James - Spud Cannon - Jen Fodor ft Nadia Vaeh - Seafoam Green - Megan Wyler - The Speed Of Sound

James - All The Colours Of You (Album)

UK alternative band James have released their new album All The Colours Of You. James will perform tracks from the new record and many more from their rich catalogue live this summer, across festival dates in the UK and Europe.

James’ sixteenth  studio album, All The Colours Of You was recorded in part before the Covid pandemic struck and is produced by the Grammy award-winning Jacknife Lee (U2, REM, Snow Patrol, The Killers). Matching the energy of the lyrics, Lee brought a fresh approach to James’ sound, working remotely from his studio with Booth (Lee’s Topanga Canyon neighbor) and liaising in a daisy chain with fellow band member Jim Glennie, reimagining their demos, and capturing the band in all their virtual glory.

The result is a record with the most fresh and festival ready tracks of their 39-year career, the sound of one of Britain’s best bands, deconstructed and reassembled by one of the world’s most renowned producers.

Since their breakthrough single in 1991, “Sit Down”, James have released fifteen studio albums, selling over 25 million copies in the process, and performed countless headline shows and festivals across the world. Many in the US will know James from their 1993 hit “Laid” which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, was featured as the theme song to the American Pie movies and has appeared numerous times in film and tv over the years. They continue to be a huge live draw, having sold 60,000 tickets for a UK arena tour scheduled for this November and December; a tour which has sold faster than any previous James tour. Their last US tour dates were a 2019 sold out, national run of shows with the Psychedelic Furs.

James · All The Colours Of You

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Spud Cannon - Lovely.

NY-based group Spud Cannon are sharing "Lovely," the final single off of their forthcoming new album, Good Kids Make Bad Apples. I was hoping you might get a chance to check it out and consider featuring it in some way.

Ari Bowe (keys, vox) shares, "When I wrote this song, I thought of it as the song I would write if my (then) boyfriend broke up with me. Funnily enough, I completely foreshadowed the end of that relationship -- my ex broke up with me barely a month after I wrote “Lovely.”

The verses are all about wanting to go back in time, not understanding how to move forward, and the what if’s that inevitably run through your head. The chorus came together pretty easily. During the writing process, Meg used the word “Lovely” as a stand-in before we had lyrics, and I ran with it.

That word inspired the song, and the bittersweet vibe of the instrumentals pushed me in the direction of a breakup song. But it’s also uplifting in a way: You’re going through a painful process following a breakup, and you feel consumed by the loss you’re feeling, but you know it hurts so badly because of how lovely the good times were."

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Jen Fodor - "Front Row" feat. Nadia Vaeh.

Howard Mordoh, 69, is a retired clinical laboratory scientist, a southern California native, and possibly the world’s biggest concert enthusiast. He has been a notorious fixture of the Los Angeles music scene for decades, attending five to eight concerts per week since the 1970s and always dancing to his fullest. Easily recognizable thanks to his long white hair and spirited dance style, Mordoh’s love of live concerts spans genres and venues just as long as he can keep dancing. "Howard Mordoh is a one-man dance party, always ending up in the ‘Front Row,’” Fodor explains. “This song captures the joy he exudes when dancing to live music.” With the cancellation of live concerts in 2020 due to COVID-19, Mordoh has had to get more creative to keep dancing.

The process for the song started in Henry Ingraham’s home studio because safety protocols were still in order due to COVID-19, but as the city of Los Angeles slowly reopens, they were finally able to get together with Mordoh to shoot a video for “Front Row.” The music video was directed by Jen Fodor, who also produced and directed the documentary alongside Scott Sheppard. For the music video, Nadia Vaeh, who co-wrote the song with Fodor and Ingraham, compliments the song's retro beat with her glittery gold tracksuit while she belts out catchy pop lyrics. The rest of the band is also decked out in 80’s flair, including Howard Mordoh, who dances his way to the front of the stage. As the song peaks, the band is joined on stage by Fodor and Mordoh, resulting in a full-blown dance party.

The “Front Row” music video is a reminder not to take life for granted. This is indicated by seeing how happy Howard Mordoh is throughout the video to finally be dancing to live music again. Nadia Vaeh and Jen Fodor want listeners to continue to remain hopeful and optimistic about the future of live music.

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Seafoam Green - For Something To Say.

Americana-folk-rock force Seafoam Green continue to impress with the third single from the LP, ‘For Something To Say’.

‘For Something To Say’, is the opening track of ‘Martin’s Garden’ and instantly pleases with fuzzy jam-band grit and sunshine harmonies, oozing with guitar solo twang and expansive organ vistas. It’s a rollicking journey through the band’s retro influences, flecked with their own unique twist that encompasses Americana influences and the band’s roots in Liverpool and Ireland with a nod to modern folk-rock bands like My Morning Jacket, Band Of Horses and Deadstring Brothers.

