Lutalo Drops Push Back Baby Video

Listening to Lutalo allows me to really digest my days; they create this mixture of soul and rock and smear it atop a pop canvas that leaves me with a sense of joyous bewilderment. Their lyrical content is always sharp, with this track hitting at capitalist greed and the systemic way it continues to run its course. But, you’d be forgiven if you miss that on the first run through (as I beg you to back) because the rhythmic bubbling is pure mental escapism. Not really sure where you’d file this, genre-wise, and perhaps that’s their best attribute, crafting tunes that speak, musically, for themself, with no need for identification. Keep an eye out for the Again EP, dropping via Winspear on August 25th, then hitting the road with Katy Kirby.

Top Albums of 2021

Honestly, I’m pretty over lists at this point. They’re arbitrary and don’t really reflect anything but someone’s tastes, except here where they reflect the tastes of three individuals…because that’s how we roll. So, take this list with a grain of salt. These are the records we thought were the best, which mostly just means these are the ones we listened to on repeat throughout the year! Feel free to leave a comment on what you think we missed, or why we’re dumb; we love good comment trolls.

Also, because this list is really about crediting the art that made us happy, we wanted it to make you happy too, so we included purchasing links where we could. Read more

Katy Kirby Shares Portals Video

Katy Kirby will release Cool Dry Place next week via Keeled Scales, but as we approach that date, there’s another single to share illustrating the range of the record. While “Traffic” gave us a playful pop side of Kirby, and the album’s title track was a little more expansive, this new one feels super intimate and personal. The song is all about Katy’s vocals stretching over a solitary piano line, solemnly addressing an unknown character. A close hear will hear a faint tinkering of what appears to be bells and out of tune strings, just filling out the little dark corners of the track, with every detail given full attention. I loved the tonal push around the 2:30 mark, where it feels like the recording was done in some old wooden cabin with a lone piano and a mic. It’s a beautiful addition to the forthcoming LP, which drops on February 19th.

Katy Kirby Shares Title Track from Cool Dry Place

On Katy Kirby‘s latest single from her much anticipated Cool Dry Place LP I’m really in love with the way she uses the song’s storytelling to naturally build tension. The exposition has this careful fragility, mostly Kirby working her voice over ornate guitar play and light percussion; you can feel the volume grow, moving towards a more pronounced moment. But, even then, it’s a false dawn of sorts, as there’s still a more pronounced presence coming down the line…a climax of sorts…all this powerful storytelling, and that’s not even getting into Kirby’s lyrical content. She’s at the top of her craft here, and there’s no looking back. Expect big things when Cool Dry Place drops via Keeled Scales on February 19th.

Katy Kirby Announces Cool Dry Place

Down here in Austin, our friends over at Keeled Scales have been raving about the incredible songwriting prowess of Katy Kirby, and today…lets hope the world is listening. She announces Cool Dry Place with this incredible video for “Traffic,” a song dedicated to a former partner who seemed determined to revel in his own trials rather than realize that “nobody has it better than you.” Her sound, perhaps influenced by her childhood singing in church definitely has a pop bent to it, though you can hear her pulling away from those tendencies. Honestly, take the work of my favorite Rosie Tucker and maybe sprinkle a little sugar on top; it’s got this great playful vocal that’s highly rewarding. You can grab the debut LP (it’s a Vincy Vaughn reference right?) on February 19th from Keeled Scales.