Iowa-born and Nashville-based rising Country star Hailey Whitters has just released her highly anticipated third album 'Raised' via Pigasus Records/Songs & Daughters/Big Loud Records. Also released is the Harper Smith- directed video for the album’s single “Boys Back Home” that was shot on location in Hailey’s hometown of Shueyville, IA.
Hailey Whitters is currently in the midst of her debut headline Heartland Tour which will culminate with two shows at her hometown honky tonk DanceMor Ballroom in Swisher, IA on May 6 and 7. She will also hit the road this summer with Jon Pardi on his Ain’t Always The Cowboy Tour.
"This song was inspired by the boys I grew up with. On any given Friday night we used to pile in the back of one of their pickup trucks, get a bottle of cheap Hawkeye vodka and drive out to a clearing in the middle of the woods where we’d start a fire and sit around all night drinkin' and talkin' about life,” explains Whitters.
“I grew up with a lot of wild boys that turned into strong, hardworking men. They had my back then and I know they still have it now. I wanted to sing this song as a way of saying thank you and celebrating them. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without ‘em.”
A raw and minimalist ballad that tactfully grapples with addiction, self-destructive cycles and the powerlessness that comes with watching a loved one go through a hard time, “Rabbit Hole” is a shimmering and stripped-back sampler of the duo’s forthcoming full-length LP.
Gauzy and subtly heartbreaking, with a sound as tender and exposed as its lyricism, guitarist Sam Gotley began laying down the track’s foundations in the car after a long day at the studio. Speaking of “Rabbit Hole”’s inception, he says: “This was one of those songs that exploded onto the page (I had to write and record voice notes frantically to get it all down without forgetting something), but it took a lot of fine-tuning to finish. This was an emotional song to record. Musically speaking, we kept things very bare and wanted to shy away as much as possible from electronic instruments and excess overdubs, so the end result is something quite natural using a lot of acoustic instruments, which the live room at Middle Farm Studios captured beautifully.”
Citing a series of vintage influences, including Nick Cave’s “Nobody’s Baby Now” and Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel”, “Rabbit Hole” contends with two differing perspectives: one spiralling and self-destructive, and the other determined to pick-up the pieces and cobble them back together.
And for all its vulnerability, the track proved an emotional one to lay down in the studio. Feeling compelled to retreat into herself and create an atmosphere where she felt completely alone with nobody listening, vocalist Sarah Gotley was “met with four weeping men in the control room” after she recorded the track’s vocals.
Expanding on “Rabbit Hole”’s backstory, she explains: “To me this song is about protection. Whether that’s protection of self or protection of others. It has always felt like a very delicate subject to approach, being that so many people can relate to it on some level. So, approaching it with honesty, personal experience and sensitivity was the only way that felt right. Addiction from the viewpoint of someone who is on the outside looking in is such a fragile topic. Trying to address these emotions without feeling contrived, or playing on the pain of others for personal gain is difficult.”
Basement Revolver has always centered around the friendship of bassist/keyboardist Nim Agalawatte and guitarist/vocalist Chrisy Hurn. Lead guitarist Jonathan Malström and drummer Levi Kertesz round out the band’s larger-than-life sound.
The band’s catalogue spans back to their breakout single, 2016’s “Johnny.” That single, and their self-titled EP from the same year, led to their signing with Fear of Missing Out in the UK, and later, Canada’s Sonic Unyon Records.
Heavy Eyes, their debut LP, built on their aesthetic which merges hardcore-inspired indie and ambient dream pop. In support of that they toured throughout the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany. With tour plans on hold through 2020, Basement Revolver found time to wrestle with questions about identity, faith, mental illness, and sexuality.
Their sophomore LP, Embody, is explicit about these new ideas and new thoughts, addressing them with a deeper sound and crisper production to adroitly express the complexity of the world. It is an album of friendship, of working out identity together, and making deeply personal art.
Bringing to mind the broodingly intense works of Dead Can Dance or Liars, crossed with the philosophical songwriting of De André and Tom Zé, it’s a twitchingly paranoid and quietly exhilarating hint of what to expect on new album ‘NaN’.