On the new single Dave O’Grady says, “For Something to Say is a glimpse of things we have seen/thought and experienced on the road; be it USA or Europe, a new story unfolds in front of us everyday and it's quite the adventure!”

“We are an old school “road band”, we love to travel and spread our music”, he explains “…plus it’s the only way we make a living…“Ive see the sun set twice today” is how it can feel when you’re on a 1,000 mile drive between shows but you've gotta to make it!”.

“I burn my feet for something to say”, - touring and travelling (especially squashed into a hatchback with gear for months) can be very hard on the mind and the body but we do it to gain and share our experiences through our music.”, O’Grady expands.

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Megan Wyler - Upside Now.

Singer/songwriter Megan Wyler has announced her first new album in eight years Upside Now, to be released July 9, 2021. Wyler has also shared the album’s ethereal title track “Upside Now” along with a video featuring dancer Indiana Woodward and directed by Goldmond Fong (Katy Perry, Maggie Rogers).

“This collection of songs is a cycle of seeking and finding - often with an unexpected outcome, but catharsis nonetheless,” says Wyler. “I am expanding/digging, coming to terms with untimely death, experiencing deepest love, emerging from heartbreak, lighting the fire of resistance, celebrating female solidarity, passion, fury, the cosmos. Lighthearted stuff like that."

A California native, Wyler released her 2013 debut Through The Noise while living in London. The album was praised by the likes of Nowness, Songwriting Magazine, Indie Shuffle who described her sound as “incredibly moving and luscious,” and Clash Magazine who called her music “subtle, delicate and very beautiful.” Closely following that album’s release, Wyler had a young son with a number of demanding medical needs. “It was my honour and privilege to make him my priority,” says Wyler. “Being a mother is and always will be my first job ahead of anything else.” During this time, Wyler found herself in a bit of a creative “freeze-over” as she calls it. “It was like I could see songs, ready to be born, but I couldn’t access them somehow.”  As things calmed down at home, however, her creative freeze began to thaw.

Now Wyler is returning in full force. Earlier this year Wyler shared Upside Now’s first single “The Calling”. The song was featured on a number of top Apple Music playlists including New Music Daily, New In Alternative, and Wax Eclectic, and was used as the opening title music of the new Amazon Original Series Tell Me Your Secrets.

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The Speed Of Sound - Replicant / The Melancholy Rose.

Now in their 4th decade, Manchester UK’s underground music veterans The Speed Of Sound return to the Big Stir Records Digital Singles, again displaying two vastly contrasting  sides of their own distinctive, distilled and deeply recognisable tones:

Replicant: Driven by acoustic guitar and exuding a joyous hip-swaying bouncing beat. Replicant playfully asks questions about the very nature of human existence. Offering a foretaste of the themes of the upcoming full length album. Here too, The Speed Of Sound draw heavily from their Science-Fiction influences. While Replicant seems to inhabit the same universe as Blade Runner it also carries another message from the corporate world. Where modern job interviews appear to have evolved into some kind of reverse Voight-Kampff Test; instead of designed to detect replicants, the purpose is to determine if the applicant has unfortunately retained any human characteristics, or will - as hoped - mechanically follow scripts and instructions. Do Androids dance to analogue music? We don’t know, but point your arm and shout along with the chorus.

The Melancholy Rose: Shimmering summer pop for shaded people; languid open and drifting, a gothically tinged piece of romanticism lies atop a sparkling guitar riff and a tale of the first rose of the year to bloom. Ahead of its time and alone, but merely the trailblazer showing the way and heralding the coming change. A celebration of the sudden bursting open of summer itself and an invitation to tune out from the background white-noise of civilisation and relax. To exist in the moment and enjoy the things around us. The Speed Of Sound are known for their power, yet this displays their soaring delicate side. Guest vocals are provided by one of pair a blackbirds that nested (and successfully fledged four chicks) among the dense honeysuckle and ivy of John A’s back garden during lockdown.

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Stephanie Erin Wittmer - dawn-Song - Alyssa Joseph - Mia Baron - Steve Paul Simms - Julia Bardo - Spud Cannon

Stephanie Erin Wittmer - Pilot.

While the name Stephanie Erin Wittmer might be a new one amongst fans of modern country music, one listen to her debut EP Pilot reveals songwriting and vocal chops on par with seasoned professionals. Recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas, TX with Jeff Saenz and Beau Bedford at the helm (known for their impressive output with the likes of Texas Gentlemen, Paul Cauthen, Ruby Boots, David Ramirez and more), Pilot merges 90s country influences with modern folk-pop flourishes that make for an inspired journey along open roads and past tumbleweeds, “only stopping for good views” — or news, depending on the chorus.

