Flyte - Easy Tiger
WHEW I love Flyte. They're a three-piece British band with my heart in their hands. Their debut record The Loved Ones felt like a secret I kept between me and the band, an Easter egg in an 8-bit video game I revisited again and again, continually charmed and surprised. It's a gorgeous, passionate, musically beautiful album, which rounds out with an acapella cover of "Archie, Marry Me" by Alvvays. I think about it all the time. It's desperate and haunting. It's one of those covers that hops in your bones. But enough about their LP (but for real, open your window and listen to it), I'm here to tell you about "Easy Tiger."
"Easy Tiger" is a break-up track. It's a predator with a thorn in its paw. It's brought low, it's humble, it's sad. It's brilliant for all of that. Will Taylor has a giant vocal register, but he is so subdued on this track, the emotionalism is totally carried by the instrumentation. The music is anxious in "Easy Tiger," while the melody is steady, rhythmic and calm. It's the embodiment of trying to keep your cool while you see an ex at a party: on the surface, you're collected, inside you are an ocean.
Give Flyte the love they deserve today. I reckon a new record will be dropping soon from them, so listen to The Loved Ones and their 2019 EP White Roses after you give "Easy Tiger" a spin.
— Hannah Lupas on May 28, 2020DJ ST THOMAS - FODDER
“FODDER,” the debut single from New York-based electro artist DJ ST THOMAS, is a dynamic, experimental pop song with an infectiously funky beat. The track effortlessly pieces together a mishmash of sounds to create a psychedelic jam with an earworm hook. Lush with bright, groovy synths and tight, island-like percussion, it bops to a pulse that flows easily with DJ ST THOMAS’s laid-back vocal as he sings about love and complacency in the age of social media. The production is crystal clear and razor-sharp, resulting in a sound that’s full and immersive without feeling too loud or overbearing. Abstract and rhythmic, “FODDER” should top all your summer party playlists. Look out for his EP, MATRIMONY, later this year.
— Britnee Meiser on July 24, 2019Julien Chang - Of the Past
Nineteen-year-old Julien Chang’s debut single, “Of the Past,” is an artful blend of genres and sounds. Reflecting Chang’s music theory background, the sprawling arrangement seamlessly merges pop melodies with psych-rock riffs, disco/funk, and transfixing jazz instrumentals for an immersive and surprising listening experience. Deep, wavy synths wash the song in a hazy glow as a classic rock guitar and funky bass line introduce Chang’s vocal. Breezy and smooth, the timeless doubling effect is reminiscent of a younger Tame Impala. The vocals are brief, occupying only the first third of the song; the rest of the time, the music does the talking. Perhaps most striking is the sweeping classical piano solo in the bridge—the messy wide-scale run has an unrelenting persistence that reflects the tonal freedom of the rest of the song. “Of the Past” is complex and original, and it signifies a deep understanding of the science of music.
— Britnee Meiser on July 23, 2019Florist - Time Is A Dark Feeling
“Time Is A Dark Feeling” is an emblem of the holistic incandescence that surrounds all creative endeavors of Florist, or Emily Sprague. This track is the second released from her upcoming LP Emily Alone, which is a departure from the Florist project, and in turn, a new submergence into self-reflection. In Sprague’s ever-thoughtful lyrics, there is something ancient being unearthed in terms of recognizing the oneness, as well as the multivalence of the self, which is reminiscent of, American poet, Adrienne Rich’s piece “Diving into the Wreck”. Of her exploration, her hushed voice sings: “Look through to see somebody / You knew and now you don’t”—gracefully brushing, her fingers through the passing of time that we all feel in separately, but know together.
— Laney Esper on July 22, 2019Molly Drag - Out Like A Light
When someone you love causes you pain, it hurts until it doesn’t. Montreal-based artist, Michael Charles Hansford, who creates under the moniker, Molly Drag, realizes the weight of dealing with his own dark nostalgia on his latest single, “Out Like A Light.” As the first track from his upcoming record, Touchstone, we find a piece that moves like a steadily rocking boat—it’s swirling guitars offset by a relaxed, tittering rhythm. Hansford mentions, “While I was recording this album I started thinking about my hometown a lot, the small places within, the parks where I would smoke with my friends after school, the water that surrounded us always.” With the addition of sprite overdubs and subtle synth tones, Hansford creates a pool of gloom that is reminiscent of prior love and given life by the breath of the lyricism. “Out Like A Light” is the heart of Touchstone, which is set for release on October 4 via EggHunt Records—the track's natural beating is sure to unveil a record with a striking awareness, a gift to his past life.
— Deanna DiLandro on July 22, 2019Oyster Kids - Work It Out
In what can only be described as a watershed moment of peace-seeking in the on-going BK/LA indie scene feud, we here at The Wild Honey Pie are happy to premiere LA-based pop outfit Oyster Kids newest single, “Work It Out.” Know that while prideful of our BK-roots, we remain, first and foremost, humble servants of tasty indie jams. Thus, we are more than happy to extend the olive branch by linking up with Oyster Kids to bring you this tastefully saturated bopper. My intuition is that this song would pair nicely with a ride to the beach in a mid-80s Mercedes Convertible. It’s been about three years since the upbeat popsters released “Gum (Everybodys My Friend)." But now we’ve got “Work It Out,” their third single of 2019, to go along with “Breathe” and “Losing My Mind,” both of which trickled onto streaming services earlier this year. The kids are back.
