Caleb’s Weekly Favorites: No Kind Of Rider – “Sophia”, Coyle Girelli – “Never Thought I’d See You Again”, Sam Ryder – “Little One”

Hey guys,

If you’re like me, you don’t really just focus on one genre of music when there is so much awesome variety out there. This post is meant to hit on 3 of my favorite songs that I just can’t get out of my head this week, regardless of genre. If you like, or already know one of these artists, stick around and check out the others, expand your horizons a bit.

No Kind of Rider – “Sophia”

All of us lazy logicals

We leave our hearts behind

They tell you when you’re young

Don’t be so blind

“Sophia” – No Kind Of Rider

:30 seconds in, when the beat drops, is when I start to transcend to outer space on this song. This song immediately hooked me with it’s unique vocals that give me a bit of a mix between some 80s synth song but also touches of Panic! At The Disco playfulness. The most relateable part of this song is the seeming angst over aging, and wondering what the consequences will be. How many nights of fun and freedom can we really have before we are the old person at the club? It’s something that begins to hit you as you enter your 3rd decade (or it did for me), and while I still love to go out with friends, there is a sense that we can’t necessarily go on like that forever, but there’s certainly some fun in trying. “Now the old is done/traded for the young.”

Bio: No Kind of Rider is an American five-piece indie rock/electronic band based in Portland, OR. Their debut album “Savage Coast” (2018) blends indie rock, shoegaze, r&b and electronica influences. The close-knit group met while teenagers in Tulsa, OK and write songs in conflict – both chaotic and intricately calculated. “Savage Coast” finds those boys now older and wiser – four of the five band members lost their fathers during the album’s completion and while the gravity of loss is fully explored as a theme, “Savage Coast” isn’t content to remain in despair. In the album’s ending track, “Autumn”, seeds of new hope take root as Samuel Alexander (lead vocals/guitar) sings with resolve, “We all have to die, to be reborn”.

Coyle Girelli – “Never Thought I’d See You Again”

But I never thought id see you again

Looking as pretty as you did back then

And it caught me off guard

Like a dagger through the heart

Cos I never thought id see you again

“Never Thought I’d See You Again” – Coyle Girelli

Coyle Girelli is an artist we’ve been wanting to feature for a long, long time, and it’s easy to see why. Mixing classic style that sounds like it belongs on a vinyl playing in your dad’s sitting room in the 60s, with modern aesthetics, Girelli gives that nostalgic feeling that’s hard to fully put into words. It gives me chill bumps everytime he let’s out “I never thought I’d see you again.” The song is so relateable for anyone who has ever tried to move on and focus on themsevles, only to get sucked back in by someone’s charm, even if they aren’t the best thing for you. If nothing else, this song is a “dagger through the heart.”

Bio: Coyle Girelli is an English multi-platinum selling composer, singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. Formerly frontman of Your Vegas and The Chevin he released his debut solo album, Love Kills, in 2018. He has written songs for BTS, Macklemore, Robin Schulz, Westlife and many others, including the BTS worldwide number 1 single “heartbeat”[1] and co-composed songs for the record breaking French musicals Robin des Bois and Les Trois Mousquetaires

Sam Ryder – “Little One”

Wait, don’t feel bad
You did well to love and be loved back
So don’t be so cold dear
You weren’t the only one left down here
You knew it all along
Full speed around the sun

“Little One” – Sam Ryder

Another incredible song that builds in a truly epic way. The crescendo when he belts “I know you yearn for someone” with the quick drop to “I yearn for you” is so heart wrenching I couldn’t help but restart the song immediately after it ended to feel that build and rug pull one more time. Sam Ryder has crafted the feeling of really caring about someone, and having no hard feelings, but still feeling a sense of loss that your love seems to be unrequited. Here’s to hoping we all have good luck in 2022 in being around people who yearn for us as much as we yearn for them.

Bio: Sam Ryder is a singer/songwriter and producer out of of small town outside of London. Sam spent over 10 years touring in the rock world which brought him placements on Billboard charts, songs featured on TV shows and films, and playing shows in over 20 different countries. A couple years ago, Sam took a step back from the band world to develop his own solo project and pursue other creative ventures. Those ventures ended up having him co-found the brand Lone Wolves Creative and the plant-based Lone Wolves Cafe.

Until next week,

Caleb

Morning Commute: Coyle Girelli – “My Blue Heart”

Happy Fourth of July! Let’s start it off right with some raw Americana that involves both Red and Blue as a mainstay in the lyrics.:”I’ve got a blue, blue, blue heart and it’s bleeding red”. I really can’t get enough of this song. It sounds like it stepped right out of almost any era, with ranges from Johnny Cash to Jason Isbell to Roy Orbison. Let’s dive a bit into the lyrics:

“I’m Mr Nameless
In a town full of ghosts
I’m walking this road alone
Everywhere I go

I’m got a blue, blue blue heart
And it’s bleeding red

I hope tomorrow won’t hurt as much
And all my sorrow be gone gone gone with just a little love

Maybe there’s someone
As lonely as me
Looking out at the moon
Asking for somebody ”

So it’s someone who feels like their entire worldview is blue and doesn’t see much hope. He does seem to hope that one day he can find someone to share his sorrow with, and that maybe they can start to fix each other with that empathy. It’s really a beautiful sentiment, and very romanticized. From experience, two broken people can definitely make each other feel better, even if it’s not the most stable relationship all the time. I’ve never been able to sustain something like that, but it’s definitely a good starting point.

Bio: “The Chevin frontman, Coyle Girelli, releases his second solo single — “My Blue Heart” —

on Friday, June 8. The song, which follows on the heels of the first single “Where’s My Girl?,” is the second from his upcoming debut solo album, “Love Kills,” out in summer 2018.

“My Blue Heart” opens with a dirty guitar riff and stomps with an Americana heartbeat all the way through its two-minute length. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the shortest song on the album is a nod to an era of classic songwriting that inspires Girelli. Like most of the songs on the album, Girelli is the solo songwriter of “My Blue Heart.” Notably, “My Blue Heart” is the only song that he also mixed.

“I loved the rawness of this recording and this song. It’s honest, simple and satisfying like a good plate of mac & cheese,” said Girelli.

The “Love Kills” album will offer up a moody, romantic, cinematic tone, which Girelli labels Modern Noir.”

 

I certainly know if it sounds anything like this song, I’ll be all about it. Want to hear more? Check out this song and more on our July TOTD playlist on Spotify.