Directed by Ian Carvalho, the single is accompanied by a misleadingly lo-fi video, which reveals hidden depths with repeated views. Shot by the band in a single-take using the Datamosh technique, it follows the band as they traverse through the scenic town of Monopoli in Puglia, Italy. The Mediaeval setting of warm-colored palaces on a summer evening soon begin to glitch chaotically with pixelated footage; and hint that all may not be as it seems… Speaking about the video Tina adds:
“The idea of contrasting the beauty of that historic city centre with the digital “dirt”, created by Data Mosh, fascinated us because it represents the message that the music expresses very well: The conflict. This is solved by the protagonist "abandoning the field" and crossing a counter-current path that leads from Aesthetic Beauty, represented in the video by the Madia Cathedral square, to Ethical Beauty, represented by the church of Purgatory, important for its representations of the various "Memento Mori.”
Produced and Mixed by In A Sleeping Mood with Hate Moss, the “Eremita” also features guest appearances from Donato Panaccio (Bass and Arp Guitars) and Mauro Polito (percussion). It was mastered at Loud Mastering studios by Jason Mitchell.
Hate Moss is an Italo-Brazilian duo formed by Tina and Ian in 2018. Formed in London and currently living a nomadic existence, the duo have performed on numerous stages across South America, Europe and the Middle East, while drawing crowds at international festivals like the Venice Biennale (IT), Locomotiva Festival (BR) and Goiania Noise (BR), earning a cult following in the process.
The Iowa-born, Nashville-based rising Country star Hailey Whitters has released her new single “The Neon” from her highly anticipated third album RAISED that will be released on March 18 via Pigasus Records/Songs & Daughters/Big Loud Records. The single arrives with a Harper Smith-directed lyric video shot at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Nashville, TN. RAISED is now available for preorder.
“I wrote ‘The Neon’ with Lori McKenna and Rodney Clawson about a broken-hearted bender on the town,” Whitters explains. “It was our first time writing together and Lori brought in the title. I think the next line that came out of the room that day was ‘here comes the sad part’ and we instantly knew it was this ‘tear in my beer’ type lyric. I love getting to tap into this song emotionally every time I sing it. Whenever I'm feelin' blue, there's no broken heart a barstool and a cold beer (or shot of tequila) can't fix.”
Last month, Whitters released the album’s debut single “Everything She Ain’t,” which was praised by American Songwriter, BrooklynVegan, Rolling Stone and Billboard who said, "Whitters has proven herself a stellar songwriter and artist in equal measure… handclaps and sweet fiddle lines boost Whitters’ charming vocal and razor-sharp wordplay.”
The 17-song album was co-produced by Whitters alongside producer Jake Gear, who produced Whitters’ 2020 release THE DREAM and the subsequent deluxe album LIVING THE DREAM, and was engineered by Logan Matheny. The album also finds Whitters reconnecting with co-writers Brandy Clark, Nicolle Galyon, Hillary Lindsey, and Lori McKenna.
RAISED finds Whitters reconnecting with her Midwestern roots and hometown of Shueyville, IA, reflecting on family, first kisses, and life amid sprawling cornfields. “This record is where I'm from, this is me. It feels like the prequel to THE DREAM,” explains Whitters. “These are the people and this is the place that made that 17 year old girl leave everything she'd ever known to pursue a career in country music and not give up over the last 14 years.”
Carleton Stone, an award-winning artist, a songwriter with a growing list of credits, and a founding member of Port Cities, has recently added producer to his list of accomplishments.
Carleton has three solo records to his credit, multiple awards, and has toured internationally. An outstanding writer, Carleton has written songs for and with such diverse artists as Donovan Woods, Classified, Bobby Bazini, and Neon Dreams.
Carleton’s producer debut was Willie Stratton’s “The Way She Holds Me,” and his fall will be jam packed with producing Willie’s new record, songs by Chudi Harris, and his own new solo release in June 2022.
"Having recently returned to attention’s radar with the singles Good Times, & Not In My Name, UK rockers The Mojo Slide now keep ears focused with their latest single from the album 'Manic Panic'
With their first album, Twist Your Bones, an extremely well received 2015 encounter springing a host of eagerly played singles on radio shows and stations worldwide anticipation for its successor has been patient if eager. It is a release which looks like following suit with its lead single already luring great support the way of the band and we only expect Not In My Name to do the same.
Ridiculously infectious and skilfully flirtatious in its grooves and hooks, Not In My Name instantly entangles ears with a great juicy melody, its wire of temptation escaping the guitar of Mike Fennaand soon joined by the melodic lures of fellow guitarist Matt Legg alongside the rhythmic swing of bassist Dan Savage and drummer Michael Graham. Amidst it all vocalist Mark Wilks adds his only creative infection, his voice almost dancing on the strands of sound making up the contagion.