Equipped with metaphors aplenty, Wittmer takes her musing about relationships full circle in “The Great Ones,” comparing the rarity of an epic love to that of an epic song. “All of the great ones don’t come that easily / It takes a little patience and some fine tuning,” she affirms. She tackles self-discovery and finding solace in the aptly-named title track, dives headfirst into a fast-moving crush on “Always Been a Sucker,” and explores heartache and pain in EP standout “The Difference.” Repeated listens to the short yet spirited collection might recall such iconic voices as Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, and Shania Twain, but fans of modern Americana faves such as Margo Price and Dori Freeman will find something amongst Pilot’s four tunes to love as well.

Growing up in small-town, rural Illinois, Wittmer was exposed to country music and performing at a very young age; she recalls putting on performances for her parents when she was three or four years old. Like many children, she took piano lessons, wrote poetry in her journal, and then finally thought to merge the two when she was a teen. Her post-college life took her to LA, and the road from there to her present sound has been a winding one. Before going back to her roots or “finding the flame” that she once knew, as she sings in the EP’s title track, she teamed up with some friends for a bedroom electronica project and also spent some time writing singer-songwriter tunes on the piano. “I had all these ideas for songs, that I just had to get out … too many,” she says. “I started writing all these country songs and realized I really love this genre."

A fan of Bedford’s work, particularly with Paul Cauthen, Wittmer recalls meeting him while visiting family in Texas and reaching out to him with demos. He responded favorably, which led to the two discussing working together, and ultimately Bedford assembled a rock solid band that knocked out the four songs in just a couple of days, recording live with minimal overdubs. The EP features the talents of McKenzie Smith (Midlake) on drums and percussion; Texas Gentlemen Charley Wiles and Scott Lee on guitar and bass, respectively; and Parker Twomey (Paul Cauthen) on piano and organ. Esteemed pedal steel player Will Van Horn’s embellishments put a flawlessly-placed bow on the glowing, fresh, rootsy package, with instrumental touches that add just the right flair to Wittmer’s sweet-yet-sassy vocal stylings.

Stephanie Erin Wittmer · Pilot

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dawn-Song - Heartbeats of my Son.

"Third tune from my album "for Morgan" released on Ffynnone Recordings at the end of May 2021. A song attempting to convey the depth of feeling looking into your newborn sons eyes for the first time, the overwhelming joy and the impulse to introduce him to your own father who is no longer alive. The video fillmed and edited by Jose Carballal inhabits the songs sentiment perfectly. A meditation on, nature, time, and the dialogue between generations."

Released physically via Ffynnone Records on the 28th of May, 'For Morgan', the beautiful debut album by Dawn-Song will be available on Limited Edition Vinyl and Compact Disc.

Come with us on an epic journey from Dark to Light, an extraordinary tale of total excess to finding ones inner calm, a musical time-capsule 'For Morgan' is an audio letter from Father to Son. Welshman Nick Evans originally from Penarth, South Wales found himself in the centre of London's consuming Music Business in the 90's. His Elemental Records a pioneering Label was home to Alabama 3, Rocket From The Crypt amounst others.

"I made an album of my songs with some wonderful collaborators over the last couple of years. When I’m gone I wanted to continue to be able to sing for my son Morgan if he needed me. My father published a small book of poetry before he died and if I’m missing him a lot I read a bit of it and I feel reconnected. I also wanted to make something my mother could enjoy. So the record is for Morgan" - Nick Evans AKA Dawn-Song

"When we were young We dreamed of creating a better future We Screamed, We Shouted We Loved, We Lost But We Lived Sometimes Together, Sometime Apart And Now I hear my friend talking from a future to his son I hear my friend imploring the world to do and to be better I hear the same song with a different sound I hear the Byrds, I hear Crass The shoutings gone, replaced with fragility and love I hear dawn Song" - Ffynnone Recordings

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Alyssa Joseph - easier.

Indie-rocker and self-identified “grungy sadgirl” Alyssa Joseph released a deliciously creative lyric video for her song “easier”. .

From bagels to baked beans, the lyrics in the video are made entirely from diner breakfast food! The lyric video, created by videographer Max Sternlict, reflects the meaning and lyrics of the song in a distinctly unique way. The song is about a relationship that neither member is truly willing to exit, as it opens with the lines “We say that it’s breakfast, nothing more. Even though I know you want an open door so we meet at different diners.” Holding nothing back on this garage-tinged rocker, Alyssa Joseph presses her powerful voice and growling guitars to describing someone struggling to swallow the lies they tell themselves to get through the day.

