Tag: folk

Mid-Week Mixdown – Jen Awad, Timmy Tortuga, Schaefer Llana, Zach Kleisinger, and Owlbiter

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If you’re anything like me, you rarely are just listening to one artist or even genre. That’s why a couple of times per week I put together a mix of some of my favorite songs at the moment regardless of genre for you to sample and enjoy.

Jen Awad – “Break A Man”

A full band playing in matching outfits in a seedy alleyway along with a cop interaction cutaway that features Jen telling the officer to “watch your fucking head?” I guess that’s a music video Yahtzee for Jen Awad and her 2018 single “Break A Man.” Those band mates aren’t just there for looks either, this full brass section and back up singers really create an impressively full sound, and of course, Jen herself carries this song with strong full-throated vocals that make you feel like she’s laid out the perfect blue print for “how to break a man,” though some of us without that level of swag could struggle a bit more.

Despite its August 2018 release date, “Break A Man” has far too many views, likes, and comments, and I’m hoping my readers can do something about that. This song is simply too fun for you folks to miss, and if you like this one, you have to check out the rest of Awad’s discography because she’s just getting started.

Press release: This half Egyptian, half Peruvian powerhouse delivers the kneecap melting soul and sass of Sharon Jones combined with an in-your-face swagger reminiscent of Tina Turner. Self taught on vocals, piano, guitar and bass, Jen also pens the lyrics to all of her material. 

Timmy Tortuga – “Pace”

Sometimes music is meant to be purely melodic, an easy listen to play in the background. “Pace” by Timmy Tortuga is not that. Instead, it’s a song meant to be experienced as an experience. From the very beginning, we find ourselves in the mind of a speaker stuck in traffic, suffering from a bit of road rage. The dissonant and speed-shifting synth in the background staccatos perfectly in line with that feeling of being late, and amping up emotionally as more and more tiny straws begin to stack upon the camel’s back.

The track itself feels almost as much skit as music, and yet once the ethereal vocoder kicks in after the frantic anxiety of the first half of the song, it’s impossible not to empathize with the speaker when he says “That’s the first deep breath I’ve taken in 5 years.” Something about the moody atmosphere created gives the listener just as much peace as Tortuga’s character at that moment, and allows us to ride it out with him through the end of the song, at least until the anxiety returns. Don’t miss your train.

Press release: Timmy Tortuga is an evolving artist from a small town called Sayreville in New Jersey. The motto is “K.I.S.S.” Keep It Simple Stupid! Currently, he is creating out of the Lower East Side of NYC and producing and recording his projects on a lake front studio in North Jersey!

Schaefer Llana – “Angel”

Anyone that knows me knows that I am way too into sad girl music for a 32-year-old man. Luckily, there are no rules, so I’m shamelessly listening to “Angel” by Schaefer Llana on repeat every single time I go for a winter walk lately. Schaefer grew up in Mississippi and cut her teeth musically in school plays and church productions, but the twenty-something has carved a niche all her own at this point. While her voice and punk-ish aesthetic certainly shine in this song, my favorite part is undoubtedly the angsty lyricism.

Don’t act like you’re innocent, don’t be offended when I call you out
As a liar and you know it
You wanted to be alone, well how’s that go when everybody knows
You went back to her the next minute

I don’t understand but I don’t want to
And I am not surprised because I know you
I am not okay but I will be
I forgive you but I won’t forget how you hurt me

Schaefer Llana – “Angel”

I think the simplicity of “I don’t understand, but I don’t want to,” just hits on that depressive malaise better than almost any line I’ve heard in a long time.

Press Release: The first demo for 49 Ceiling Tiles was recorded for her friend Starlin Browning’s college production class. The results were so good they decided to make a whole record together, holing up with fellow musicians at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi, exemplifying the house show ethos of “playing music with your friends, for your friends.” 

Zach Kleisinger – “Darling, Just Breathe”

Zach Kleisinger’s Symposium was one of the most overlooked albums of 2018 in my opinion. With a unique voice that is perfectly scratchy, a sound that’s perfectly folky, and lyrics that stand up to repeat listens, “Darling, Just Breathe” is just one of many great tracks from the release. Kleisinger perhaps sums it up best when he calls the album, “a gathering of entities aiming to share their thoughts on a particular subject—me. And yet, it is me who is revisited through these entities, for as much as I may recognize ‘them,’ at all times I know ‘they are me.’ If this sounds needlessly self-absorbed, it’s because it is.”

I would disagree with Kleisinger’s assessment that the songs are too self-absorbed, all the best art is somehow a reflection of the artist, and there’s no shame in recognizing your own shapes in what you’ve created.