Increasingly manipulative by rousing verse and anthemic chorus, Good Msn Down is one of those songs which just gets under the skin, for us eclipsing its predecessor and ensuring the release of new full-length, Manic Panic cannot come soon enough, an encounter you can also soon find us exploring on The RR.." - Pluggin' Baby - The Ringmaster Review
Formed in 2011, they released their debut album 'Twist Your Bones' in November 2015 on DO IT Records. The album features a contemporary mixture of classic rock 'n' roll, and blues rooted alternative rock. They have had radio play on BBC, Absolute and Planet Rock, amongst others, and have since signed with Nub Records.
Kalbells—the collaborative art-pop project of Kalmia Traver, Angelica Bess, Sarah Pedinotti, and Zoë Brecher—today shared their new single “Pickles,” a fun and buoyant track featuring multimedia artist/rapper Miss Eaves off the upcoming full-length, Max Heart, releasing March 26 via NNA Tapes.
The sophomore album from Kalbells, illustrates the formidable love Kalmia Traver (Rubblebucket) discovered with her touring band turned bandmates. Together, Angelica Bess (Giraffage, Body Language), Zoë Becher (Hushpuppy, Sad13), Sarah Pedinotti (Okkervil River, LipTalk) and Traver, practice both listening and accountability, rejoicing in their queerness, and promoting each other to be their most genuine selves.
The result is Max Heart—ten vibrant and subtly layered tracks of mesmerizing psychedelic synth-pop. Common groove language is a rare medicine to happen across, which is why, as a group, playing together has been not only exciting, but healing. Max Heart harnesses this magnetic power for a collection of songs that are packed with inspired tension and daring surreality. Read the full bio here.
Max Heart is available to pre-order on standard black & "Salty Pickle" green vinyl, as well as on compact disc and digital formats here. The album will be available on "Red Marker" red vinyl exclusively from local indie record stores.
Reality Anonymous - The Ghost Host, Vol 1 (Album).
Reality Anonymous is the brainchild of Lyn Vaus and the debut album The Ghost Host, Vol. 1 features contributions from Rob Myers (Thievery Corporation), Alex Rowney (Soft Candy), and Kenthany Redmond (Kenthany Redmond's Infrared Quintet).
Basic tracks, helmed by Joe Tessone, were cut with Blase Settecase at Mystery Street Studios. The album was mixed by Philip Stevenson at Rat City in Chicago and mastered by the legendary Bob Olhsson in Nashville.
Lyn Vaus is now based in Chicago and is a veteran of the Boston post-punk band Carnal Garage, who had a song featured in the hit SCI-FI movie The Lawnmower Man. After the band dissolved, Vaus moved to LA and got a job as a story editor at a film production company. Bouncing back and forth between LA and Boston for several years, his subsequent film credits include The Darien Gap, Next Stop Wonderland, and the micro-budgeted Temptation, starring Annette O’ Toole and Elisabeth Moss.
That film rekindled his interest in playing music and he began writing the psychedelic songs that eventually appeared on his first solo record The Floating Celebration, which was recorded in Washington D.C. with musician/producer/Night World label head, Philip Stevenson.
Parisian psyche-pop band La Femme released the video for their new single “Le Jardin,” taken from their highly anticipated third album Paradigmes (out April 2nd via the band’s label Disque Pointu, distributed worldwide by IDOL). Shot in the south of Spain between Granada and Sevilla, the “Le Jardin” video is an excerpt from the band’s forthcoming full-length feature film, which will be released in conjunction with Paradigmes.
Released in time for Valentine’s Day, “Le Jardin” is a tender melancholic ballad, and La Femme’s first song in Spanish. “The lyrics were written during a trip to Spain a few years ago,” the band explains. “This is kind of an old-school slow dance which underlines how fate can be random and fragile. The moments we go through, sometimes very sudden, from shadows to light, and vice-versa. All of this, in a Romanesque scenery of the historic city of Sevilla, where the Holy Virgins are omnipresent on the walls, overlooking at mankind and its madness.”