Alyssa Joseph opened up about the meaning behind this gut-punch of a song, saying  "easier is a nod to my New Jersey roots and just an honest song where I call out an ex and myself. We’d meet up once a month at diners after we dated to keep the door open since that was easier than finding someone new. Writing this song forced me to take a hard look at how I cope with heartbreak and isolation." The lyric video, which only came together last-minute, started with writing the lyrics in ketchup and moved on to other breakfast foods in an ode to Jersey diners. Describing the process of creating the video, Joseph says, “not everything happens for a reason, but nothing is a mistake.”

A New Jersey native and recent East Nashville transplant, Alyssa draws influence from contemporary songwriters like Julia Jacklin, Sharon Van Etten, and Big Thief. Prior to the pandemic, Alyssa had spent the last few years cutting her teeth touring up and down the east coast, where she became a familiar favorite at Sofar Sounds in NYC, Philly, Boston, and DC. Pairing carefully candid guitar playing with intensely confessional lyrics, Alyssa finds power in her own vulnerability. Her writing is tender and honest, even blunt at times, but always deeply personal - proof that she’s still figuring it out, just like the rest of us.

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Mia Baron - Hide And Seek.

Focused, fearless, and fierce. Mia Baron is a 13 year old force to be reckoned with. Not only is she an outstanding young songwriter but she has already one several singing competitions in her short life, most notably one of which was recorded by the “Reel T.V.” network and judged by Shawn Desman. Yet another first prize award was presented to her by the Toronto City Mayor John Tory and other noticeable city council members.

In November 2019, Mia was honored to perform at the Israel Cancer Research Foundation at the prestigious Koerner Hall in Toronto alongside other incredibly talented singers such as Tony Vincent, Yvan Pedneault, Stacy Kay, Justin Guarini, with whom she sang a beautiful duet.

Another project Mia was humbled to take part of was producing and recording an original Hebrew song written in honour of a Fallen IDF Soldier. This video, following Mia’s interview, made its debut live on Israeli Prime Time News programming in July 2020.

Mia will be releasing her original song Hide and seek in May 2021, and will be releasing several other originals she has written these past few months, with Matt Kahane and Quin Kiu, in the near future. Mia is excited to keep the momentum flowing into 2022 and beyond.

Mia Baron · Hide And Seek- Mastered JCarv MB06APR21

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Steve Paul Simms - No Money Comin' In.

Raw, real, and authentically blues, “No Money Comin’ In” is the latest confessional from Canada’s own Steve Paul Simms.

With “No Money Comin’ In,” the blues riff conquers your groove, willing your body to move. Available now, the grungy rock and blues anthem is a toast to a commonality we’re all facing in the height of this global pandemic — a lack of the benjamins. And Simms bets it all on this track, getting right to the heart of the matter with the truth —  the good, bad and ugly of it all.

“Written at a challenging time, when love ultimately won out over financial hardship, the song allows the listener to imagine their own ending to the story,” Simms explains, adding that the track is “dedicated to the triumph over life's hardships.

“There's a lot of light and laughter here too.” A travelin’ troubadour with a melody on his sleeve and a song on his heart, Simms is a natural-born performer with a knack for telling stories that humanize life experiences in ways we all understand. Born in Wales, Steve Paul Simms’ repertoire refutes the boundaries of genre; the singer/songwriter fluidly intertwines his tracks between pop, ragtime, jazz, blues, soul, country, Broadway, and old-fashioned rock and roll.

For more than 20 years, Simms has spent his life spinning yarns, performing on stages as both an actor and a musician. He boasts a collection of more than 200+ written tunes across his tenure of performing arts, and has honed his craft through years of busking, contributing to the Tranzac Club in his now-hometown of Toronto, private and public concerts on Zoom, having performed in more than 60 theatrical productions across Canada, and more. “No Money Comin’ In” is the latest to land from Steve Paul’s fourth album, Ingrid and the Messenger Boy — a 12-track collection of fables, homages, and testaments to the human experience, pop culture, love, and everything in between.

Recording in Toronto, Simms brought together a host of talent to flesh out the track; the song boasts Bob Cohen on guitars and bass, organ and piano from Ed Michael Roth, drums by George Morellato, moaning vocals compliments of Chantale Groulx and Linda Elaine Lucas, in addition to SPS on lead vox and rhythm guitar. “Nothin' will ease your mind like money — poets are paid to tell lies,” croons Simms, and that’s how to tell fact from fiction. A musician ready to bare it all, and lay our crosses out to dry. Steve Paul Simms isn’t here for poor excuses. He came to gamble on the richness of a song that paints the picture of our times.

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Julia Bardo - Do This To Me.

Manchester-via-Italy singer, songwriter and guitarist Julia Bardo has shared her new single and video Do This To Me, which follows recent single release It’s Okay (To Not Be Okay). She has also announced her eagerly awaited debut album Bauhaus, L’Appartamento will be released on 10th September via Wichita Recordings and shared details of a new Autumn headline tour, which is on sale now.

