by Jai'Tyria Hatton | Mar 1, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages get it right with their new album Soul Flowers of Titan. The album consists of twelve songs that leave no disappointment, each song filled with soul that makes you want to get up and move. With sounds that make you feel as though it was made back in the 70s or 80s, the album has a unique and fun feel to it. The album is filled with a rock and soul mixture that sounds straight out of an 80s movie.
“Slowly Losing My Mind” is the first song from the album. The song starts off with an upbeat tempo that is a great song to begin an album with. The song is a mixture of rock and blues which makes it a great opening track for the album. “Let’s Go to Mars” is another unique song that shows proof that you can do anything you set your mind to.
“I’m Gonna Leave You” is a track that talks about a woman doing you wrong. The protagonist leaves the woman due to her infidelity. The last song on the album is “Don’t Say Goodbye” which is a great way to end the album.
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages maintain their signature sound from years previous, proving that you can disappear for a length of time and still make great music. Soul Flowers of Titan is one of the greatest rock soul albums of this decade.
Soul Flowers of Titan is out March 2nd. Keep up with the band here.
by Jai'Tyria Hatton | Feb 28, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Vivian Leva – who uses her country roots to bring life to her music – is set to release her new album Time is Everything on March 2nd, a ten track collection. In latest single “Bottom of The Glass”, Leva talks about a lover that has left and done her wrong. The characters in the song were engaged, and Vivian sings about the wedding ring being at the bottom of a glass she was drinking from.
“Sturdy as the Land” slows the pace of the album quite a bit. The song is about losing something that you originally thought would last forever. The song reflects on the love that was once there but is now lost. “Sturdy as the Land” shows that time and love are not sturdy.
Time is Everything is an album full of love, lost love and heartbreak. Each song on the album is universally relatable and pulls at the listener’s heartstrings. Make sure to nab it quick, and keep up with Vivian Leva here!
by Katie Pugh | Feb 26, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Musician and media installation artist Amy Raasch uses her latest project Girls Get Cold to examine detachment and disconnectedness in a world striving for constant connection. Raasch and producer David Poe produced the album in her apartment, which lead to the use of a variety of usually unconventional sounds.
The title song, “Girls Get Cold,” has a mellow, delicate aesthetic and depicts boundaries in relationships. While her songs “Kitty Decides” and “Straight Boys” offer a more upbeat attitude with lighthearted lyrics. “Straight Boys” is a feminist anthem which describes modern day toxic masculinity. It’s catchy melody and humorous use of lyrics allows her statement to stand out. “We’re in an unprecedented moment” says Raasch of the song, “where men and women alike have a unique opportunity to re-examine their entrenched assumptions about relationships. I’m excited to be part of the cultural reset.”
Raasch’s use of cultural television and film references gives her songs and extra layer of relevance and pizazz while making them fun and exciting to listen to. Amy Raasch’s Girls Get Cold is the perfect blend of statement-making lyrics and catchy instrumentals.
Girls Get Cold is available now.
by Madison Blom | Feb 23, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Since they announced their debut album in January, fans of FRIGS have been waiting with baited breath for its release. Now, after countless hours of work and recording sessions, this sludge-pop band is finally ready to show the music world what they have to offer. Their album Basic Behavior features their signature stark sounds and diverse influences. Led by Bria Salmena, this Toronto-based group has banded together with all of their individual thought and emotions in order to produce an all encompassing sound that is unique and interesting. With this particular attribute, once you listen to their work, they become impossible to forget and you find yourself wanting to hear more.
Even more impressive is that this album was completely self produced and was written and recorded within a 16-month period. During this time, all who were involved were able to explore their sound and solidify lyrical subject matter without the outside pressure that might have come from a producer. Thus, they were able to create a psychedelic element within their sons that contains aspects of emotional depth and immerse their listeners in hypnotic rhythms. Without a doubt, this new release will propel them forward and bring them even closer to finding where they fit in the music community.
Basic Behavior is out now. Keep up with FRIGS here.
by Veronica DeFeo | Feb 22, 2018 | Uncategorized
Last we touched base with Russian Baths, they were releasing “What’s Your Basement”; now, they are gearing up to drop their debut EP, Penance, on February 23rd. The four track record features “Slenderman”, “What’s Your Basement”, “Poolhouse” and “Black Cross” and is released via Good Eye Records. The Brooklyn-based noise rock band is made up of Luke Koz (guitar, vox) and Jess Rees (guitar, keys, vox) along with Evan Gill Smith (bass) and Jeff Widner (drums). Previous to the release of their upcoming EP, Russian Baths dropped a split single, “Ambulance/Ghost”.
“Slenderman” opens the EP and sets the tone immediately. Filled with intense percussion alongside floating vocals, the track sets the stage for the next song splendidly. “What’s Your Basement” follows “Slenderman”, and is the most noise-rock of the four tracks. With some killer guitar and drums, “What’s Your Basement” takes its place as a solid punk/noise rock track. Check out more about the track here.