The two main songwriters who started the band together, Sacha Got and Marlon Magnée, are the traditional heart of La Femme, and their vision is consolidated on stage by the masterful rhythm section of Sam Lefevre and Noé Delmas (bass and drums, respectively), and sublimated by the vocal talents of female singers like Alma Jodorowsky, Clara Luciani, Clémence Quélennec, Grâce Hartzel and Jane Peynot. Within this album of beautifully-curated electropop you will hear everything from coldwave to yéyé, Kraftwerk to the Velvet Underground, all distilled and sequenced and psychedelicized so that it sounds uniquely La Femme.
Anya Hinkle - What's It Gonna Take (feat. Graham Sharp).
For as long as people have written songs, they’ve written songs that respond to and reflect on events in the world around them. And so, when Organic Records’ Anya Hinkle and her neighbor, Graham Sharp (Steep Canyon Rangers) got together to write on the day that news broke of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, it was almost inevitable that what would emerge was a meditation on the gulf between American aspirations and American reality.
“In fraught moments, you usually write what you need to write, to process what's going and find the words to move forward,” says Sharp. “This was the case with ‘What's It Gonna Take.’ My first instinct as we were writing was to look inside myself and what I could do. It was a very raw moment to see the pain of George Floyd and the Black community and know that I needed to account for myself in that moment.”
“Writing was the only way to really open up to things we often keep locked inside, things that aren’t pretty to examine, that are scary in fact,” Hinkle adds. “It helped us get honest about that, to push through some kind of strange fear of admitting how clearly some of us benefit from the system and others just lose over and over again. I don’t think the song does anything except to invite people to take a look at this sparkling mess and admit it’s there and needs to be reckoned with.”
As events continued to unfold, the pair worked to complete the song, and when it was finished, Hinkle began to think about how to record it. With Sharp’s participation an obvious ingredient, she reached out to a couple of other western North Carolinians and invited them in. “When we went into the studio to cut the single,” she recounts, “we asked a master of the sacred steel guitar, DaShawn Hickman, and gospel singer Wendy Hickman to join us in asking ‘what’s it gonna take?’ Bringing in their voices was an important part of processing the difficult summer, building trust and beauty through song. Only by listening to Black voices are we going to know what it’s gonna take.”
Hailey Whitters - How Far Can It Go? (feat. Trisha Yearwood)
Rising Country star Hailey Whitters releases “How Far Can It Go?” (feat. Trisha Yearwood) from LIVING THE DREAM, a deluxe edition of her critically-acclaimed breakthrough album THE DREAM that will be released on February 26 via Pigasus Records / Big Loud Records / Songs & Daughters. The deluxe album finds Whitters moving from fantasizing about “the dream” to actually living it, calling upon her close friends and collaborators Brent Cobb, Jordan Davis, Hillary Lindsey, Little Big Town, Lori McKenna and Trisha Yearwood to contribute vocals to the fresh tracks.
"When I wrote this song with Nicolle Galyon and Hillary Lindsey, we were drawing inspiration from all of the '90s female powerhouses I grew up listening to on Country radio,” explains Whitters. “This song reminds me of something I would've been singing along to on the radio, driving my old truck back in high school. We all know that young couple back in our hometowns with 'forever in their eyes,' and the feeling of wondering if they'll be able to make it work when they go off to college. Those story songs in Country music were relatable to me then (and now), and I hope there's a generation of Country music fans that still find them just as relatable today.”
“How Far Can It Go?” (feat. Trisha Yearwood) follows Whitters’ current single “Fillin’ My Cup” (feat. Little Big Town), which has racked up more than 4 million streams globally since its debut and was just named SiriusXM’s Highway Find. Watch Whitters chat with SiriusXM The Highway’s Storme Warren and MC Callahan HERE. Whitters also recently released “Glad To Be Here” (feat. Brent Cobb) and “The Ride” (feat. Jordan Davis) from LIVING THE DREAM.
“All of the artists featured on this project are responsible for me being able to hang up the apron strings and make music full-time,” says Whitters about LIVING THE DREAM. “The royalties from Little Big Town’s cut on ‘Happy People’ helped pay for part of THE DREAM, Brent Cobb and Jordan Davis were two of the first artists to take me on tour, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey are my two songwriting idols and favorite co-creators, and Trisha Yearwood is one of the first artists that got me excited about moving to Nashville and pursuing Country music. I wanted to show fans full circle what ‘living the dream’ looks like for me – from where I started with ‘Ten Year Town’ to the bucket list moments that have resulted since I released my record, THE DREAM. I felt it was important to show them what can happen when you don't give up on yourself.”