Do This To Me is like losing yourself in a daydream. An introspective song with personal lyrics about growing up, its charming and laid-back melody builds to a lush and emotive alt pop chorus with a catchy refrain. The video, directed by Georgie Brown, sees Julia glamorising a mundane routine and losing herself in another life.

Julia says; “Do This To Me is a very personal song about feeling abandoned, growing up and family.”

Julia’s debut album follows the release of two EPs, Phase and The Raw EP, both released last year, which saw her experiment further with her wistful and mysterious sound to become the alternative pop artist she is today. Whilst Bauhaus, L’Appartamento will mark her first full length release and the finale of this part of her musical journey, it is also just the beginning for the authentic and curious talent that is Julia Bardo.

With her candidly open lyrics illustrating her world through journal-like observations and poetic visions, her debut album is an intimate and expressive body of work. Named after the apartment complex she lived in when demoing the album’s recordings, but with an Italian twist, it features previous single It’s Okay (To Not Be Okay) and new single Do This To Me and can be pre-ordered here.

“The album is a collection of emotions and feelings; loneliness, solitude, separation, but also unconditional love. Family, emotional dependency, mental health issues, feelings of emptiness and numbness, feelings of not being enough, inability to be in control of my own emotions, self-doubt, self-reflection, past traumas and dealing with them.”

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Spud Cannon - You Got It All (NOT).

NY-based group Spud Cannon are debuting "You Got It All (NOT)," the lead single off of their forthcoming new album, Good Kids Make Bad Apples.

Meg Matthews (lead vocals), “This song DROVE ME CRAZY!!! I spent hours singing along to the voice memo in my car to work out the melody, and even longer trying to figure out lyrics back in Summer ‘19… After trying night after night by myself, I had pages of loose lines, rhymes, and ideas, but it took a group effort with Lucy and Ari to actually solidify anything.”

Ari Bowe (keys, vocals), “Since we collaborated on this song, I followed Meg’s lead when it came to the concept behind the lyrics. To me, it’s about these back-and-forth feelings for someone who is lovable yet stubborn and difficult to deal with. Kind of like an internal conflict between caring for this person while also grappling with their inability to be emotionally mature.

Jackson Walker Lewis (guitar), “Instrumentally, this was by far the one we spent the most time on…The song in total is just a hybridization of many influences—for the intro, I wanted to draw inspiration from “This Charming Man”/”Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” whereas the verse mimics the sequence from The Jam’s “A Town Called Malice”…While it felt like a wrestling match the whole way through it, I refused to give up on it because I fervently believed it to be the indie magnum opus of the album, almost a crystallization of all we had done previously.”

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Simone - We Were Promised Jetpacks - Spud Cannon - David Climaco Garcia - Dag

Simone - everything/nothing.

New York’s Simone is revealing the 3rd song “everything/nothing” from her upcoming pure pop love lessons EP which will come out this summer. At 16, after releasing her first alt-pop track "Kissing Strangers" earlier this year and she revealed “Boy Of My Dreams”. Simone writes with a cinematic eye here, capturing the rough edges of modern relationships in vivid detail.

Simone explains the song: “everything/nothing” tells a story about a young love from its beginning to its end. In the chorus, I play with the clichés of teen romance by contrasting them with the anxiety and pain that comes along with it. On the surface, the song is a classic love story, but there are a lot of underlying messages about the pressure and confusion that comes with being a teenager.”

At 10 years old, her worldview opened up to become a performer when she sang 2 self-written songs at an open mic in Nashville, TN. Needless to say that from an early age, New York-based Simone has set her vision on sharing her love for music. “Kissing Strangers”s arrangements are sonically rich to match, mixing radio-ready pop hooks with indie rock grit and singer/songwriter intimacy. “Kissing Strangers” is a buoyant, brilliant earworm exploring the rise and fall of young love in all its exhilarating, heartbreaking transience. About “Boy Of My Dreams”, she said: “it’s a song I wrote after ending a relationship that really damaged my perception of love.”

Born and raised in New York City, Simone first fell in love with Broadway as a youngster. By the age of ten, she’d already appeared in a slew of musicals, and by the time she hit middle school, she was writing her own songs and performing regularly at New York open mic nights, such as Sidewalk Cafe. It was at one of those early performances that Simone caught the attention of a New York-based producer, and soon she found herself recording in a proper studio and making waves across Spotify and social media. With a mix of mesmerizing performance clips and down-to-earth, straight-to-camera videos documenting daily life, she quickly went viral on TikTok (247k followers), racking up millions of likes from fans around the world who could relate to both her unabashed ambition and dry, self-deprecating sense of humor.