— Devon Sheridan on July 19, 2019Caroline Polachek - Door
Since Chairlift disbanded in 2017, Caroline Polachek has stayed busy working on a myriad of projects and collaborations, but “Door,” released via Columbia Records, is the first-ever single Polachek has put out under her own name. The track is an ambient and gorgeously eerie creation that has you feeling at times like you are suspended in a house of mirrors. “Door” features some of the same bewitching elements that Chairlift always delivered, but in it, Polachek pivots away from some of the peppier aspects and leans wholly into more atmospheric tendencies. The versatile artist counters the sharp synths and throbbing bass with her piercing vocals that glide easily over the swirling music. Listening to Polachek’s enchanting voice, you feel swept away in a romance that you don’t even realize you’re not apart of. Polachek’s music has worn many faces—Chairlift, Ramona Lisa, CEP—but this latest iteration of her work, in all of its glittering ambiance, feels akin to reading a fable or watching the stars. The track has been teased as the first single off of an upcoming album, although it’s hard to imagine it gets any dreamier than this.
— Brigid Moser on July 19, 2019Modern Diet - July 4
If you haven’t yet, it’s time to get familiar with NYC indie-pop band Modern Diet—after a 2-year hiatus, they are back and flooding 2019 with new tracks to play back-to-back-to-back. After their EP release in March and putting single “Dizzy” out on June 28, the band quickly followed up with their latest single, “July 4,” released, naturally, on July 4th. The song is a rambunctious follow-up to the dreamier “Dizzy” and keeps you on your toes the whole way through. The song starts out on a fairly standard drumbeat and some head-bobbing guitar strums. But we quickly realize how crucial the drums are to the movement of the track as they shift seamlessly into stick-tapping ditty before billowing into a muted marching band anthem, played appropriately under the chorus lyrics, “and Uncle Sam is getting old, getting ready to explode.” The song at once creates anxiety and propels you through it with dynamic but nearly imperceptible shifts of tempo and rhythm. The instruments build quickly and intensely then dip out as the vocals slow down, humming out “ooh’s” and “mmm’s” briefly, then pick right back up. A sense of impatience hangs over the whole track, evident in the repeated, “Told you so is ringing like a dial tone,” and as it wraps up, song screeches to its peak frustration and comes to an abrupt close as it finally hangs up the phone.
— Brigid Moser on July 18, 2019Brittany Howard - History Repeats
You may know Brittany Howard as the powerhouse vocalist at the helm of blues-rock group Alabama Shakes, but on her debut solo track “History Repeats,” her performance is softer (though still not soft), subtler, and much more personal. It was released along with the announcement of a debut full-length titled Jaime, named after her late sister who taught her how to play the piano, and due out Sep. 20 via ATO Records. “History Repeats” is the opening track on the album. Funky and immersive, it’s quick to differentiate its sound from any of Howard’s other projects. A drumline pound coupled with a punching, urgent kick drum and psychedelic guitar open the track, evoking a sense of persistent unease over a smooth groove. Howard’s vocals are washed out and doubled as she sings about the exhausting inevitability of repeating old mistakes, adding to the hazy, twirling effect of the arrangement. “History repeats and we defeat ourselves / Come on everybody, one more time again,” she sings in the chorus, repeating the line over and over. The song ends on an audible phew from Howard, whose enormous effort fuels the song with a contagious vigor. Clocking in at just over three minutes, “History Repeats” shows an impressive display of growth from one of indie music’s strongest female voices.
— Britnee Meiser on July 17, 2019Ritt Momney - (If) the Book Doesn't Sell
Ritt Momney's track "(If) the Book Doesn't Sell" is a poetic fever dream in autotune totality. A half-ballad lament of religion long-forgotten (and evidently resented), the Mormon-raised Ritt Momney uses colorful storytelling to communicate his ongoing frustration with the worldview he was raised in. Though sung through an auto-tuned filter for the entire track, his vocals are somehow mesmerizing and very compelling. The conviction of his tone isn't lost because of this but is actually amplified by the auto-tune affectation. The message of Ritt Momney's "(If) the Book Doesn't Sell" seems evident and can be summed up simply by the lyric "The Devil speaks / Your God and I put all our differences to rest and the man's actions are his own, but man will blame us nonetheless." The artist is pleading to be taken seriously as he endeavors to determine his own beliefs regarding the divine and pleads with other kids being raised in religion to ponder their independence and humanity in a similar way. It's a song of genuine yearning and struggle that many coming-of-age types can relate to.
— Hannah Lupas on July 16, 2019Darcie - Modern Day Housewife
Up-and-coming singer and multi-instrumentalist Zigi Porter, who operates under the moniker Darcie, strikes an inimitable balance between subtlety and spaciousness with her minimalist songwriting and maximalist production style. The eclectic, Manchester-based solo artist’s recently released track “Modern Day Housewife” captures the essence of what makes her both a no-nonsense storyteller and a mystical tour de force. The song is an artful, left-of-center rumination on the life and unbending expectations of millennials. With down-to-earth yet unapologetically honest phrasing like, “We are we are / Cosmetically / Replacing our brains” Porter points to the ways in which our obsession with constantly improving our outward appearance is rapidly contributing to our inevitable demise. Although this phenomenon affects each and every one of us, female and feminine-identifying people often feel a certain pressure to build up these fabricated, social-media-constructed personas. That being said, Porter doesn't use any gender-specific language other than the term 'housewife' which she adapts in an all-inclusive way. Porter’s lyrics might appear overly critical on the surface, but it’s important to keep in mind that as a young millennial woman she is highlighting problems that she herself faces. “Modern Day Housewife” is a communal effort to help us all understand ourselves in this current day and age a little better. Darcie’s ethereal, lo-fi pop-soul sound is truly genre-bending and impossible to classify—there is nothing else like it. Look out for Darcie’s debut EP Conversations with a Hot Dog due for release at the end of July.
— Andrea de Varona on July 15, 2019