Dutch indie band Classic Water return with their fourth single Tomorrow. A song about desperate times and corresponding desperate measures, but as the lyrics say: “tomorrow this will all be gone.” A soothing thought at the start of this new year.
The music video is based on the artwork designed by visual artist Viktoryia Shydlouskaya-Dijk and animated by Classic Water’s keys player Lotte van Leengoed.
Classic Water introduced themselves in 2020 with singles Living Likeness, It’s Never Easy and Carthage. Debut album Concrete Pleasures will be released on March 12th 2021.
Tomorrow is a song about someone driven to desperate deeds and is partly inspired by the Talking Heads’ Listening Wind. The narrator leads the listener to the brink of the deed in the first half of the song, after which a long instrumental part follows where multiple melodies and rhythms combine into something like a hypnotic stretch of endless highway.
The songs of Classic Water bring to mind driving through dusty backroads of deserted villages, thinking back on what once was but will never be again. The surreal words of singer Tom Gerritsen are guided by stretches of intertwining melodies, alternated with brief bursts of rock and roll. In an earlier life, Tom released folk music as The T.S. Eliot Appreciation Society, playing over 180 shows in Europe. Seeing Classic Water perform live is a visceral experience. The debut album Concrete Pleasures was recorded and produced by Stacy Parrish (T Bone Burnett, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant) in a 14th century farmhouse in Sweden.
Kindsight is a new act from the Copenhagen indie scene and the first act outside of Sweden to sign with Rama Lama Records (Melby, Chez Ali, Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes etc.). Last fall, the young quartet released the two very promising debut tracks 'Who Are You' and ' Terminal Daze'. Two warm, nostalgic and atmospheric indie pop songs that got them praise such as "your new favourite band". Now, the slow-burner 'How I Feel' follows and expands the sound of this promising act.
Kindsight are Nina, Søren, Anders and Johannes and formed out of Nina and Sørens shared love for The Sugarcubes. According to the band, the two of them then recruited drummer Johannes to "drag him out of an unsettling obsession with jazz-music" and bass player Anders was chosen "only because of his looks and his ability to fit into small bags.".
The quartet makes retro-tinged indie pop that is instantly appealing and addictive. Nina's vocals crowns the atmospheric soundscape perfectly and makes Kindsight something that's been missing in Scandinavia for a long time.
Kindsight on 'How I Feel': Nina was once gripped by an overwhelming need to tell the world how she felt. Everyone agreed that it seemed like a fair deal, as she is the lead-singer. A longing ballad with a hazy view was built to heed her demand. But as it turns out, Nina hasn't got a clue how she feels. How I Feel is out now on all platforms via Rama Lama Records.
Meg Web who is sharing her new video and single "What's the Logic." The track was co-produced by the legendary Jason Falkner (Beck, Jellyfish), in which he also lent a hand on drums, bass and additional synths. The video was directed and shot by Jessica Calleiro and filmed by Calleiro and Matt Boman.
Meg grew up as a classically trained multi-instrumentalist learning violin, piano, harp, cello, synths, bass, flute, tenor guitar and a recently added marimba. Growing up as a competitive dancer (you can see some of her smooth moves in the video), as well as a softball, basketball and soccer player. Raised in Woods Cross, Utah, until 2009, when she was 16, she completed her GED and fled to Arizona (pretending to be a foreign exchange student from Czechia so she could hang out with her cousin at her school) to escape Mormonism and play shows with her bandmate who lived there.
Meg Shares: “The inspiration was an anti-inspiration-where all hope and trust flew out a window and I was starting from scratch with everything~ ideas about people, the internal and external workings. A question to and about them and myself."
Webb moved to Laguna Beach in 2011 after hitchhiking through, deeming it her personal paradise. There she was a street performer for 4 years, and in Los Angeles,before landing her first commercial. Then she started learning about analog sound engineering in San Francisco. Now back in LA, Meg Webb is in full force with her gorgeous and dreamy blend of indie goodness.
Following the exuberant, traditional bluegrass of their last single, Organic Records’ Zoe & Cloyd return with a sweet, original take on another kind of tradition: the enduring theme of a parent’s love. Written and sung by the semi-eponymous duo of Natalya Zoe Weinstein (fiddle) and John Cloyd Miller (guitar), “Paper Crowns” is classically framed in a direct address to their daughter, even as its contemporary language and asymmetric rhythms reveal it as thoroughly modern.