Show it all,
Show it all to me.

‘cause i was alone when i met you,
And you saw that sadness in my eye,
Now i see it in yours;
But darling, just breathe,
Darling, just breathe.

Zach Kleisinger – “Darling Just Breathe”
Zach Kleisinger’s Their Symposium is available on vinyl.

Owlbiter – “Roof of the World”

Let’s keep the easy listening vibe going with Owlbiter’s “Roof Of The World,” which combines folk-style vocals with beautiful musical arrangements built around piano and horns. The track comes off of Owlbiter’s 2018 EP Stud Farm which features 5 beautiful songs just like this one. Perhaps my favorite part of “Roof of the World” comes in the final minute when the music takes over the entire mood of the song, and the horns and vocalizations build up to a peak before fading out in the final seconds. This captures the imagery of the subject of the song being “on the roof of the world” as the instruments almost coax out the stars and dreams themselves in that moment.

After the 2018 album, Owlbiter’s Matt Cascella hasn’t updated his SoundCloud or Spotify any further, but we hope he’s still making music, and we’d love to hear any new projects one day should they arise.

Morning Commute: Vincent Randazzo: “When It’s Raining”

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Good morning merciful B-Side Bounty Hunters (I’ve been watching too much Mandalorian). I have a nice chill beginning to your day to introduce you to today. This is a great track from Vincent Randazzo that feels just like it’s namesake. I don’t know if it’s raining where you are, or if you like when it is, but Randazzo will make you feel like the only thing to do is cozy up with a nice book in your warmest pajamas and refuse to move. This song is full of creative one-liners, puns, romance and heartbreak. I think my favorite section is the end:

“Cause you could sweat balls under the apple tree
Y’all could make out- just wake up with me
Sometimes that white light shines on me
But I write more when it’s raining”

I know all of you other creative minds have to agree with Vincent’s take that you “write more when it’s raining.” No matter how much I wish I could write a book full of happy poems, I think the darkness and the rain will always be my best muse. It’s good to be back guys, more music coming very soon, but for now, play this on repeat.

-Caleb

Bio: Indie folk singer-songwriter Vincent Randazzo, 24, charms beholders with his spellbinding lyrics and spirited performances. “Real Plan,” Randazzo’s third and latest full-length album, is not just an extension of his striking musical style, but a milestone in terms of his remarkable growth as a budding artist. In addition to hiring seasoned session musicians, Chris Shlarb, founder of esteemed cult band Psychic Temple, produced “Real Plan,” a momentous change for Randazzo compared to previously self-produced albums. The overarching result is a polished mix of similar artists like The Mountain Goats, Leif Vollebekk (of Montreal) and even the country music supergroup The Highwaymen. – Matthew Hable

 

TOTD: Van El – “Japanese Garden”

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I immediately got early Fleet Foxes vibe from this song. It has this excellent space to it that mixes folk musings and reverberating vocals that sound like they are being belted from one mountain top to another. The whole song, instrumentally and lyrically, feels so relaxing and peaceful. I imagine I’ll go back to this song a lot in the fall, just like I do with Fleet Foxes, because it’s so fitting to listen to this style of music when I’m driving through the mountains for a big hike, or a camping trip.

“Waterfall, koi fish pond,

I’m singing in the garden.”

Like I said, the lyrics really add to the peaceful vibe that’s created here. I can’t wait to get a full copy of the lyrics before we feature this on the podcast eventually, but the bits I gathered just from listening seem to find a speaker that is at peace, both externally and internally. Externally his surroundings are peaceful, hence the name, Japanese Garden. And internally, they seem self assured, with the repetition of the line: “I think I know, where to go.” I don’t know about you guys, but there have been very few times in my life that I have felt that, but the few that I have, the clarity is unreal. I imagine this speaker is having one of those moments, where everything just seems like it’s inevitably headed in a certain direction, and you just have to execute.

This song is the first song off of a four song EP that Van El plans to release in about a month, so if you liked this song (I know you did) then keep your eyes peeled for that. And like I mentioned before, we are hoping to eventually feature the song on an upcoming podcast episode.

-Caleb

Want to hear more? This song and many others have been added to our July TOTD Playlist on Spotify.  

