This year, while we were down at Bonnaroo 2017, we met some of the most incredible humans. The boys of Nashville-based Creature Comfort had won a slot to play the festival, and we did a little photo shoot with them. Well, we’ve kept up with them and their deliriously amazing affinity for music, and we’re pleased to announce the dudes released a little holiday special.
So, since it’s that time of year, you can put on those fuzzy, warm socks, pick up a hot beverage, and enjoy.
With Bohnes‘ new music video comes a new sense of badassery to alt-pop. The musical project mastered by Alexander DeLeon (The Cab) continues to impress, maintaining the same versatile, soulful vocals he’s been dazzling us with for years, while putting a new spin on the way they are delivered. His most recent release – a music video for his track “My Friends” – is dark and brooding, yet somehow incredibly inspiring in that it prompts you to evaluate your own “demons.” While DeLeon really draws that raw, rock feel into the track with hard guitar riffs and solid, impactful percussion, we find ourselves drawn to the subject matter with brilliant visuals of a life in the dark, DeLeon’s skeletal makeup at the forefront.
In September, Boston’s folk/indie rock talent Griffin Robillard released his 9 track, full-length album titled Cracks in the Ceiling. Flooded in a sharply nostalgic feeling, the album itself was written while Robillard was living in Copenhagen. You can almost feel the growth he was experiencing while writing the piece, as his vocals are flooded with emotion as he brings you into his world with the mid-tempo, almost anthemic, title track, bouncing into the more upbeat and soulful vibes of “Ghost” before getting slightly more twangy, then bluesy/jazzy, in his instrumentals with third track “Because I’ve Told You”.
“Reel to Reel” slows things down – has the structure of a Ben Folds-type track – weaving a narrative speaking to his significant other that is slightly specific, but still very vague, perhaps for the sake of universality. While “Artifacts” picks things back up exponentially, it is with sixth track “Faithless” that we are brought back out of our seats, encouraged by the sound to move. “In Your Own Way” houses similar surf pop vibes to the instrumentals in Gin Blossoms’ “Found Out About You“, causing us a few moments of reminiscing on our 90s selves.
It is with “Nothing to Show” that things get very serious, both lyrically and instrumentally. It’s like Robillard has decided to rip his heart wide open in this one, simplifying the instrumentals slightly to really showcase the words as he croons the track into a 70s style rock stunner. “Tired of Being Cruel” is your last taste of Cracks in the Ceiling, a lot more upbeat in its composition, though melancholic lyrically as he begins the song with the line “tired of being cruel to you.” Self reflective, honest, raw. That’s what we’ve come to love about Robillard, and – while we’re plenty happy with this release – we’re already excited to hear what comes next from this talented musician.
Cracks in the Ceiling is out now. Keep up with Griffin Robillard here.
New York-based alternative pop musician/producer TRISTN recently released an acoustic recording of her well-received single “Nothing To Say (Nothin’)”, which came out as part of her ten track album January earlier this year. The album properly showcases TRISTN’s scrappy, intense persona while providing upbeat pop gold for you to latch onto and get carried away with. The new video – which was recorded simply with some percussion and an acoustic guitar – allows TRISTN to fully show off her vocal range when given a quieter situation to perform in, and, boy, does she deliver.
Nashville-based musician Ernest K. might be known for his silky vocals, but it’s his ability to turn an intelligent rhyme that really bowls us over. And – after killing it with Spotify plays on his new track “Bad Boy” – we’ve got his new music video to share today.
As the video begins, you’re drawn in by overlay font that’s reminiscent of the “Full House” title screen, so automatically you’re tossed into this throwback mentality. And it’s a casual video, with Ernest wearing a Looney Tunes shirt, hanging out with his friends and singing on porches and around town. There is a sense of community in the video, almost as though Ernest has drawn different aspects of his inspiration into the video itself. Plus the smooth, supportive lyrics of “Bad Boy” set a perfectly chill backdrop to it all.
Goth pop musician So Below has been fascinating us for over a year now, with the way her audio art and subsequent visual art never fail to impress. Directed by Sam Kristofski, her new music video for dance track “Ruin” is an absolute stunner. Focusing on minimal jewel tones in each frame, there’s a sullen feel to the buildup of the track. As it picks up, frames layer over each other quickly, swapping between three major shots to piece the story together. But, to be fair, there was a necessity to present the video in pieces, as there is a broken feeling to the song that is now echoed in its visual presence. After all, the title is “Ruin”, so you start to feel it before you even press “play”.
We must admit, Maddie (So Below) is capable of one of the most simultaneously threatening and alluring facial expressions we have seen thus far. (See: Staring at the camera in the pool.)
Today, Ashland, Oregon based indie collective Slow Corpse – comprised of Mitchell Winters (vocals, guitar), Brenton Clarke (guitar), Cole Zollinger (bass), Sean Siders (drums), and Dash Curtis (keys) – is bringing a tasty treat to your eyes, just in time for Halloween. Their crawling, darker recut of Kendrick Lamar’s intense “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” has its own music video, and we’ve got your first look.
Filmed and edited by Jordan Kourupes at with Novum Visuals, the video for “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” was written and directed by Slow Corpse’s own Brenton Clarke. Bathed in cool jewel tones, the video is the modern version of every turn of the century rapper music video, but created for hipsters. Slow motion dancing, covered in smoke, no personal space, people wearing all types of clothing and participating in cultish activities.
You know, that.
Check out the mesmerizing, smooth version of “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” and don’t let anyone kill your vibe, no matter what you’re into.
London based collective Brunch is at it again, having partnered with MadCap Industries to create and release the music video for their track “Swell”, which can be found on recent full-length release Useless. A mellow track, the video mirrors that thought as the guys chill, play music, and drink beer. It gives us a good glimpse into how Brunch runs a live appearance, and for that we are totally grateful since they tend to tour their home country a little more often than The States. But when the recreational ping pong table becomes a magic carpet and carries one of them around New York City, that’s when things get slightly interesting.
It also makes us wonder if it would be legal to drink and “steer” a magic flying anything, but who are we to judge?
In honor of the release of his self-produced video for his track “Right Now”, Brooklyn based R&B/pop artist and producer Johnny has curated a fun playlist for us to jam out to in the car. So check out the video below, and enjoy a little write up from Johnny himself with your new favorite playlist playing into the weekend!
I drive just about every day. It’s about as stressful and damn near psychosis inducing of an experience as any non-driver might imagine. Anyone who drives in a major metropolitan city can relate, but driving in NYC is different; It’s like this sick club, full of crazy people, side eyeing every vehicle / pedestrian / delivery boy motorized bike in sight.
That being said, I tend to find a LOT of my creative inspiration while I’m in the car. ‘Aha’ moments meet euphoria and somehow the concept stars align. Music can have that weird phenomena of great escape. It can also act as a mirror offering us a reflection into some of our deepest thoughts.
I put together a playlist of a handful of songs I like to listen to while driving that always seem to help me on the road. Some bring my brain back to very specific emotions. Some have incited ideas for my own songs. These just make me feel like Ryan Gosling switching lanes in a mustang. “Driving for movies.” Press play and drive with me.
