The Portland, Oregon based country-soul group The Delines have announced their third studio album, The Sea Drift, will be released on February 11, 2022 via their new American label home Jealous Butcher Records.
The stunning first single and opening track of the album “Little Earl,” is out today accompanied by a music video directed by Jordan Mosser. “Little Earl” is the perfect introduction to the sights, sounds, and characters that populate the vivid world The Delines have conjured in The Sea Drift, their most cinematic and visual album yet. Written by songwriter and author Willy Vlautin, and performed by lead singer Amy Boone, “Little Earl'' is a tender and moving song that manages to blend soul, country, folk and indie rock into a sound that feels warmly familiar yet totally unique. “Little Earl” is the first track from a collection of songs The Delines describe as “songs and stories found drifting up and down the Gulf Coast.”
“‘Little Earl’ was one of the first tracks I brought to ‘The Sea Drift’ rehearsal sessions, and as it turns out the one that helped create the sound and feel of the entire record,” Vlautin writes. “It’s a soul/Tony Joe White inspired groove, and Cory Gray’s horn and string arrangements set the cinematic tone for two brothers who get in a shoplifting-gone-wrong incident at a mini-mart outside of Port Arthur, Texas. I love songs that just drop you in the middle of a scene and that’s what we tried to do here.”
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| Photo - Bibian Bingen |
Ahead of the live dates, Someone shares the new video for album track ‘Empathy’. It is a song indicative of Someone’s debut album Shapeshifter as a whole, which weaves suave, cinematic psych-pop with an intimate, acoustic song writing style inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell, befitting of the album’s introspective themes of isolation, escapism, and mental health.
Someone describes ‘Empathy’ as “A track about feeling disconnected with the world around you.” A darker psych-pop song inspired initially by American politics (namely the horrors of Trump administration) but one which dispels its shadowy hues as the song climaxes, like the sonic equivalent of the sun shining through breaking clouds.
The video, created by Someone shows a statue-like figure who stands unchanging as the rest of the world is built up and broken down around it. It was inspired by the sculptures of Nicolas Party at Dijon’s Consortium Museum which appear as torsos rising from the floor in the middle of the room, as if they’ve been cemented to the ground. As Someone expands” I wanted the statue-like figure in the video to be buried in the ground. Like a tree, like part of the earth itself”.
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Toronto-based singer-songwriter Julian Taylor is releasing a new, standalone single today, a cover of a song called “100 Proof,” written by a friend of his, Toronto-based musician and award-winning music teacher Tyler Ellis. The single bridges the gap between Taylor’s next album, which is in the works, and his award-winning 2020 release, The Ridge, which scored him worldwide critical acclaim and eight award nominations in 2020 and 2021, including two Juno Awards, the Polaris Long List, and two Canadian Folk Music Awards, in which he won Solo Artist of the Year.
“100 Proof” is an allegory of a man and the love he has for his family and the pearls of wisdom that he leaves them, and Ellis wrote the song as an antidote to the difficult times of May 2020 as headlines spoke of Black Lives Matter protests, the pandemic, and social isolation.
“This song is a guide for somehow managing it all,” Ellis says. “Telling the truth about how you feel is ok; asking for help is ok and is not a sign of weakness. And, like Jackie DeShannon said, ‘let kindness be your guide.’ I wanted to acknowledge those internal struggles that everyone goes through and to say that you're not alone, you can reach out, and no matter how dire things seem there is hope.”
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Tidal Wave is a seven-piece art rock band known for their powerful soundscapes and diverse instrumentation.
Formed in 2018, the group met each other working and performing in the local live scene in Toronto. This eclectic group of songwriters was initially put together by guitarist and lead vocalist Connor Young who assembled guitarist Marco Carboni, guitarist and producer Marcus Retterath, drummer and keyboard player Mike Poisson, violinist and vocalist Joey Assaad, violinist Brittany Iwanciwski, and bassist Kyle Texiera.
Whether you are listening to their recorded or live material, the band meticulously layers it’s elements to give the music a full wall of sound with forward momentum. It is an ever present atmosphere composed of rich textures of guitars and synthesizers, with a delicate balance between soaring string lines and strong vocal melodies. The name of the band rather accurately depicts the overall tone of an unrelenting unstoppable force.
Tidal Wave evokes the melodic elements of indie rock bands like Arcade Fire, while creating compelling production-heavy ambient synth and guitar textures comparable to Godspeed! You Black Emperor and My Bloody Valentine. In 2020 they released their single “Our Silhouettes” on all streaming services and will be releasing their EP in the fall of 2021.
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