 

 

The Flock: Folk – My Terrible Friend, James Rivers, Tapes, Reina del Cid, David Francey, History of Time

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*This first paragraph is a copy of a previously written synopsis of the point behind the new section, The Flock.*

We have two goals here with our blog and our podcast; we want to help you find a bunch of new artists that you love, and we also want to support those artists. We came up with a new idea for a post where we take a genre, and give you a few artists within that genre. That way, it helps everyone. If you come here because you love one artist, you’ve got five more that you’re probably going to love now. That helps you load up your playlist with tracks that will impress your friends, and it also helps the artists hit untapped markets and possibly network with likeminded artists they didn’t know existed. Without further ado, I present “The Flock.”

 

My Terrible Friend – Proving You Right

Nataly Dawn and Lauren O’Connell make up the San Francisco based folk duo, My Terrible Friend. Both are multi-instrumentalists with silky smooth voices made for folk music, and provide an unparalleled sense of whimsy for a music video that is one medium shot angle for the duration of the video. My Terrible Friend has provided the perfect song for your summer soirees or mimosa laden brunches, and if you’re anything like me, you will definitely be mimicking Nataly and Lauren’s dance moves by the end of either of those events. This is the song that’ll help you get your summer started right. They actually remind me a lot of a friend’s old band, Feather and Belle. Also, if Nataly looks familiar, she has another project called Pomplamoose, which means grapefruit. It’s interesting the random things that La Croix teaches you. I’d be interested to know how they decided on the name, My Terrible Friend, so if anyone knows, shoot us a message.

 

James Rivers – All the Same

James Rivers has one of those deep voices that needs to be more popular in today’s music. He has an amazing timbre that is reminiscent of a more emotive Colter Wall. In the song and video, All the Same, James tells a story of lost love, but the video isn’t your typical delve into songs with similar lyrics. Watch the video to find out what I mean.

James is a relatively new guy on the scene, with his debut album releasing in just a couple of weeks, but if it’s anything like this, we are definitely huge fans of what he’s doing. The vignette throughout the video may be a bit overdone for our taste, but the song itself and the idea behind the video is made to perfection.

 

Tapes – Time is Noise

This song is so interesting to me. The voices of FARE and Milo Gore blend so well, but their harmonies are so bizarrely perfect with FARE commonly taking the low harmony while Milo belts out the melody. Time is Noise takes a really hard look at the aftermath of a cancerous relationship, and how eventually, time does allow you to move on. This Falmouth based duo is making some waves with their new EP, “dead dogs and sad songs,” so grab a pint of ice cream, your favorite sweat pants, and this EP and get ready to feel a lot of emotions.

 

Reina del Cid – Ferdinand 

We usually don’t post these live YouTube ready style recordings, but we had to make an exception for this one. Reina del Cid has written a really fun song here, and every now and then you have to break your own rules. Reina gets into the idea behind the song, so there isn’t too much for us to discuss there. I will say this though, this relationship isn’t exclusive to Ferdinand and Isabella. This is a fun telling of an all too common relationship pitfall (maybe not a pitfall depending on how you look at it) of not being able to help who you fall for, even though you really don’t want to be into them. Once again, this is a really nice summer tune.

 

David Francey – Lonely Road

I had not heard of David Francey until recently, but I am absolutely enamored. There’s a gruffness to his voice and an honesty to the composition that makes it seem like his songs could’ve been written and performed anytime in the last 200 years. He has a timelessness to what he does. His songs feel like they could build a home with their bare hands, and catch dinner in the river after it’s done. That’s how tangible and how real his songs are, and Lonely Road is no different. Listening to older albums and then coming to The Broken Heart of Everything, you can notice a change in his voice. Unfortunately, David has had to take a break from music to rehabilitate a hoarseness and strain that his taken over his voice, but hopes 2019 will be the year he gets back on the road. Heal up, David, and when you’re better, run a tour through the southeast United States.

 

History of Time – Mona Lisa

Let’s wrap up this edition of The Flock with one of the most unique voices I’ve heard in a while. Roy Varley is the man behind the voice, and he has a real gift. Here’s the thing; I’m not a huge fan of the echo that he has after the words “Mona Lisa,” but that really doesn’t matter when you’re dealing with something this unique. Roy is a phenomenal lyricist who tells you a story, but leaves his songs open to interpretation. My favorite songs are the ones where the lyrics are obviously about a very specific circumstance, but are so abstracted that they can mean a plethora of different things. Miss Mona Lisa is one of the songs on History of Time’s album, The Comfort. The whole album is a wild ride, bouncing from folk to smooth hip-hop.

 

That’s it for this edition of The Flock. Stay tuned for more songs that you didn’t know you needed in your life. If you want to catch all of the songs we have featured on the blog in the month of June, head on over to our Spotify playlist. 

Also, check out our podcast for all new music, crazy ramblings from Caleb and myself, and discussions about topics like bad luck, mortality, and technology.