Simone’s musically diverse songwriting styles from acoustic teary to pop bops will be part of her upcoming full love lessons EP this summer. Besides writing, she hosts a weekly podcast Is This Thing On?.

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We Were Promised Jetpacks - If It Happens.

Heralded Scottish rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks share brand new single ‘If It Happens’, and announce a 7” featuring the track to be released via Big Scary Monsters on June 29th. The new track signifies a change in musical direction for the band. ‘If It Happens’ is all at once grand yet restrained – sonically reflective of its lyrical examination of the bigger picture of life and how that can be boiled down to a simple phrase; “If it happens, it happens.” Lead singer Adam Thompson explains:

“I feel that ‘If It Happens’ expresses a lot about what I had been trying to get across to myself. It was all part of my new mindset of trying to be more positive about what I have and not always thinking about what I don’t. It’s about embracing the idea of happiness, doing what you can to encourage it and generally be a lot more ‘c’est la vie’ about everything. If it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. What can you do?”

Since releasing 2018’s ‘The More I Sleep The Less I Dream’, We Were Promised Jetpacks’ Adam Thompson, Sean Smith and Darren Lackie have embraced change head-on. Amicably parting ways with founding member Michael Palmer the following year, they knew they would likely need to go through a sonic transition.

Entering 2020 as a trio with a handful of songs written and a successful US tour under their belts, the world around them came to a sudden halt. Yet despite the unquestionable uncertainty that the lockdown brought, it also proved to be a blessing in disguise. Fifteen years into their career, the trio are more focussed than ever.

With versions of this song being passed between the band members remotely, they found the collaborative process engaging and rewarding. “Writing together this way allowed us to stay in contact all the time, talk about the song and what we were individually and collectively trying to achieve with it. Even though we were unable to be in the same room, this way of working allowed us to create together and communicate more directly,” says Adam. “Having music to focus on during lockdown assured us that we wanted to keep writing songs together for many more years.”

“We’re all very appreciative of the people who are listening to us,” Darren says. “It pushes us to keep getting better.” Nodding to both the band and their ever-loyal fans, Adam agrees. “It is very much our band, and we do this because we can do it together.”

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Spud Cannon - Supersonic.

"Supersonic" is the second single off of Spud Cannon's forthcoming LP, Good Kids Make Bad Apples, out June 25th via Good Eye Records.

Recorded as a part of an all-nighter, one-take, not-campus-approved sessions on a squash court at the band's now alma mater, Vassar College, "Supersonic" captures the band's family dynamic

Ari Bowe (keys, vocals) details; "Since the girls write all the lyrics, we always end up writing about the guys in the band. It’s almost like a rite of passage, and for us it’s a fun way to get our feelings out there. There are a lot of songs about Jackson, but this song is Ben’s debut as our subject!

It’s about us all being worried that Ben (with his newfound party persona) would get himself in more trouble than he could handle. Hence 'Good luck doing time for a big smile.' The lyrics definitely embody a sort of cheeky warning to our beloved Ben.

While he was pissed at first, he came to understand where the lyrics were coming from, and the song is now one of his top tracks from Good Kids.”

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David Climaco Garcia - Down By Her Riverside Home.

David Climaco Garcia announces the release of the gentle Americana tune, “Down by Her Riverside Home” on May 6. Built on a traditional Irish ballad song structure, the single provides an interlude from grief through the comforts of nature. 

The single was released exclusively on Bandcamp in honor of Earth Day. Before the official May 6 release, proceeds will be donated to the non-profit wilderness advocacy group, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.  The single is off the album, Between the Devil and Me, due out this summer.

Written about the upper Gila River that flows through 45 miles of pristine wilderness, it tells the story of a widow who lived on the river with her daughter, who was lost in a tragic accident. Soothing vocals and instrumentals mimic the woman wandering the river’s banks, trying to find solace and commune with her lost child amongst the trees. 

An open, droning sound and a signature Celtic fiddle part played by Garcia’s wife, Nikelle Garcia, contributes to the interminable sadness at the intersection of life and death. Alex Mcmahon (The Handsome Family) contributed pedal steel remotely.

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Dag - Big Plans (Little Hands).

Hey hey! Spirits rejoice! It’s a new Dag album. And something is going on here - there’s a new Dag in town. It’s that thing when singer/songwriter Dusty Anastassiou walks on stage, talks into the mic and the room just kinda melts ‘cause everyone knows this guy has got us all covered - he’s with you and of us and he sounds at peace with the crumbling passage of your day.  Well, it’s that thing, but beautifully recorded for posterity and spread across two platters of vinyl (yes two!) to warm the cockles of your broken heart.

