Bringing the jams
This weekend is filled with a ridiculous amount of good shows to catch and seems to be slated to remind you why it is you choose to live in The Live Music Capitol of The World. With an extra day to your weekend, there’s really no excuse not to get out and see some quality local and touring acts. Here are my picks for the next three nights for a killer time out for the holiday weekend.
Sometimes you just need a solid catchy pop track to jam to at your desk chair, in your car, or wherever. Sorcha Richardson, out of Dublin, is here to fill that need for you today with “Don’t Talk About It,” which is a tune about someone avoiding a feelings-heavy-chat and just rocking out. I’m drawn to the snappy chorus that features Richardson’s playful vocals and the line “Hey, okay, we don’t have to talk about it, it’s only love.” The rest of the tune has killer lines and swelling synths that float in the background. Look out for big things from Sorcha Richardson — her debut LP, First Prize Bravery, will be out this fall.
Oxen, out of Sweden, is the name under which longtime pals Stefan and Erik are making jangly rock tunes that are perfect for fans of The Vaccines and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. They just dropped a new track called “Matrix Moves,” which comes riding in hot on crisp jangly guitar riffs, while the vocals drip in swagger. The track is a killer tune for a Friday–it’s the perfect high energy, amp up song to get your toes tapping and your hips shaking.
I am beyond pleased today to share with you a premiere of North Carolina based Loamlands new single “Soni Wolf Grandmother”. The track is a beautifully arranged, intimate, country tinged songwriter track sure to demand your attention in a subtle yet powerful way. Always vulnerable with her songwriting, lead singer Kym Register offers a personal take on her queer origin story and what life might have been like decades ago in a world with much less tolerance and acceptance. I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s powerful.
Loamlands will release new album Lez Dance on June 7th via Cruisin Records.
It’s Friday and you’re about to blast into the weekend, but before you do so, you better feast your eyes (and ears) on this brand new track from River Gods. While the message might give a glimmer into all the work we often put into failing/struggling relationships, you wouldn’t know it based on the huge hooks from the LA based three-piece. I love the way Shiraz sort of hangs his syllables out with the words “tell me what you want”; it’s like a pop hook fishing line…and based on the huge riffs behind him, he’s ready to reel in any pop rock fish in this pond…myself included. It’s two minutes of huge hooks wrapped up in a fun video; you can find this tune on the new album, Let Me Live, which is out on July 26th via Dadstache Records.
B Gray and I are both pretty high upon Lou Rebecca, and to be honest, the act has been quietly making waves in Austin for some time. This track is something special, giving us a little bit of the duality that’s presence in the project’s work; you get both the native French tongue of Lou Rebecca, but also the accessible English. I think the special thing on the musical side is how her vocals have this breath-y quality, like last pop gasps, punctuated by the electronic work of Missions. The track will appear on her debut LP, Restless, which is being released by the fine people of Holodeck Records.
Friday’s are for repping Texas, so we turn at this moment towards Motorcade, a Dallas act filled with musicians who’ve been working in the scene longer than we have. It opens up with this darkened post-punk punch, but it quickly unfolds to reach the more pop oriented vibes of new wave; it features a bold chorus that really reaches for the skies, stretching the vocals with an emphatic keyboard wash behind it. At about the 2.5 minute mark, there’s a nice little aside that flirts with elements of dream pop too, so you get a bit of everything in this number…not to mention it’s rather catchy. Give a listen.
Trickster Blues hasn’t even been out a year, and Shane Renfro and RF Shannon are already prepping for another release later this summer. Our first listen to the new stuff below seems to have some slight changes, though revolving around elements that have always been there. For one, the spacier side of folk seems to only bubble up ever so often; this is a much more direct folk number. I think peeling that away, ever so slightly, puts a more distinctive pull on Renfro’s voice, getting the listener to really fall for the track. The new effort is titled Rain on Dust, and should be out in August via local label Keeled Scales.
As many of you know, The Appleseed Cast is one of my all time favorite bands. If you asked me to make a list of my top 10, or even top 5 bands that have impacted me heavily over the years, the Lawrence based legends would certainly be on that list. With that out of the way, I’m incredibly excited to share with you today the band’s first single in five years called “Time the Destroyer.” Fan of the band or not, anyone with some taste will immediately praise the beautiful progression of this song from the slow 2.5 minute build up to the extreme break down and back again. Band leader Chris Crisci has continually found ways to add new elements to his ever-progressing sound, and this track, with some loud, electronic synths is more evidence that he will continue to evolve. Epic.
UPDATE: It’s worth noting that Crisci enlisted friends Sean Bergman, Ben Kimball, and Nick Fredrickson for help on the new album.
The Appleseed Cast will release new album The Fleeting Light of Impermanence on June 28th via Graveface Records.
What’s left for us to say about GRMLN at this point? The dude has possibly earned more praise on our website than any other artist in the past. Recently, we were sent a great new track called “Half Moon Bay” which showed a move towards a more hazy, shoegaze sound. With this new single, “Do You Really Want to Stay?”, we see a delve even deeper into the haze filled, pop music world. It’s yet another hit in an ever expanding catalogue.
We are told GRMLN will be releasing a new EP sometime in June.
