New Music Friday – Episode 17 – Vote to Decide who wins a full album review!
This series has brought us some really talented musicians over the past several weeks. We’re excited to keep bringing more to you here. Please continue casting votes and sharing these lists to help these folks keep making music. If you feel so inclined, follow the link and buy their music!
Sorcha Richardson – “Walk Away”
-This track has a unique flavor that is simultaneously dark and enlightening. The brightness in the lead vocal is really captivating to me, yet at the same time the guitar is a bit dark and brooding. The blending when taken together is really cool. The downtempo indie rock feel of the song overall may not be the arena shaking style we often feature, but it is still artistic and satisfying.
Track4 – “Man Eater”
-We tell people all the time that we don’t cover electro music, which is mostly true. We rarely cover it, but songs like “Man Eater” are so innovative, we just have to feature them. Listen to this song and you’ll hear a familiar classic, interlaced with an intriguing new beat. The flavor and richness, including some impressive outside the box vocals, are really fun for something that genuinely breaks the mold.
Emily James – “Fools and Jokers”
-If you’re like me and you miss Christina Grimmie pretty much every day, then you really need to start following Emily James. She has a similar style of big vocals that cover over melodic ballads. This song in particular is about a bygone relationship. It seems like she has the ability to see the depth of emotion and capture it in pop vocal gold. It’s a gift, really, and I’m looking forward to following her more.
Spritely – “I Shouldn’t Need”
-This is a love song that will melt you with sincerity. While some love songs are all about gushy romance, this one is about “dancing with the devil” and being with someone who really is trouble. It’s a fascinating song that goes far deeper than it might seem at first blush. The stripped down mostly acoustic instrumentation and quality female vocal lead blends nicely for a sound that’s lyrically a bit too heavy for the coffeeshop, but would sound right at home there.
Branches – “Burn”
-Fans of ETTG are familiar with Branches since we covered them a few years ago. I (Greg) actually got to hear them live and interview them. They are pretty much exactly why we have a website. This singe “Burn” is really in line with the band’s poppy folk goodness. The sound pulls you in with quality melody and vocals. It’s a bit less jangly folk and a little more of a full electric folk sound. It’s infectiously good.
Modern Crusoe – “Feathers and Twine”
-Modern Crusoe are the kind of band that is exactly why we love writing about emerging artists. Their sound is familiar – a bit like Fleet Foxes – but with their own special blend of indie goodness. I didn’t bother to look up any pics of them, but they sound like they probably have amazing beards. The song plods along, in no hurry to get where it’s going, with poetic lyrics and thought provoking sounds. This is quintessential 21st century folk music.
Jessamyn Rains – “Land of the Living”
-My note on Jessamyn Rains says that she’s a Sheryl Crow singer songwriter. After listening to her again, I think that description holds up. I also think that’s a pretty big compliment to an emerging singer songwriter. In fact, Rains’ vocals really soar with the same kind of resonance that Crow’s did in her heyday. This song reminds me of the open road and the long stretches of solitude in the West. I think a lot of wandering souls will love this track.
August Hotel – “12 am”
-Something about August Hotel reminds me of what I really liked about Walk the Moon when I first heard them. The vocal here is a bit unconventional, but the sound comes together nicely especially with the group vocals. The sense of impending crisis in a relationship, the theme of the song, is one that is easy for listeners to connect. It might not be the kind of top 40 fodder, but it’s certainly fair game for the indie rock scene.
The Good Water – “See Your Light”
-Hey do you like The Beatles? Because if you do, you’ll like this band The Good Water. They have really killer bluesy riffs that sound like they could have come right off of the White Album. There are some harmonies here, too, that sound like vintage Beatles. You could play this track at a party and fool your own grandparents. The sound is almost exhilarating in the way it will bring back memories you didn’t even have.
Brie Capone – “Scars”
-This is a sophisticated love song from a protagonist who sounds like she’s been hurt. She has a dream and a hope that things will work, but she’s been hurt and that pain comes through in the music. The melodies are haunting, stunning even, and really absorbing. The vibrato on the vocal is believable, a bit more classical than most of the artists we feature, but still rewarding in the depth of its aesthetic.
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