But it’s much more too. Lifetones in the key of three - a band that’s so snug you don’t even notice there are three of them. These pups are from the same litter. They’ve got the group-think glue, Dan Ford and Dave McMillan sewing it all up seamlessly with the Dust. But you still want more! That’s the beauty of recording songs - you can have a bit more, and it’s all here friend. Field recordings of a distant storm, Nicole Thibault’s trombone, violin from Lily Tait, casiotone tinkly bop courtesy of Stefan Blair, spot-on extra vox from Liv Jansz and Francisca Castro-Merino, plaintive keys over a decaying mumbled voice - that lovely double album stretch-out.

"Big Plans (Little Hands) is about the joys of falling in love, finding peace and comfort in connecting with someone completely — and the false promise of escaping your self through someone else. Who better to represent these complex emotions than our friends the teddies?" - Dusty Anastassiou, Dag

As you read this, Dusty is most likely somewhere near a small town called Munduberra, and there’s no mistaking this album is an Australian record - think The Cannanes circa Randell Lee (or indeed Ashtray Boy) via rural Queensland and you might have a starting point musically. Maybe there is some regional AM country radio in here? I wouldn’t know. I do know Dusty used to take long drives through the deep Australian night with his Mum while Harold Budd played on the car stereo. So there’s a bit of depth beneath the mystery of Dag. “The sad old planet has seen better days" sings Captain Dusty - but as Albert Ayler let us know, music is the healing force of the universe. So get a dose of Dag in your day!

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Vök - Carley Arrowood - Spud Cannon - Zoe & Cloyd

Vök - Lost in the Weekend.

Icelandic trio Vök have shared the bold and cinematic video for their dynamic new single Lost in the Weekend, which is out now through Nettwerk Records.

Following the release of their acclaimed 2019 album In the Dark, which was written and recorded by the band in collaboration with producer James Earp (Bipolar Sunshine, Fickle Friends, Lewis Capaldi), Vök have been nestled away in their Reykjavík studios working on new material. The result is some of their most atmospheric work yet and Lost in the Weekend is an early taste of their progressive alt-pop sound.

Based around a semi-autobiographical character, Lost in the Weekend focuses on the ease of over-indulgence when you’re living in the moment and the purposeful loss of a sense of self. Mixed by David Wrench (Frank Ocean, Goldfrapp, The xx), it builds playfully, launching into a bold chorus, which musically echoes the meaning behind the song. The video, directed by Einar Egils, portrays the story of a man who loses himself in the weekend to celebrate who he is and conveys an overall message of everyone accepting who they are and being who they want to be.

Lead singer Margrét says; “With the video for ‘Lost in the Weekend’ we wanted to focus on the importance of showing your true self and letting one’s inner personality come out. Whatever you are on the inside, don’t be afraid to show it. Let’s celebrate our diversities.”

Through their unique and lushly layered sound that blends electro and indie with forward-thinking pop and a self-assured aesthetic, that is just as striking as their sound, Vök continue to cement their position as one of the most exciting alternative bands right now. Following two critically acclaimed albums, Lost in the Weekend is just the first musical moment in an exciting year for Vök, with further new music announced soon. Vök are Margrét Rán (vocals), Einar Stef (bass/guitar) and Bergur (drums).

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Carley Arrowood - My Kind of Nightlife.

Following the demonstration of her fiddle virtuosity on the instrumental “Ducks On The Millpond,” Mountain Home Music Company’s Carley Arrowood returns to form with a strong vocal performance that builds on the success of last year’s “Goin’ Home Comin’ On” by offering a different angle on a similar theme.

Written by producer-bassist Jon Weisberger and Music Row hitmaker Jenn Schott, “My Kind Of Nightlife” gently contrasts crowded downtown streets and “cafes and honky tonks full of sound and light” with the glow of lightning bugs “dancing in the air” and “the call of the nightbirds.” “That’s my kind of nightlife,” Arrowood sings with a self-assurance born of her own experience and preferences, while the song’s relaxed tempo, lush harmonies and subtle instrumental backing all combine to transport the listener to the chorus’s front porch swing and an idyllic night in the country.

"It was a fun day getting to write this with Jon,” recalls Schott, whose long list of credits includes cuts by Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Mickey Guyton, Pam Tillis and the Eli Young Band. “I’m so thrilled Carley recorded it — and her singing and playing are both fantastic!”

Backed by the same crew that recorded “Goin’ Home Comin’ On” with her, including Steve Martin Banjo Prize and five-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year recipient Kristin Scott Benson, Wayne Benson on mandolin, Daniel Thrailkill (guitar, harmony vocals) and her sister, Autumn (harmony vocals), Arrowood sings and plays not just skilfully, but with an interpretive sensitivity that belies her youth and suggests that she’s already a fully mature artist.

