing his music with a growing audience on the east coast for several years in several different forms, it seems that his project Matt DeMello & Significant The Looks has some lasting power behind it. With their latest single having just been released, we’re excited to bring the excitement and intensity they provide to an even wider audience. The lyrics themselves hold a pretty absurd story, so “…Don’t Mind If I Do!” really takes you on a journey. With the inclusion of the Anti-Matter Horns, the sound is taken to another dimension and the energy is popped into several different directions.
If you’re looking for something to rev you up, this is it.
Keep up with Matt DeMello & The Significant Looks here.
Have you ever been through a breakup, riddled with fresh feelings and not wanting the relationship to end, necessarily? Ambient indie trio Lydia – comprised of Leighton Antelman, Matt Keller, and Shawn Strader – and rock ‘n’ roll musician Lauren Ruth Ward have teamed up to create a soundscape filled with both parties’ tumultuous thoughts from a last night together. Is it the right thing to do? Are the emotions raw enough to make you want to keep that person with you? Was it all bad?
Relationships are complicated, and Lydia and Lauren Ruth Ward address that fact in a seemingly upbeat, but equally tortured, single filled with hope and anticipation for the future. It will be available on Lydia’s upcoming album Liquor.
Liquor will be available July 13th. Keep up with Lydia here.
Today, Louisville, KY-based musician Jim James releases his new 11-track stunner of an album titled Uniform Distortion. From the very first guitar riff of “Just A Fool”, you get a sense that this man has put every ounce of emotion he has into this work of art. Excuse us if we’re wrong, but to start with a riff so energy-infusing and raw is something that doesn’t happen often enough. And while he sings about being “just a fool getting by,” we’re certain that’s a bit of an understatement.
If you don’t see what we mean with the initial track, try the nasty guitar lick that introduces “You Get To Rome”, or the riff that underlies “Out Of Time”. It is only with fourth track “Throwback” that the pace slows for a more intimate and introspective five minutes and nineteen seconds of nostalgia. (Though we have found that James’ lyricism doesn’t lack an introspective quality, something we yearn for when seeking out new music to enjoy.) And while “No Secrets” keeps to a slower pace – and properly displays a little more of James’ vocal range – “Yes To Everything” might be one of our favorites on the album. His laughter, his sense of self, the upbeat way with which he addresses change. We’re here for it.
If you don’t realize by seventh track “No Use Waiting” that this man is – at his core – probably a rock god, “All In Your Head” will serve to prove you wrong. It is with the last three tracks – “Better Late Than Never”, “Over and Over”, and “Too Good to Be True” – that slight bouts of that truly upbeat Partridge Family feel hit you unexpectedly. It blends perfectly with the era his music seems to come from, an era more lush and filled with warmth.
And that’s how you’ll feel after encountering Uniform Distortion. It brings you to that warm, comfortable happy place while introducing more and more insightful lyricism with each track. So hit play, and see what this new release evokes for you!
Keep up with Jim James here.
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.
Kahiem Rivera’s new track “Sing About Me” is the result of a spur-of-the-moment, late night inspiration, and it is complemented with the beat of Kendrick Lamar’s song with the same name. Not only is the beat Kendrick’s – Rivera’s lyrics exude the same brutal honesty and harsh reality of growing up. However, the story that these lyrics tell is entirely his own. It is also extremely relevant to today’s society, even referencing the political discourse we talk about every single day:
“Fall of ’16, stuck inside and not seeing clear,
Plus we elected who?
Man, I need another beer.”
Rivera tells a very personal story – it is raw and real and quite dark at times. And with a little bit of help from Kendrick Lamar, he delivers an emotional, well-written track.
Keep up with the latest on Rivera here.