Lydia Luce - Dark River
Each day this week, Nashville-based folk singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lydia Luce offers insight on tracks from her sophomore album, Dark River. Follow along as she intimately details her songwriting process in her own words. Photo by Betsy Phillips.
I wrote this song with my dear friend Raven Katz. This song is about not letting people take away my energy. Raven and I lived together for a year and she knows me better than most. The song talks about habits both good and bad. Sometimes when I am depleted of energy and running myself into the ground I give more than I should. I am learning that I have to take care of myself and recharge before I can show up for others. I know that when I give myself alone time especially in nature I am able to recharge and fill up my cup. This is something that works for me because it forces me to listen to what’s really going on in myself without the external noises from around me. I value my time spent in solitude. — Lydia Luce
— on April 30, 2021PRINCESS NOKIA - SOUL FOOD Y ADOBO
In the quest for cultural empathy, one of the most essential immersions into learning is, plainly, food. But, this song is much more than just a listing of various foods, it is an invitation into the heart of Puerto-Rican American culture. Leading us in with playful keys, Princess Nokia’s “Soul Food Y Adobo” is a celebration of her Puerto Rican heritage. Starting out with a punchy first verse: “You need to season your chicken, we ain’t like them folks in here”, Princess Nokia assures us that we are being invited into the arms of a flourishing culture with deep interconnected roots in spirituality, food, and lifestyle. “Soul Food Y Adobo” is a song that will leave you craving the warmth and comfort of home, and food that could never be bland.
— Laney Esper on June 23, 2020serpentwithfeet - This Hill
"This Hill" is a miniature masterpiece off of Apparition, a new EP by serpentwithfeet— Baltimore-born Josiah Wise. This song is like a Fabergé egg—covered in intricate details, a glow emanating from within, a multitude of secrets held within its simple shape. The foundation is a prepared piano and a humming chorus so delicate and precise. A touch of bass, a few notes plucked lightly on a harp. And Wise’s stunning falsetto vocals singing about his heavy steps up the hill to a place of serenity. “Some days I wanna run,” he sings. Then the chorus comes in, a layering of Wise’s own voice that sounds like heavenly angels in a church choir led by J.S. Bach. “What is the matter? Don’t get no sadder. I’m better now,” the many voices sing, in a Baroque-inspired vocal arrangement. "This Hill" draws on influences clearly grounded within the traditional Western canon but still sounds current and so very resonant. After all, aren’t we all climbing our own hills, day after day, searching for that lightness in our feet that will allow us to just run?
— Mikhal Weiner on June 22, 2020TORRES - Too Big for the Glory Hole
“Too Big for the Glory Hole” is said to be partially inspired by Florine Stettheimer’s painting The Cathedrals of Wall Street, a nod to New York City’s secular shrines. It’s a song about loneliness, and wondering whether you’re cut out for this world and all its capitalistic energies. “I want you to love me forever,” repeats Mackenzie Scott, who performs under the moniker TORRES, in a clear but controlled tone. Despite the minimalist production, it’s an outro that holds weight. It’s simultaneously intense and delicate; it feels private but declarative. It edges into holy terrain.
— Corinne Osnos on June 22, 2020Arlo Parks - Creep
Coming off the heels of her single "Black Dog," Arlo Parks' cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” hits differently than the original. In fact, it feels like a B-side to "Black Dog"- a view from inside out rather than outside in. The song sounds a lot like self-dialogue. Solo piano and vocals fill a cavernous, empty sounding acoustic space. No additional harmonies, vocals, or instruments. No call and response. It’s just Parks’ beautifully expressive voice accompanied by carefully controlled piano arpeggiations. Simultaneously delicate and resolute, she effortlessly transplants the lyrics into a new context. It no longer sounds like a song about yearning for another person and feeling disgusted with yourself. It is wrestling with the fantasy of who you would like to be, superimposed on your own actual body. It’s the song you hum to yourself while staring in the mirror at 3 am, brushing your teeth, and trying to decide if you’re glad you went out. You had fun, you think, but it’s also a relief to come home to your own bed, alone.
— Allison Hill on June 22, 2020Clarence James - But Naw
I was hooked by Clarence James’s track “But Naw” from its jazz-infused opening chords. The Austin-based guitarist, songwriter and producer melds hip-hop, jazz and indie rock influences into a laid-back style animated by excellent guitar work. This track exemplifies his ability to repurpose established chord progressions in a fresh context—a process he calls “stealing chords from dead jazz musicians”—which makes it feel simultaneously classic and innovative. The arrangement is fairly stripped-back, and the seamless interlocking of the guitar and drums serves to highlight James’s musicianship and lyrics. “But Naw” describes shifting allegiances and mistrust with humor: “Should’ve known when she got them bangs she was changin’.” The frustration here is evident, but the chorus is punctuated by defiance when James sings, “I don’t give a shit ‘bout what you say,” and the song cracks wide open. “But Naw” is included on Clarence James’s debut LP, Fucked Me Up, out today on Bandcamp. In recognition of Juneteenth and the movement for Black lives, all proceeds from the LP during its first week on the platform will be donated to Black Lives Matterand Austin Justice Coalition.
