The Japanese House - Something Has To Change
The Japanese House is the moniker of London-based singer-songwriter Amber Bain. If you are familiar with her writing style, you know that she has an uncanny ability to make indie electronica feel warm and welcoming. That's precisely the texture we encounter in her most recent single, "Something Has To Change." It's much more pop-oriented than her most recent record Good At Falling, which, track for track, feels more like a film score than an album. Bain's voice is subtle and soft but manages to carry a world of emotional meaning. Some of her lyrics are so concise that they feel more like journalism than poetry: "And it's the same girl who's giving you hell / And it's the same face / Your heart keeps breaking in the same place." This indelible quality makes her a whip-smart songwriter. As a listener, you know that the words she's chosen were meticulously procured for this track: they were thought about, loved and woven into the song.
— Hannah Lupas on October 4, 2019Lune Rose - Can’t Be Sure
Although it is only her second single, Lune Rose’s “Can’t Be Sure” is a sweet and mellow soundscape masterpiece. The dreamy alt-pop track narrates a long-distance relationship and the uncertainty it brings. In it, Lune Rose struggles to understand what her partner is thinking when their only interactions are through a telephone. In a voice so calm it’s almost eerie, she sings, “when I’m guessing all your emotions, I can’t be sure that this is real.” Although the narrator is unsure of where she stands, Lune Rose’s vocals are steady, echoing mystically throughout the song. “Can’t Be Sure” is at first carried by a few melancholic guitar strums but it soon expands into something cavernous, with each sound magnified and pulsating. Lune Rose is delicate, absorbing, pensive, and profound and although “Can’t Be Sure” is teeming with bewitching noise, it somehow emulates the lonely silence on the other end of a phone that we all know and fear. This hopefully only the beginning for the emerging artist, who is set to release her debut EP this fall.
— Brigid Moser on August 13, 2019Common Holly - Central Booking
Indie noir artist Common Holly’s newest single, “Central Booking,” is an immersive exploration of pain through dark and dreamy soundscapes. With a fusion of unique sonic elements and an arrangement that skirts traditional form, it’s the most experimental track the Montreal-based group has released so far. Delicate, reverberating guitars set the tone, supported by sparse but strong percussion and synths that sound like spaceships floating through the night. Edgy and vulnerable, the arrangement shifts from uneasy and otherworldly to hopeful with the gorgeous addition of urgent strings and classical piano, allowing you to ruminate in fear and discomfort long enough to set a mood but not long enough to make you feel like you’re drowning in it. Beautiful, ephemeral harmonies and a sweet vocal melody keep your attention fixed on the vivid lyrics, which evoke emotional pain through the description of the physical: “With a trash can full of blood and hair / You had to get yourself out of there.” Powerful and soft, “Central Booking” is the first single from Common Holly’s upcoming LP, When I say to you Black Lightning, due October 11 via Barsuk/Solitaire.
— Britnee Meiser on August 12, 2019Lykke Li - Neon
Neon lights shine the brightest at night, and love isn’t entirely different—those moments alone in the dark when everything slows down, are a relationship in its most intense state. This vulnerability is captured by Lykke Li's "Neon." Her latest EP still sad still sexy is a compilation of reworks and tracks that did not make it onto her last record and as she has described, hit harder long past when she's written them. With production from Kid Harpoon, Li’s lofty vocals and rapturous lyrics like “I'm down to get bruised” are the perfect recipe for sad, sexy, and subdued electro-pop euphoria.
— Ysabella Monton on August 12, 2019Boot - Heaven Is A Place In Queens
Boot is convinced the grass is greener on the other side. “Heaven Is A Place In Queens,” the opening track from the debut EP by the Brooklyn band is a gentle modern folk song about big little dreams. Singer Benjamin Carbone’s dreams are realistic—plummeting Millennial homeownership rates especially in a market as expensive as New York City notwithstanding—in their details, from hyperspecific references to individual intersections and exact down payment percentages all the way to wondering whether or not hypothetical children, once grown, will want to live in the old family house or rent it out. It’s a clever way to combine his past and his future, illustrating how the former informs the latter. Even when the song picks up, first with a steady stomp-and-holler folk beat and then with a frantic psych-rock energy, the unmistakable tenderness with which Carbone speculates ensures that the idyllic future he envisions is always at the forefront of this impressive debut.
— Daniel Shanker on August 9, 2019Loving - Visions
Loving dropped their most recent single “Visions” at the tail-end of last month. The track is a feel-good anthem for searching for what’s next. A lot of people think they know what they’re doing with their lives, but an open secret is that nobody actually does. Some people are just better at pretending that they have it together compared to others, an idea that mirrors the transparent lyrics—“I’ve got a vision / So clear in my head / it’s a strange kind of prison.” It’s impossible to not have the melodic pace wash over you with the current of soft instrumentation and gentle vocals. The track is the second release following the single “Nihilist Kite Flyer” that came out earlier this year. The British Columbia trio could be the northern counterpart to Detroit’s Bonny Doon and are consistent in delivering their combination of folk, soft pop that melds together in a way that can best be described as inviting, warm and comforting.