 

-Seth

Mid Day Music Blast: Brett J.B. “Garden Grey”

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Have you ever wondered what Death Cab would sound like if they did a cover album of Decemberists songs? Wonder no more, you beautiful people. Meet Brett J.B., a Wisconsinite who has a Ben Gibbard-esque voice with the the variance of a Decemberists track.

brett

In his new single, Garden Grey, Brett recaptures his childhood by going into what it was like growing up in Garden Grey. I tried figuring out where Garden Grey was, but to no avail. Neighborhood? City? A name you gave your house? I wanted there to be more, but with only the name and the fact that he currently lives in Milwaukee to go off of, I didn’t have much of a shot. Whatever it is, I’m glad it’s where Brett grew up. His fond memories of that place led to this track, and for that, I am thankful.

Morning Commute: Emilie Mover “Fallin’ In”

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When I came across this new single from Emilie Mover, I knew the name was familiar. I couldn’t place where I knew it from, but there was something very familiar about the timbre of this Canadian turned New Yorker folk artist. I started looking through her discography, and immediately knew where I had heard the pure and articulate, while having just enough rasp, vocals before; she has an incredible album where she covers some of my favorite Peggy Lee songs that you can find here.

Okay, now let’s focus on Fallin’ In, the second single off of her new album, Night Owl. Mover says of the song,

“Fallin’ In is actually the last song I wrote for Night Owl. I wrote it in a park near my apartment the morning we left for Bathouse.  I was kind of just going through the tunes, finalizing idea and starting to think about the order for the album.  I was watching some kids play together in the park and it was a beautiful late summer day and it was one of those things that just came together within minutes.  It kind of wrote itself.”

She goes on to say that the idea behind the song is to get into what really happens when we grow up. How do we go from being carefree kids playing together in the park to overworked and overstressed adults?

emilie

Okay, that last part may be me projecting, but the true idea behind the song is trying to maintain that childlike whimsy and excitement for life throughout adulthood. She lets us in on the fact that her dad has always upheld that view on life, and has been a sterling example of how to maintain a fervor for all things fun. The children in the park made Mover think of all of her childhood friends, and only thought it appropriate to have them play on the track. Those same friends that she played with in the parks as a kid are now playing on a track about them playing in those parks. If that’s not absolutely beautiful and very meta, I don’t know what is. Her dad, Mover’s “favorite kid at heart,” is also featured on the track, absolutely crushing the horn solo at the 2:30 mark.

I haven’t gotten around to listening to the whole album yet, but if Night Owl is anything like Fallin’ In, it is going to make plenty of our personal playlists. Reeking of jazz chords and off-beat rhythms, this song has a lot heavier package than most folk songs.

Want to listen to Emilie and all of our other featured artists for the month of June in one neat and tidy playlist? Click here.

Want to listen to me and Caleb talk about Bad Luck and feature new artists you haven’t heard of yet? Click here.

-Seth

TOTD: Gareth Inkster “Misfire”

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Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. Gareth Inkster sounds like Ben Folds. I know it, you know it, Gareth knows it, hell, even Ben Folds knows it. The comparison isn’t lost on anyone. Gareth even uses Ben Folds as a hashtag on Soundcloud to catch fans of the singer songwriter. Gareth also has the fact that he’s a multi-instrumentalist in common with Ben, using ten different instruments on his new track, leaving only the drums and bass guitar to others. While Gareth has a lot in common with Ben, that’s not to say he can’t stand on his own, and Misfire proves just that.

Misfire is a deep, introspective look at depression. I usually take this time to go into the lyrics of the song and what it means, but Inkster provided information about his song that needed to be shared. This is an absolutely beautiful work of art.

“It was written during some difficult times, as the lyrics will certainly suggest. The introspection leads to a troubled confession, and eventually the desperate bridge, “is there something wrong with me? I don’t think so, but I don’t know.” after which there is an audible *crack* sound – the breaking point, if you will. After this, words are no longer sufficient, and the brass section does its thing, but before long even that doesn’t cut it, and there is an abrupt key-change, as the strings take over. The strings hit a diminished chord shortly before they end which I feel is the most painful part of the song. After the music has exhausted itself, there is a brief pause, and the lyrics return for one final, beaten verse. The verse lyric ends on an unresolved question, and likewise, on an unresolved chord.”

