Joy Oladokun and Adekunle Gold Find Spiritual Release on “Sage”
LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ve found myself searching for spiritually positive music lately, not necessarily music that preaches or promises easy answers, but music that somehow leaves a little more light in the room than it found. There was something about Joy Oladokun’s “Sage,” a…
Rivkah Reyes Steps Out of ‘School of Rock’ With “Menace”
LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ll admit it. When I first saw the press release for Rivkah Reyes’ new single “Menace,” there was one line that immediately got my attention: “School of Rock’s Katie goes from bassist to frontwoman.” Wait. Katie? I had to look up…
Good Neighbours Get Intoxicated by Infatuation on the Undeniably Fun “Mary Jane”
LOS ANGELES, CA- There are songs that demand a little time before they reveal themselves, and then there are songs that make their intentions known almost immediately. Good Neighbours’ new single “Mary Jane” falls firmly into the latter category. Within the first listen, I…
New Translations Chase a Feeling on “Modern Lovers”
LOS ANGELES, CA- There’s something especially satisfying about a song that makes you wait for it. For nearly the first minute of New Translations’ “Modern Lovers,” the Nashville quintet keeps things remarkably restrained. A steady kick drum establishes the pulse. A simple bass line…
Scott Holiday Rips Into a New Chapter With HOL1D4Y’s “Autonomatic”
LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ve been following Rival Sons since 2009, when Before the Fire introduced me to a band that sounded like it had somehow discovered a direct line back to the guts of rock and roll without simply trying to recreate the past….
Miles Caton Finds Strength in Vulnerability on “Lean On”
LOS ANGELES, CA- “Lean On” is my introduction to Miles Caton. That probably puts me a little behind the curve considering the year he has been having, but there is also something refreshing about encountering an artist without much in the way of preconceived…
The Haunt Deliver Another Banger With “Seasonal Depression”
LOS ANGELES, CA- There are songs that demand careful unpacking, and then there are songs where the first reaction pretty much says everything that needs to be said: this thing is a banger. The Haunt have delivered another one with “Seasonal Depression,” the latest…
Andy Grammer’s “All I Want Is You” Was the Song I Needed
LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ll be honest. My spirit has been a little dampened lately. There have been some things going on in my life, some relatively small and others considerably larger, that have weighed on me more than I would like. Nothing I particularly…
2hollis Returns With “Hurt,” a Glitch-Fueled Electronic Banger
LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ll admit it: it took me a while to come around on 2hollis. His music never struck me as immediately accessible, and I wasn’t sure I fully understood the appeal at first. But every so often an artist releases a song…
Meg Lui’s “Elvis Queen” Is a Beautiful Introduction to Instant Validation, Produced by Sufjan Stevens
LOS ANGELES, CA- I wasn’t familiar with Meg Lui until this week. Although she’d already released two singles from her forthcoming debut album Instant Validation, “Gone Girl” and “Dreams,” it was the announcement of “Elvis Queen” that finally caught my attention. The reason was…
