First Listen: Little Lapin – Remember the Highs

Bemoaning romantic time invested, UK singer/songwriter Little Lapin delivers a backhanded well-wish to a former lover on her latest single, “Remember the Highs.” With a voice reminiscent of a young Lucinda Williams, you’ll want to swoop in and claim Little Lapin as your own after hearing “Remember the Highs.” Stream/purchase “Remember the Highs” below. Continue reading →

Review: Andrew Bryant – This is the Life

Life’s itch strikes us all, urging the release of our interior monologues. Be it impulsiveness or an unconscious drive, those who heed the call by singing out from distant corners, attempting to answer their own questions, are the ones for me. Battling such cognitive drama, Water Liars drummer Andrew Bryant lays his mental strands bare … Continue reading →

Review: John Calvin Abney – Better Luck

Belying his tender age, singer/songwriter John Calvin Abney opens his debut LP, Better Luck, with a skiffle beat on “Stepladder.” Weaving in amongst electric guitar, Calvin toys with convention a la Dylan plugging in. The Oklahoma native continues to confound expectations throughout Better Luck, from the dramatic assignation of the folkish “Scarecrow” and the affected … Continue reading →

Review: RFA – Freaking Out

Collegiate cool from Philadelphia’s RFA (Really Fast Automobiles). The baby-faced garage quartet bring a WD40-polished touch to their three-song EP, Freaking Out. Bearing early-aughts’ touch points, Freaking Out happily lacks any hipster cachet. The anxious title track underlines the redundancy of life from a pre-professional mindset while the childish sentiment of the aptly-titled “Teenage Love … Continue reading →

Video: Matt Frye – Jesus Loves Me

Cracked Motherfucker, the latest album from misplaced country bumpkin Matt Frye, is a pastiche of disconnected field recordings and anti-blues lyrical tropes. Frye’s spur-of-the-moment lyricism helps create a lo-fi satire of big city life. The video for “Jesus Loves Me,” shot in Brooklyn’s Chinatown, loosely borrows Spike Lee’s familiar dolly shots while remaining true to … Continue reading →

First Listen: Ona – The Other Side of June

A low-end hum lies under jangling guitars on the plaintive “Ides of July,” the a-side to The Other Side of June, the just-released cassette single from West Virginia’s Ona. Balanced by the brooding drone of the lonesome b-side, “Tornado Rider,” the 11 melancholy minutes of The Other Side of June‘s sad campfire songs are filled … Continue reading →

First Listen: Color of Light – Memory

The world it lies and suffers We live in our waking dreams Released today, Color of Light‘s Memory is the latest project from South Carolina producer Sean Neuse. A sonic architect of cerebral shoegaze and ambient dreamscapes, emotionally-minimalist lyrics from songs with one-word titles float above Neuse’s bed of soundwaves. Stream the title track below, … Continue reading →

Review: Christy Hays – O’ Montana

Singer/songwriter Christy Hays shows her roots on her brief but beautiful new EP, O’ Montana. The midwest-born Hays, who now calls Austin, Texas home, traverses the miles between the two, culling musical rhythms along the way. From the zydeco-tinged opener “Am I Tired” to the Texas woodshed fiddle of “Rita Blanca,” escapism and uncoupling dot … Continue reading →

First Listen: Morning Smoke – Stephanie I

The second of two A-sides from the just-released Hunger EP, “Stephanie I” is destined to become the signature song for Morning Smoke. Gothic moans corkscrew their way through post-punk guitar swells and unwavering drums on this defiant love song from the Brighton, England quartet. Stream “Stephanie I” below. Continue reading →

Download: Terrorista – Purple Tape

Can we still call them “cassingles” in today’s digital age? Perhaps in Canada, which may explain why Toronto punk twosome Terrorista has just released its second of four planned cassette singles. Starting with their Pink Tape in September, Sam Hargrove and Rich Taylor’s Purple Tape contains the singles “Darren vs Bag” and “Double Negative,” both … Continue reading →