Eric Benoit – “Taos”
This building rock jam is off Eric’s sophomore album, due out January 26th. The delicate mix of gentle climbing instrumentation and the songwriter’s lulling vocals makes this track a must hear. “Taos” has a floating folk tune, but it also has a little bit of sky rock in its DNA. Bursting out of nowhere, we are surprised we have not heard his music before, seeing as it is incredibly similar to our favorite bands and genres. With that said, we are sure not to sleep on his brand of expressive art.
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Albee Blue – “Sunbeam”
This one is solid gold. The way the singer is able to bounce between funk, soul, and Motown, gives us goose bumps all over. The term “dream pop” is personified in the music of Blue, but it also has some incredible shoe gaze elements as it plays out and fades into the musical atmosphere. The guitar solo halfway in also gives us a taste of classic rock. If one song is capable of brilliantly capturing an artist and his or her diverse influences, then “Sunbeam” is that song. There is almost too much to love about this track and we cannot wait to see more activity from this diverse artist in ’18.
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Car Seat Headrest – “Nervous Young Inhumans”
We cannot be the only ones nervously waiting for new music from this quintessential indie artist. When we found this in our musical inbox, we smiled, hit play, and danced with reckless abandon. The prolific Will Toledo, who is now on Matador Records, is set to re-release his 2011 release Twin Fantasy on February 16th. Toledo mentions the benefit of having a “bigger budget, a full band in fine form, and endless time to tinker . . .” as reasons for the new release. We have loved the music he has produced for a while now, and cannot wait to hear it with fresh ears.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NPATRzaF00]