The track is further testimony to the sensitivity of Zoe & Cloyd’s bandmates, Kevin Kehrberg (bass) and Bennett Sullivan (banjo), whose sympathetic playing offers just the right support for the song’s bright imagery of “paper crowns and dancing curls.”
“We started writing ‘Paper Crowns’ on our daughter's fifth birthday, a cold and rainy day in February,” notes Weinstein. “I was feeling nostalgic for her younger years, as five felt like a big turning point in her transition from toddlerhood to school age. Little did we know how much her life (and ours) would change in the coming year, and how the loss of early childhood innocence would be especially poignant as the pandemic set in. But no matter her age and come what may, she'll always be our little girl."
With its celebratory chorus — ”today you’re turning five years young, another ring around the sun” — and sharp eye for details (“muddy boots and tangled hair, pink and purple everywhere”), “Paper Crowns” is just the kind of personal, yet universal song to capture the timeless emotions of parents across the years and around the world
Rising country star Hailey Whitters announces LIVING THE DREAM, a deluxe edition of her critically-acclaimed 2020 album THE DREAM featuring five new songs, will be released on February 26 via Pigasus/Big Loud/Songs & Daughters. The deluxe album finds Whitters moving from fantasizing about “the dream” to actually living it, calling upon her close friends and collaborators Brent Cobb, Jordan Davis, Hillary Lindsey, Little Big Town, Lori McKenna and Trisha Yearwood to contribute vocals to the fresh tracks.
Following the release of her current single “Fillin’ My Cup” (feat. Little Big Town), Whitters has dropped “The Ride” (feat. Jordan Davis), the second track to be pulled from LIVING THE DREAM.
“Jordan Davis took me out on his very first headlining tour when I was only an independent artist. I thought that was a bold statement for him to make, and I am very appreciative of him taking a chance on me,” explains Whitters. “He's one of the key reasons I've been able to say I'm "living the dream", so when thinking about who to collaborate with on this project, he was a no-brainer. I just love his voice and everything he's bringing to the country format.”
“All of the artists featured on this project are responsible for me being able to hang up the apron strings and make music full-time,” says Whitters about LIVING THE DREAM. “The royalties from Little Big Town’s cut on ‘Happy People’ helped pay for part of THE DREAM, Brent Cobb and Jordan Davis were two of the first artists to take me on tour, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey are my two songwriting idols and favorite co-creators, and Trisha Yearwood is one of the first artists that got me excited about moving to Nashville and pursuing country music. I wanted to show fans full circle what ‘living the dream’ looks like for me – from where I started with ‘Ten Year Town’ to the bucket list moments that have resulted since I released my record, THE DREAM. I felt it was important to show them what can happen when you don't give up on yourself.”
Hailey Whitters appeared here in July with her stunning song 'Janice At The Hotel Bar' and returns now with 'Happy People' which is another catchy and impressive piece. === We featured The Luxembourg Signal a couple of times back in 2017 and then lost track of them, however they are back with '2.22' as a taster for their next album 'The Long Now' and it's good to note that their mixture of Dreampop and Shoegaze is sounding real good. === Malin Pettersen shares 'Wildhorse Dream' ahead of the album 'Wildhorse' set for release on October 16th. The song itself is a melodic slice of modern Americana with bags of charm.
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Photo: Harper Smith
Hailey Whitters - Happy People.
Hailey Whitters releases a sunny animated video for “Happy People” (co-directed by Harper Smith and Drew Wittler) from her critically-acclaimed new album, The Dream, out now via Pigasus Records / Big Loud Records / Songs & Daughters. The song was co-written with Lori McKenna and originally recorded by Little Big Town in 2017.
“This song has always felt like a step-by-step guide to happiness,” explains Whitters. “I wanted the visual to be bright and colorful to match the character of the record, as well as accessible to both children and adults. My friend Drew Wittler did the animation and he sprinkled Easter eggs throughout of my musical imprint and Iowa upbringing. My aim is to take viewers on a walk through my ‘happy place’ and hopefully remind them of their own along the way.”