— Siena Ballotta Garman on June 19, 2020Jessy Rose - Bloom
"Bloom" by Jessy Rose is a satisfying and cinematic track full of saucy chromaticism. Rose’s voice rests tantalizingly on leading tones, building tension and release that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The verses show off the song's jazzy piano ballad base which delivers goosebumps and sounds reminiscent of John Legend. The chorus is augmented by a blend of synthetic effects and syncopated percussion that gets increasingly dense as the song progresses. Meanwhile, Rose’s voice slides effortlessly in falsetto and swoops back down to cradle in the middle of the piano line. By the time you reach the end of the 2:50 minute track, you feel like you’ve sat through an entire feature film. Suddenly, you notice that you haven’t had a single thought about anything else for almost 3 minutes. Bloom’s dense chromatic universe—simultaneously subverting expectation and resolving with a sense of inevitability—absorbed you completely. Now released, you feel ready to emerge from the dark theater—blinking into the sunlight and feeling slightly changed.
— Allison Hill on June 19, 2020Ntu - Gaslight
A delicate elegy, "Gaslight" is a stunning new offering from Ntu. It opens with a stutter, making us check that our headphones are working, but yes, they are, it’s just Ntu ushering us into his world of uncertainty. Each layer of ambient sounds—metallic whooshes and creaking floors—is laid down with the precision of a painter adding soft strokes to an intricate canvas. We are in the haunted house of Ntu and his lover, each daring the other to “gaslight me, then leave." It’s a world of pleasure and pain. The electronic kick drum is the slow beating heart of the lovers who want to make something work even while enjoying the dysfunction: “my love can hold you down / it’s like a million birds / around your neck, dead / weight, don’t leave me.” Ntu’s voice melts into the soundscape, a hushed whisper-song coming at us in all directions, then singing in tandem with the other vocalist with simple but luscious harmonies. We are subsumed, and we love it.
— Mikhal Weiner on June 19, 2020Zilo - Tell Her
London-based artist Zilo’s latest track sings as a diary page that has been left open on purpose. “Tell Her” is an open-letter plea to a lover to let go of an ex, while also offering the reflection that she should just trust her partner and let it go. Jealousy is a tricky emotion and Zilo’s exploration of this conflicting feeling is heightened by the sultry R&B bass grooves and staggered percussion leading us through her thoughts. Produced by Bowtye, the smallest detail of delicate chimes in the background sound eerily similar to a text tone and give the listener a tinge of anxiety similar to what you might feel if you were worried about a partner and someone they’re talking to. A slowed edit of the song was released alongside the original, which gives Zilo a more androgynous tone that seems exhausted by the stress of the unknown. “Tell Her” is the third single in a string of soulful releases from Zilo this year.
— Beck on June 19, 2020Asi Kemera - Oh, Honey
I find that, ultimately, I am happiest when I yank myself out of my thoughts long enough to peer out of my apartment's living room window. This time, it's like playing the childhood guessing game I spy as Asi Kemera's "Oh, Honey" crackles and pops over the sound of the embers burning the logs inside of the rustic fireplace. I spy happy people holding hands. She spies the sunset. I spy a snowstorm. Mid-sway, my green tea starts to sing to me. Suddenly, I am no longer in my apartment. I shuffle off my mortal coil. I'm in the song's stems. It feels better here. Asi's song is a truth that waits for me like a patient angel. It tans under the light of my youth, fans off with the chill of my days. When I open my eyes again, I reclaim my person. I don't remember living in the stems. I sway to the song until I grow tired. I sit. The fire dwindles. The snowstorm's eye winks down at me from the atmosphere. I don't touch the dial, so why the song sounds louder now escapes me.
— Mustafa Abubaker on June 18, 2020Post-Modern Connection - Drowning
Genre-defying indie quintet Post-Modern Connection truly has their own thing going. On “Drowning,” the Kelowna, BC-based band covers as much ground as their diverse international origins, which include Nigeria, Lebanon, Taiwan, and Canada. One thing that jumps out is that the band works exquisitely well together; like any effective coalition, everyone brings their own superpowers to the table, but crucially, no one member is the star. Lead singer Tega Ovie and bassist Steven Lin provide the doo-wop core of the track; meanwhile, Georges Nasrallah bounces between dream-pop and psychedelia in his guitar parts, Cam Wilks has a jazzy lilt to his drumming, and violinist Mitch Howanyk adds a hint of folk-rock. Perhaps the real accomplishment is that you don’t notice on first listen how many genres the group is pulling from. “Drowning” comes across as a strikingly cohesive, easy, and relaxing listen from a band with a clear, unique vision.
— Karl Snyder on June 18, 2020