by Meredith Schneider | Mar 1, 2019 | albums, review
Today, blues/soul musician Sugaray Rayford releases his latest full-length, an album titled Somebody Save Me. Starting with first track “The Revelator”, he weaves his quintessential raspy, soulful vocals into the instrumentals like a seasoned pro. While “Time to Get Movin'” speeds the pace up a bit, it also brings a little more southern rock flare into the soundscape, which is less confusing when you remember this talent hails from the great state of Texas. “You and I” is a true love track, something you should convince your significant other to dance with you to.
“My Cards Are on the Table” follows suit in the romance department, though it slows things down even more than its predecessor. While “I’d Kill for You, Honey” has that southern twang to it, “Angels and Devils” takes more of what we would consider a ballad-like approach. “Sometimes You Get the Bear (And Sometimes the Bear Gets You)” feels nostalgic, a piece of “The Twist” haunting it while we sway our hips. The title track slows things way down – anyone else feel like they’re at a sock hop? – while ” Is It Just Me” goes all out in the horns section to introduce itself. “Dark Night of the Soul” rounds it all out with a slightly edgier tone than the rest of the album, though it is one of our absolute favorite tracks in this collection and leaves quite the imprint on your memory.
Keep up with Sugaray Rayford here.
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 1, 2019 | albums, review
On this – the first day of March, in the year of all denominational acceptance, twenty nineteen – The Mowgli’s release their new EP, a 4-track collection titled American Feelings. And boy, do we have feelings. Beginning with first track “Hard to Love”, there are MAJOR feelings present in this album. And though The Mowlgi’s aren’t known for hiding their feelings, this is a new level of vulnerability. “Hard to Love”, in particular, is this insane pop track that has this dance vibe that makes it impossible not to move. The lyrics, admittedly, are way less fun and slightly more paranoid than the soundscape, but the honesty through Dieden’s vocals – and that damn fine drum beat – keep us coming back for more.
But second track “Mr. Telephone” won’t disappoint after that incredible start, so don’t worry. female lead vocals provided by Katie Jayne Earl give everything a different dynamic, though it follows in the same “Holy shit this should be a #1 pop single” pattern is its predecessor. “Norman Rockwell” slows the pace down for us, but is no less layered and magical because of it. The way the lead vocals are weaved amidst the instrumentals reminds us of some of our favorite 90’s tracks, though we couldn’t necessarily assign a decade to those swooning instrumentals, that seem to knock us off our feet with every listen. Last track “Talk About It” swaps back to those female vocals, and even with the fast dance pace, it continues to touch on delicate topics. The lyrical content – had it been arranged any differently – may have truly made this a song to ponder your life to, crying alone in a room before making big decisions. But because of the pace and energy in the performance, there’s a juxtaposition that makes it so unique and beautiful.
Give it a spin if you want to feel the warm fuzzies for the rest of your day.
Keep up with The Mowgli’s here.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 25, 2019 | albums, wolf tracks
On February 15th, Kalyn Fay released her new 11-track full-length, Good Company, to a patiently waiting bevy of fans. Hailing from Claremore, OK, Kalyn Fay is a of Cherokee descent, and happened to have earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees while consuming herself in songwriting. Her work is incredible, and this new release is no different. We’re thrilled that it’s now out in the world for all of us to enjoy.
Beginning slowly, the title track carries us into a robust and wonderful soundscape, a pace that is reduced again in “Wait for Me”. “Highway Driving” gives us more of that quintessential twang and Fay’s voice gets raspier, which is the truth for “Baby Don’t You Worry” as well, a more bluesy and rich track. “Come Around” continues at this pace, but has more of a an ethereal feel to it than its predecessors, while sixth track “Long Time Coming” almost seems to play with dissonance, with its trudging and melancholic, yet wonderful, instrumentals.
“Oklahoma Hills” has a piece of home in it, “Alright in the End” feels morbid with its title but turns out to be a very comforting and warm song, and “Faint Memory” is perhaps the softest and most Lillith Fair-worthy track, a commentary on how easy it is for time to “play tricks” on you. “Fool’s Heartbreak” sounds more like the southern music that inspired the track itself, soulful in its disposition. “Dressed In White” rounds it all out nicely, alluding to marriage, of course. But we see it as infusing a sense of a freedom in a young woman, whether her father is offering her up for marriage or to live a healthy, independent lifestyle.
Either way, we feel that fullness and that freedom as the last notes hit, a faint smile left on our lips.
Keep up with Kalyn Fay here.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 22, 2019 | albums, review
Following in our nostalgic-tinged soundscape-leaning pattern, noir pop duo 8MM – Juliette Beavan and Sean Beavan – we hear a little 90s pop woven in with their quintessential sound in “Self-Inflicted Heartache”, the first track off their new released Heart-Shaped Hell. As you may have guessed, the soundscape twists and turns after that, a bit more edge to “Supercrush” before leading into a true pop single with the title track, somehow delivered with an eery twist. “Bring It On” is the most moody of them all, the second half growing powerful with the added male vocals. The pair round it out nicely with “Move With Me” and its accompanying radio edit, slower paced, but filled with emotional range to keep you on a sort of edge regardless.