The video follows the release of Whitters’ Live In Studio Session series which delivered five live performances throughout the month of August. Watch videos including a reimagined piano version of “Dream, Girl,” “Heartland,” “Janice at the Hotel Bar,” “The Devil Always Made Me Think Twice,” and “The Faker.”
Just featured as an “Emerging Artist” by People, Whitters is spotted among the all-genre roundup with the outlet raving, “With her chill, guitar-driven sound and powerful vocals, Hailey Whitters stands out as an up-and-coming country star.” Garnering more high-profile media looks, The Dream was named one of “The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)” by American Songwriter and Paste Magazine. SPIN also marked “All The Cool Girls” on their list of “The 50 Best Songs of 2020 (So Far).”
Dreampop and shoegaze indie super group The Luxembourg Signal brighten up today with the debut of their new single '2:22" a blast of dreampop perfection that comes in makes a statement then stops quickly leaving you wanting even more. The kind folks at Austin Town Hall debuted the track this morning.
With the release of their self-titled debut album on Shelflife Records in 2014, The Luxembourg Signal quickly attracted a loyal following among fans of dream pop/indie pop music, and received enthusiastic reviews for their pop sensibilities, angelic vocals and lush soundscapes.
Their follow-up LP, Blue Field (Shelflife/Kleine Utergrund Schallplatten) released in 2017, garnered even more praise and revealed a bolder, darker and more developed sound with its expanded seven-member lineup of Beth Arzy & Betsy Moyer (vocals), Johnny Joyner (guitars), Brian Espinosa (drums), Ginny Pitchford (keyboards), Daniel Kumiega (bass) and Kelly Davis (guitars).
Now, for their third LP, the transatlantic group based in London, Los Angeles and San Diego, once again returned to the studio with engineer Mark Rains and have produced the highly anticipated The Long Now (Shelflife/Spinout Nuggets), a 10 song album that imagines a blurred horizon that lies between light and dark, and the fleeting nature of all that we hold.
"The Long Now" (phrase coined by Brian Eno) refers to a long-term way of perceiving time. As an alternative to the accelerated way that we experience our lives, it allows us to make sense of our brief but tumultuous time here, by understanding our place in a much larger timeline as history plays out.
Malin Pettersen's album 'Wildhorse' is set for release on October 16th. Stories seem to follow Malin Pettersen wherever she goes, whether it's in the streets of Oslo, Norway, or in the quaint neighborhoods of Nashville, Tennessee.
Raised by a country musician father and a mother who deeply loved jazz, Pettersen grew up surrounded by music. Those early influences and the stories behind them drew her to American culture and arts, including folk and bluegrass. In 2009, she formed the popular country band Lucky Lips, supplying engaging lead vocals to their debut 2010 EP Third Door to the Right. They quickly found success with their engaging blend of traditional folk elements with a modern edge. They continued to release a trove of music over the next few years, including two well-received albums and even participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013. A slight sonic shift on their third record, 2016’s Coming Home, brought the group to a new level of acclaim, eventually earning them a slot at Nashville’s AmericanaFest in 2018.
Propelled by the success of Lucky Lips, Pettersen went onto release her first solo album References Pt. 1 in 2018. It won widespread critical praise and even earned her a Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy). Later that year, Lucky Lips teamed up with Norwegian blues legend Amund Maarud for their collaborative record Indian Butterfly.
The tightly-knit creative community that Nashville harbors kept calling to Pettersen. Those pilgrimages back to the U.S. resulted in the creation of Alonesome, her powerful 2019 mini-album. That release earned her praise from Rolling Stone Country, Paste, Billboard and more. With just her voice and her guitar, the project showcased both Pettersen’s emotive vocals and her expert songwriting, capturing the beautiful complexities of human emotion.
After an Ameripolitan Awards nomination led her back to Tennessee, she returned to Nashville to begin recording her most important project to date. Pettersen tapped into her experiences of exploring America and the creative relationships she developed along the way to create something brand new.
“Even though most of the groundwork was all done live together in one room on both previous albums, there are more layers on this one and it stretches towards more of a cinematic soundscape,” Pettersen says. "There is more California, Bobbie Gentry and cosmic-ness on this one."