Seeing behind the veil of how a song was made usually leads to something along the lines of, “I wrote this line about a time in my life where x happened.” It rarely leads to, “I arranged the instrumentation to tell a story that can stand alone.”

gareth

Depression is a difficult subject to tackle, and Gareth does it from a place of deep understanding. So many songs try to engage the subject like it’s a cloudy day and frowny faces. While nothing is wrong with that, this is something that is moving on a different level for me. It gets into all of the feelings of inadequacy and the questions that come along with it.

Misfire is one of seven songs on Gareth’s upcoming EP, Last Year, and you can check out the same titled first single here.

Check out Gareth and all of our other tracks from June on our Spotify playlist

Mid Day Music Blast: Welshly Arms “Down to the River”

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Are you a big fans of bands like The Black Keys, Rival Sons, or Kaleo? Who isn’t right? Well I found another band to add to your collection: Welshly Arms. The song uses gospel a gospel choir song with some great blues riffs and grungy lead vocals to create a sound that mixes nostalgic rock and roll and blues with modern synth and bass backgrounds. It seems that a lot of this album was written in the past couple of years with all the turmoil that we’ve seen in this country, and I’ve often said that if nothing else, Trump’s America will have great protest art. I think the past year or so we’ve seen that come to fruition, and Welshly Arms is fitting quite nicely into that niche.

Image result for welshly arms

 

Having been ensconced in the studio working on their debut album ‘No Place Is Home’ due this June, Cleveland based six-piece blues and gospel influenced alternative band Welshly Arms preempt the release with a brand new track ‘Sanctaury’ that follows on from the much lauded ‘Legendary’ released last year. The band are also due to perform at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival.

Of ‘Sanctuary’, frontman Sam Getz says, “We wrote ‘Sanctuary’ in a time where everything on the news and in politics seemed so dark and out of control. Nothing felt safe, nowhere felt like home and there wasn’t a lot of positive news to find hope in. ‘Sanctuary’ is a reminder that hope is always there in the people you keep close. Even as the world seems to be breaking down around us, my family, friends and the people I love are where I always find my security and my home.”

This summer, Welshly Arms will support Thirty Seconds To Mars on the last leg of their upcoming US tour, before crossing the Atlantic for an exclusive performance at 2018’s Reading and Leeds Festival.

 

Catch Welshly Arms alongside every other song we’ve featured in June on this Spotify playlist. 

 

Don’t forget to check out our podcast, I’d say it’s the best thing we do. 

 

-Caleb

 

Morning Commute: Kate Vargas “Roll Around”

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Feeling pretty rough on your Monday morning because of a weekend of fun and debauchery? Well get ready, because this song is going to see you at your lowest point, and kick you around a little bit. The song starts with the lyrics that ring out throughout the song,

“You can’t get lower than the ground, but you can roll around for a long time.“

Is it possible for the sound of smoke to be provocative? With a rasp that tastes of coal mines and three packs a day, Kate has a timbre to her voice that is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Now, just to clear the air here, I don’t know anything about Kate’s personal life, and she may have worked in a coal mine and smokes a carton a day. If this is true, I’m deeply apologetic. What is much more likely is that she had a cool rasp already, but honed her obvious gift and turned it into something spectacular.

kate

With lyrics that seem to deal with everything from seasonal depression to addiction, Kate really takes some major swings here, and nails on all counts for me. When people talk about how they’ve “hit rock bottom,” there is usually a counterpoint saying, “Well, there’s nowhere to go but up,” when in reality, you can just get dragged across the bottom forever unless you make proactive choices. Make whatever choices are needed to improve your life.

Video of the Day: The Rebels of Tijuana “Et le blizzard s’estompe”

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Sunday Scaries in full effect for you yet? I have just the thing to chill you out. Take a 8 minute journey into the past with this amazing video from The Rebels of Tijuana. It is everything I love about music. It has these excellent visuals of a recording studio that is using all analog production techniques. It has great instrumentation that gives each musician his space to jam out. It has just enough lyrics (that I don’t understand, though I did hear the word cigarette), to keep you engaged in the sultry Jim Morrison style voice. It has drinking, and bandmates chumming about. It has interspersed nature shots. You’re really missing out if you don’t take the time to watch the whole thing. I guarantee you’ll find yourself tapping your foot.

Image result for the rebels of tijuana

Don’t forget to check out more from them, as this just a single off an upcoming September album, “Aisle”, a double album recorded on analog tape. If you’re like me and you often miss the grainy sound that we used to get out of old 60s and 70s records, this is the band for you.

 

Don’t forget to check them, and everyone we’ve featured this month out on our spotify playlist (updated daily.) 

Also, don’t forget to listen to the thing we do best, the podcast. We just released a new episode last week on Bad Luck.

-Caleb