“Poolhouse” is next up on the EP, and is closer to the the sound of “Slenderman” rather than “What’s Your Basement”, but still stands alone. Opened with a marvelous minute-and-a-half instrumental interlude, the track provides for a musical tour of an emotional ground zero.Guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Jess Rees says of “Poolhouse”: “This song was inspired by a friend’s tumultuous breakup. The idea can apply to any situation where you wake up and say ‘how the f*** did I get here, I don’t want to be here and I don’t even know who I am’. It’s about an existential crisis.” “Black Cross” closes out the album with some well crafted bass and guitar. The last track finishes strong, leaves you with solid understanding of Russian Baths’ musical style after this tour of their soundscape. Penance is a record that will shake off that dreary winter feeling, and get you motivated to do great things.
Check out Penance by Russian Baths on February 23. Follow Russian Baths: Facebook // Instagram
by Madison Blom | Feb 21, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Since their debut Shifty in 2015, shy kids have truly found their niche in creating music that is a mash up of old and new. Recently, they have released their second full length album, in a state which is sure to catch the attention of fans and critics alike. This success, however, was preceded by another path that eventually led them to where they are now. Originally, this wily quartet found their start in the animation and filmmaking industry. Things took a sharp turn when they realized that their boyhood dreams were turning into more of a nightmare. From pain and heartache grew the desire to write songs that addressed the current mental and physical states of each of the band members.
Coming from a visual background has aided this group and the transition of switching from a visual to vocal spectacle did not phase them whatsoever. In fact, these skills magnified their ability to make music and produce sonic sounds that have since become their signature. This new album has been a solidified their sound in the minds of their fans around the country. Now that they have all this experience under their belts, there is no telling what they have in store for us in the near future.
in a state is out on February 23rd. Keep up with shy kids here.
by Kayla Hutton | Feb 20, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Los Angeles based band
The Great Sadness – consisting of members Stephen McNeely (drums) and Cathy Cooper (guitar/vocals) – say they are “upset all the time and they put it in their music.”
When looking into The Great Sadness I started by getting acquainted with the video for “Underground” from their album Weep that was released in April of 2017. Maybe I just have a sick sense of humor, but I found nothing sad about this song while watching as the pair rode bicycles through a cemetery, stopped at the ice cream truck, the laundry mat, and hit up the massage chairs. As I was mid-laugh at the comical occasional middle finger, things got creepy and in their skull masks it felt as if death was out for a walk.
With lyrics boasting, “In this place, underground, there is no God,” one could embrace the sadness behind that realization. The further I descend into this album, the tonal quality and the words themselves do capture all that is wrong in the world. It is a sad place that we have created and The Great Sadness doesn’t sugar coat a bit of it. Cathy has an un-dusted gritty rasp to her voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin, Stevie Knicks, and early Melissa Etheridge. The music has a murky humidity that generates a grass rooted southern swamp rock feel as well as that D-tuned sludge grunge feel (don’t think Nirvana’s Nevermind album, think Nirvana’s Bleach album).
Being a D.I.Y. band and paying for your recording, production, pressing, touring can leave you financially depleted. The Great Sadness truly has a love for creating music no matter the cost and their hard work has paid off as they reached out to all of you to help release Weep on vinyl. Given the style of music, you want this on vinyl.
The shining moment for me was the song “Tonight.” A droning sometimes psychadelic darkness seems so fitting as she sings loudly, borderline a scream while maintaining great vocal control, “this dance through hell has done us in, hold me love, my breath is thin.” The Great Sadness is best described by this scenerio, if only Linda Blair (the original Exorsist movie, the possessed girl) had a band.
by Jai'Tyria Hatton | Feb 19, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Joanna Teters is setting a place in music for herself following the release of her EP Warmer When It Rains. Teterz started off as a bandleader perfecting her craft as front woman for Mad Satta, Drew ofthe Drew, Lowtone Society, and iLa Mawana. I must admit, the entire EP is a rollercoaster love story, beginning with the song “Ride with You” which takes the listener on a ride for whatever. After “Ride with You” comes “Midnight”, in honor of what really happens after midnight. Teters takes to listener to the supreme with “Supreme” which is a song that leaves the listener yearning for more.
The lead single from the album is titled “Memories Remain”. “Memories Remain is a song inspired by a friend’s break up. The song is a song that is relatable to anyone that has ever gone through heartbreak. Warmer When it Rains is a phenomenal album that is a great start to Joanna Teters’ solo career.
Keep up with Teters here.
by Madison Blom | Feb 16, 2018 | albums, wolf tracks
Three friends – Sarah Jarosz, Aofie O’Donovan, and Sara Watkins – banded together at the infamous Telluride Festival after they jumped on stage and performed a song for the first time. Since that moment on, it was clear that their paths would be forever intertwined on a bright future in the music industry, and together they make up the musical trio I’m With Her. See You Around is out today.
Together, these three have produced music that seems to have several undertones from many different genres of music. Instead of sounding incoherent, however, they have spun each sound and rhythm together with the highest skill of artistry. Not only are there several songs with a folk-ish feeling, but also of country and bluegrass. The album features breathtaking harmonies and fine-spun narratives that gives this group a very unique sound and feel. From Telluride to total success as a band, these three friends have a bright future in changing how the world looks at music.
See You Around is out now. Keep up with the band here.