“‘My Kind of Night Life’ paints such a beautiful picture of simplicity,” she enthuses. “It captures the very essence of nostalgia and, for me, reminds me of my childhood with every line. I grew up on a dirt road in western North Carolina, and my summer evenings were spent barefoot in the backyard, playing endless pretend and catching lightning bugs with my sister and brother with nowhere in particular we had to be.”

“During the pandemic, and especially now that I’m planning my wedding,” she notes of her recently-announced engagement to Thrailkill, “I’ve come to cherish the nights when my whole family is home together, and I look forward, Lord willing, to the days when I can raise a family in the same way: running barefoot in the yard, catching lightning bugs, and just simply loving the life that God gives us.”

Syntax Creative · Carley Arrowood - "My Kind of Nightlife"

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Spud Cannon - Juno.

Today, Poughkeepsie rockers Spud Cannon are sharing "Juno," the first single off of their forthcoming LP, Good Kids Make Bad Apples, out June 25th via Good Eye Records.

Recorded as a part of an all-nighter, one-take, not-campus-approved sessions on a squash court at the band's now alma mater, Vassar College, "Juno" captures the undeniable energy of a night out on the rails with your friends.

"It was the spring of 2019: we were on the verge of breaking up," the band's Jackson Walker Lewis detailed to Consequence of Sound. "I was on the verge of graduating, and we had no budget for a third album. After every legitimate venue on campus was booked up, we opted instead to throw a secret show in the squash courts at the suggestion of Lucy, who thought the court’s location would make it easier to evade security.

The show sounded terrible, but during our ‘soundcheck’, I thought the court sounded magnificent. I’ve always adored the Beach Boys wall-of-sound style, and suddenly the mere thought of recording an entire record in the squash courts consumed our imaginations.

That summer, we’d hang out at Meg’s house in Poughkeepsie, write, party, and on the final day of each ‘mini-vacation’, head to the courts. We’d wedge a door, wait till after closing time, and then sneak in with all of our gear and record from 12am-6am before they opened in the morning. We wanted to capture our live sound, so we recorded together, sans metronome, and decided we’d need to get pure takes of each song.

While some came easy, 'Juno' was arguably the hardest. It took two separate nights, and I think in the end we did something like 70 takes overall to get one we were happy with."

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Zoe & Cloyd - Chestnut Mountain.

Despite its distinctive flavor, the appeal of bluegrass music is broad enough to have gained fans literally the world over. Still, direct, personal ties to the music and the communities in which it originated can lend an extra dimension to a performance, and just such a connection underpins the latest single from Organic Records’ Zoe & Cloyd.

With its themes of memory and the losses created by suburbanization and rural dislocation, “Chestnut Mountain” is a moving tale that’s all the more compelling for being based on John Cloyd Miller’s family history — one that not only embodies the lyric’s themes, but connects to bluegrass’s earliest days through his grandfather. Jim Shumate was not only the inheritor of the family’s Chestnut Mountain homeplace, but also a one-time fiddler for iconic bluegrass artists Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs — in fact, it was he who brought Monroe and banjo legend Scruggs together in late 1945, paving the way for the explosive musical combination that created bluegrass itself.

"‘Chestnut Mountain’ is a song I wrote about our family homeplace in Wilkes County, NC,” says Miller, who sings lead on the song. “My late grandfather, bluegrass fiddler Jim Shumate, was born there in 1921. There is so much history on that mountain. When I was young, the whole area was relatively remote and undeveloped aside from a few almost impassable roads. Later, a developer came in and tried to get my grandparents to sell their part, but to no avail. To my grandparents, that land was priceless. I'm so thankful that they held out and that my cousins and I have this place to share with the next generation.”

“I remember Grandpa saying he used to hear his Uncle Erbie playing fiddle from across the holler when he was a boy,” he continues. “When I'm up there, I always try to imagine what it was like for him growing up there. I picture the cabin, the farm animals and the garden, and I always listen for the sound of the fiddle wafting on the breeze."

Deeply nostalgic, yet precise in its sentimentality, “Chestnut Mountain” matches the elegant minimalism of its words with a sensitive ebb and flow in the harmonies and instrumental backing from Miller (guitar), Natalya Zoe Weinstein (fiddle, vocals), banjoist Bennett Sullivan and bassist Kevin Kehrberg. With its empathetic solos, delicate touches of dialogue between vocals and instruments, and a finely tuned build-up that culminates in an emotional, alternating repetition of the narrator’s basic wish — “I want to go back in time” — that’s echoed by the rise and fall of unison lines from banjo and fiddle before the final, restrained closing, this is a performance that exemplifies the authenticity that lies at the heart of Zoe & Cloyd’s music.

Syntax Creative · Zoe & Cloyd - "Chestnut Mountain"

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