— Meredith Vance on August 8, 2019Kid Bloom - Lemonhead
“LEMONHEAD” is the shimmering, retro pop jam you’ll be blasting with the windows rolled down on blazing hot days. The song is the title track off of the new EP from Kid Bloom, the indie rock project of singer-songwriter Lennon Kloser. In “LEMONHEAD,” Kid Bloom drops you straight into an 80’s movie—right at the scene where the kids are cutting class to hit the roller rink or sneaking out to jump the fence at the local pool. The track features a dynamic array of crisp, nimble drumming, glamorous keyboards, and a theatrical electric guitar. Despite the fun-infused melody, Kid Bloom drops some hints that the song may be darker than it first appears. “It’s hard to explain / out on a bender / losing a day,” he sings over the electrifying music and if you’re not careful, you might shimmy right past the more ominous implications in the lyrics. Kloser keeps his energy sky-high for the entire track with captivating, throaty vocals that never waver in their confidence and the instruments follow his lead, staying upbeat and feel-good the entire way through. "LEMONHEAD" is the perfect way to end the summer with a bang and you can also find the full 6-track EP out now as well.
— Brigid Moser on August 8, 2019Molly Burch - Your Party
Molly Burch's smoky new single “Your Party” is a timeless, romantic ballad dedicated to losing love and finding yourself. Slow and sensual, the track sways to a catchy pendulum beat that emulates late-night loneliness under glowing neon lights. Close your eyes and you might imagine yourself in a hazy, smoke-filled 60s dinner club. Burch’s gorgeously husky vocal croons over a strong steel guitar and soft drums; soaked in reverb, the Billie Holiday-inspired arrangement feels intimate and evocative. There’s a gorgeous and emotional undertone of longing in the song, present throughout the lyrics and amplified in the track’s signature twanging guitar tone, that ensures “Your Party” will be one of the saddest songs you can’t stop listening to this summer—and you’ll love every minute of it.
— Britnee Meiser on August 7, 2019Devendra Banhart - Memorial
In the third release from his upcoming album, Devendra Banhart paints a painstaking picture of loss. “Memorial” is so weighed down in grief, it might be hard to take if not for the relief of the gentle strings, subtle piano, and simple, grounding guitar strums that play evenly through the whole track. Banhart speaks directly to his lost loved one, giving voice to the frustration of not being able to ask all of the questions you have after tragedy strikes. “Can you hear me? Did you mean it? Did you plan it out? Was it an accident?” Banhart asks, knowing nobody can give him the answers he needs. The heavy content easily stays afloat with the help of a waltz-like melody and Banhart’s delicate, though heartbreaking delivery. The single is part narrative and part prayer as Banhart moves from describing the hospital and the funeral to pleading to his lost friend, “I know it don’t work like that, but maybe you can take it back.” “Memorial” washes over you, conveying the numbness and heartbreak in the most gorgeously tender way it possibly can. This latest single is a wrenching lead-in to Banhart’s album, Ma, which will be out in September via Nonesuch.
— Brigid Moser on August 7, 2019Okey Dokey - Winnebago
Okey Dokey is back at it with their newest release “Winnebago.” Once again they’ve put together a vintage vibe using funky instrumentals reminiscent of folk mixed in with refreshing drops of psychedelia. A collaboration with Liz Cooper & The Stampede, a band that was also featured on their previous album, “Winnebago” is the pure embodiment of a summer love jam. Liz’s dreamy folk vocals coupled with Okey Dokey's shimmering guitar and heart-racing production is a match made in heaven that could go on forever and never get old. The song itself goes through phases of intimacy, building in tempo, going through lulls, and picking back up again. “Love like this is like a lazy river right unto the other side,” vocalist Aaron Martin sings as the song itself dazes its way over to pass off to Liz. This modernized folk duet is a quintessential taste of a sweet love grown old.
— Monica Hand on August 7, 2019Blood Orange - Birmingham
"Birmingham" is an explosion of artistic creativity by Blood Orange from his latest project, Angel's Pulse. Like so many masterfully produced tracks on this album, "Birmingham" is assisted by Ian Isaiah and the vocals and writing power of Kelsey Lu. Olympic-level vocals take this solemn gospel-inspired interlude to the next level as each artist lends their own unique take on a beautiful, short, and poetic tale of tragic loss.
— Jazzmyne Pearson on August 6, 2019