Planet For Sale share 'Old Father Time' which has a gentle rock vibe and notable vocals, the band enjoy a cult following in Iran, what other band can claim that! === Hailey Whitters has a new video for her stunning song 'Janice At The Hotel Bar' it's one of those Nashville tracks that just needs an immediate second listen. === From Xanthe Alexis we have 'Compass' and the indie artist really impresses both vocally, lyrically and through the understated musical arrangement. === Big Little Lions have released 'It's Amazing' ahead of a new E.P and the dual vocals and harmonies are gorgeous from this creative pair.
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Planet For Sale - Old Father Time.
Planet For Sale are a Brighton based musical universe whose artful fusion of rock and blues is a mix of compelling lyrical imagery, incendiary guitar solos and trippy psychedelia. They are the anguished sound of the feverish fire sale that’s happening on planet Earth, this tiny rock hurtling through the vastness of space.
Planet For Sale was formed in 2017 by British-Iranian singer/songwriter Rooz Golpa, nephew of Akbar Golpa, the celebrated Persian vocalist whose career of more than 50 years earned him a legendary status in Iran and a Golden Rose for his worldwide contribution to music.
Planet For Sale were the first band in Iran to debut original music performed/sung in English since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and enjoy a cult following in the country. As a music student in Brighton’s Northbrook College, Rooz fell into a heated musical debate with fellow students Jim Cannings and Jamie Snelling, only to discover that they were all able to connect the dots between 1960s Brit Rock, Led Zeppelin, Abba and Joy Division.
Planet For Sale released their debut album Earth in 2018 and continue to perform regularly in clubs across the South East.
Planet For Sale's musical inspirations include The War On Drugs, Delta Blues, The Beatles and Sigrid. With their wide range of musical inspirations, PFS’s ambition is to create their own musical universe where the “odd misfits of the working-class regime can dream.”
Iowa-born, Nashville-based artist and singer-songwriter Hailey Whitters has released the official music video for “Janice at the Hotel Bar,” a standout track from her critically-acclaimed album The Dream that was named a “Song You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone and included on in Paste Magazine’s “The 25 Best Songs of 2020 (So Far)" list.
The video was directed by Erica Silverman, in partnership with creative director Harper Smith, and shot on location in Austin, TX.
“Given that this song was based on a real encounter with an 80-something-year-old woman named Janice, we felt it was important to keep it as rich visually as it is lyrically,” Whitters explains. “Erica and Harper were able to capture the individual eccentricities that make up the collective female experience in living a life well-lived.”
Recently, American Songwriter and Paste Magazine both spotlighted THE DREAM on their “Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)” lists, while SPIN marked “All The Cool Girls” on their list of “The 50 Best Songs of 2020 (So Far).” The Washington Post called THE DREAM “the year’s deepest country album,” and Pitchfork included it on a list of “Great Records You May Have Missed.”
The video release follows a recent feature in Rolling Stone that announced Whitters’ new partnership with Big Loud Records / Songs & Daughters – Nashville’s first-of-its-kind female-driven label formed by Big Loud Records and BMI Songwriter of the Year (2019) Nicolle Galyon. Big Loud Records / Songs & Daughters will continue marketing and promotion of THE DREAM, which was originally self-released via her label Pigasus Records.
Whether she’s guiding patients to recovery as a trauma therapist or transporting audiences to transcendence as an acclaimed indie artist, Xanthe Alexis has devoted her life to healing others, and her extraordinary new album, ‘The Offering’ (out 8/21), is no exception.
Recorded in Alexis’s adopted hometown of Colorado Springs, the record pairs soaring melodies with lush, hypnotic soundscapes as it grapples with anxiety and strength, worry and comfort, heartbreak and hope. Hinting at everything from Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten to Julien Baker and Feist, it’s a deeply compassionate, unflinchingly honesty collection, one that finds Alexis baring her most vulnerable self in a timely and much-needed act of radical empathy and connection.
Keep an eye out for an upcoming spotlight from Seattle NPR station KEXP, and take an early listen to lead single “Compass” (out 7/21), which prompted American Songwriter to rave that “her voice is somehow burnt at the edges. Her melodies yellowed from years in the light. But there is something so fundamental about taking in the stuff word by word.”
Big Little Lions have spent the past few months writing and recording a brand new EP full of songs inspired by the current times. Are We There Yet? will be released on July 23rd.
Although these are much different times, Big Little Lions have been used to recording remotely - it's what they've always done!
Helen is based in BC and Paul is based in Ohio. With the lack of touring they dove into recording a new album and this is the result.
This week they released a video for their single from the album It's Amazing. Including a new video.
