Nadia Reid is a spectacular songwriter, and her recent single is a beautiful addition to her discography. “Not Giving It Out” takes the listener to a remote, lush cove flanked by a reef that prevents waves from breaking heavily at its mouth. In Reid’s own words, the song is “a luminous, slow-burning song about love, identity, and quiet resistance. It’s rooted in Dunedin’s North East … Continue reading Nadia Reid – “Not Giving It Out”
Take a journey in the night without the threat of monsters. Only shadows and sprites to befriend. R&D | Bandcamp kitba | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp Adeline Hotel | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp Continue reading R&D – “Everything Becomes A Sign”
All of Jess Kerber’s debut album, From Way Down Here, is moving, but “Next To You” pulls at strings in my heart that I forgot were there. Something about the warbling cadence of Kerber’s vocals… Jess Kerber | buy From Way Down Here | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp Continue reading Jess Kerber – “Next To You”
Sensual percussive staccato. Ashkan Shafiei | buy Hunter | website | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp Continue reading Ashkan Shafiei – “Hunter”
The quietest self-confidence anthem. Jess Kerber | buy From Way Down Here | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp Continue reading Jess Kerber – “Carry My Home”
Nature is a strong influence. All around us, regardless of the specific environment, we are experiencing our surroundings; life creates its own music in genres that the industry would call ambient, or naturalist. Field recordings, also occasionally affectionately called “found sounds,” offer a sense of hyper-reality that, paired with the music itself, paints a vivid story of the listener’s choosing. Motohiro Nakashima achieves all this … Continue reading Melodic and Ambient, Gathering the Light Reflects Life
Oh, the irony of my writing this on the first day of Daylight Saving Time. Back in November, to coincide with the autumn time change, The Antlers released Losing Light, a four-track sister EP to their 2021 full-length, Green to Gold. The LP came out nearly a year ago, but represented much more to the Brooklyn duo than simply a shift of the clocks. It … Continue reading Freezing Time on Losing Light
Alice Phoebe Lou – Glow The first of two records released by Alice Phoebe Lou in 2021, Glow is filled with yearning. The South African artist discusses matters of the heart among cool, sparse soft rock. Vocals on the title track have a sassy lilt that embraces the guitar progression, all of which amounts to Lou’s brand of psych rock. There is much beauty in simplicity, … Continue reading Best Albums of 2021, 11-20 (part 2)
Bryan Away – Canyons to Sawdust On the pastoral Canyons and Sawdust, Bryan Away’s storytelling is given the perfect stage. Among the tales he sings is a nod to Ingmar Bergman’s miniseries (you may know its adaptation with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain) and that track’s direct foil, the jaunty “Scenes from a Wedding.” The title of Away’s summer LP derives from an analogy in an … Continue reading Best Albums of 2021, 11-20 (part 1)
Originally appeared on Grimy Goods. The post-pandemic blues are coming for all of us—no one is safe from the anxiety of establishing another new normal as the nation lines up for vaccines. But Emily King’s latest single reminds us that the love we knew before is still with us. The soft, sparse ballad is the first of many new releases from the Grammy-nominated artist this year; … Continue reading Grammy Nominee Emily King Releases Emotional Acoustic Ballad “First Time”
Sawdust & Gin 