Stay on edge with Heart-Shaped Hell. It’s a wonderful experience.
Keep up with 8MM here.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 6, 2019 | albums, review
With their new 8-track album Songs Nine Through Sixteen, Denver-based psych folk rock collective DBUK provides a vitality to the cold winter weather that is incredibly welcoming, especially in the frozen tundra of the midwest. “Bonnie Clyde, The Big-Bull-Hen Of The Women’s Prison” is electrifying, starting the album energetically before slowing down immensely for “Deerslayer”. Just by the title, the listener can tell we’re going in a melancholic direction with “From The Estate Of John Denver”, though the pace and mystery pick up with the very 60s inspired “In San Francisco Bay”.
A sharp title, “Coca-Colonialism” is quirky and catchy, perhaps one of our favorites on this work. “The Misrepresentation Of The Thompson Gun” slows to an absolute crawl, and though it is a very specific journey DBUK leads you on with this track, it perhaps isn’t the most entertaining we have heard. Though we will admit the pace picks up slightly and the instrumentals are absolutely glowing. “It’s Killing Me” provides a cacophonous composition that is glittery, and vies for the title of favorite on this collection as well, while “And God Bless You” seems to be set out as the staple ending track specifically for its title. It does have a lullaby factor that we’re keen on, making this album ace to get you through the remaining cold months.
US TOUR DATES:
Thu 3/14 St Paul, MN- Turf Club
Fri 3/15 Green Bay, WI- Lyric Room
Sun 3/17 Cincinnati- MOTR Pub
Tue 3/19 Detroit, MI- El Club
Wed 3/20 Cleveland, OH- Now that’s Class
The 3/21. Buffalo, NY – Revolution Gallery
Fri 3/22 Pittsburg, PA- Cattivo
Sat 3/23 Philadelphia, PA- PhilaMOCA
Sun 3/24 Jersey City, NJ- Monty Hall at WFMU
Tue 3/26 Providence, RI- Askew
Wed 3/27 Lowell, MA -Uncharted Gallery
Thu 3/28 Boston, MA-Haymarket Lounge at City Winery
Fri 3/29 New Haven, CT- Cafe Nine
Sat 3/30 Brooklyn, NY- Safari Room at Cortez-
Sun 3/31 Washington, DC-City Winery Garden Room
Mon 4/01 Richmond, VA-Capitol Ale House/ Richmond Music Hall-
Tue 4/02 Chapel Hill, NC- Local 506
Wed 4/03 Atlanta, GA- EARL
Thu 4/04. Asheville , NC- Greg Eagle
Sat 4/6 Knoxville, TN- Pilot Light-
Sun 4/7 Nashville , TN-Little Harpeth Brewery
Mon 4/8. New Orleans, LA- Santos Bar
Tue 4/9 Houston, TX- Rudyard’s
Wed 4/10 Austin , TX – State Theater at Paramount-
Thu 4/11 Dallas, TX- Three Links
Fri 4/12. Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Keep up with DBUK here.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 1, 2019 | albums, review
February 2019 is off to a wild start, especially with today’s release of You Found Me, the full-length from Cody Votolato’s latest project JR Slayer. “JR Slayer in its current form is a sacred home for me,” admits Votolato. “It is a safe space to start new conversations with art and music and understand how I relate not only to it, but myself. Not one where I am trying to receive as much as I give to it, but one that allows me to fully realize myself while being able to step out of my comfort zone.”
Starting with the meandering pace – but huge impact – of “I’ll Never Leave You” featuring Jenny Lee, the album rolls into the slower, more delicate harmonies of “There is Nothing Else Around Me” before picking up for the slightly quirkier and more danceable “Half Lyfe”.
“Nothing & Nowhere to Hide” brings a more polished, pop sound with a vulnerable bed of lyrics, while “This Is Alone” really simplifies – and induces melancholy into – the soundscape. “I Think I Might Die” has, perhaps, the most directly morbid of titles in the collection, though at its core it is a simply beautiful love song. “In A Sea Of Anonymity” slowly layers itself, as the lyrics address fate and hope in a very wonderful way.
By this time, it’s clear that JR Slayer has a way of taking things that seem joyful, and sprinkling them with melancholy. On the flip side, he is fully capable of taking something seemingly negative and brutal (like the titles), and adding a flare for the positive. Either way, he’s managed a very tactical balancing act across the whole of the work, and we’re very impressed that it carries into “How Could Love B So Cruel?” with its lush and trudging instrumentals, and straight into the last track, “40 Extra Minutes in Heaven”.
If you don’t believe us, try it on for size. Either way, let us know what you think in the Facebook comments!
Keep up with JR Slayer here.
