New Music Friday – Ep.12 – Vote in the poll to decide who wins a full album review

New Music Friday – Ep.12 – Vote in the poll to decide who wins a full album review

Each of these artists has an incredible amount of talent, so let’s give them all a fair listen. After clicking on each one, please vote in the poll posted below. The winner (after one week), will receive a full album review here on EarToTheGround Music. Please give them all a listen and share with your friends.

Paul Sweeney – “Daybreak”
-I hope you’re ready to start this off with a relaxing song. But please, don’t fall asleep. The layers of strings and the lead guitar all work together for a melodic and peaceful song. I can imagine this track being used in an office setting to keep people relaxed. I don’t know all of the technical terms for the type of composition that it is, but if you’re a fan of chill acoustic music, this is a great example.

Jared and the Mill – “Keep Me Going”
-This pop country group ducks into “folk” sounds here and there, but mostly are a killer country band. The harmonies on this tune can be outstanding and the lead is consistently good. The composition all comes together with one of those story-with-a-message kind of tracks. The energy ebbs and flows like old school Rascal Flatts. I really appreciate that they can have a high powered country song that manages to not feel too overproduced.

Nadia Marisa – “Summer”
-Nadia Marisa is a talented piano solo player. Her vocals have a clean, eccentric quality to them. It sounds like she has tons of experience singing, but she avoids the trap of sounding too theatrical. Somehow, she sings with conviction that pulls you right into the song. The piano part rises and falls along with the main melody line in several points. As the song picks up steam, you can hear a few cracks in the armor, which I really like. It feels raw and real. “We could dance together until spring…” The seasonal metaphor works really nicely and reminds me of some of my favorite music and favorite people.

Tangerines – “Long Way Home”
-I have this band labeled as “classic rock” although, really, you could call them a million different things as long as “rock” is in the title. So the opening line sounds like maybe there’s a level of pre-show inebriation happening… and then the harmonies come in to pull the sound together and smack you right in the face with awesome. A few of the guitar breaks throughout let you know this is no run-of-the-mill bar band here. These cats can really play. Although the eccentricity of the lead vocal may be a bit much for some people, he’s got a kind of Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) vibe to him, which is enough to check them out.

Twin Wild – “My Heart”
-The funny thing about Twin Wild is that I have them as a “heavy rock” band, although if you listen to the opener it sounds really ethereal and chill. Only after getting into the song for a bit will you hear the heaviness, but when it comes in you will be blown away. I don’t know a ton of heavy bands, but one popular heavy band that you might compare them to is Breaking Benjamin. They have that same sense of layered vocal harmonies behind heavy, arena-rock guitars. It’s the kind of music that really gets me pumped up, even if I don’t always follow the message of the song.

Black Lime – “Sucker Punch”
-This is some high energy rock. I can almost smell the smoke from the clubs these guys play. It’s gritty and raw and the graffiti on the walls is so offensive you have to take a picture. The music is the same way; the guitars are so good they’re almost offensive. The haunting vocal is part punk, part hard rock, and then the backing vocals lighten the mood to make the sound come full circle. It’s not quite light enough for pop radio, but it certainly is a palatable and enjoyable version of club rock that intrigues and entertains me.

Sedona – “Dust”
-The light and airy feeling emanating from Sedona’s sound is positively mesmerizing. I listened to the track a few times over, always finding myself sitting up in anticipation. The lyrics are not always discernible, but the overall feeling of the track is so comforting that it really grips the listener. The highlight are the layered guitars, feeling at times like a progressive rock band and other times like a jazz-influenced new age band. It all comes together for a sound that is sure to be ear-pleasing to fans of sophisticated rock.

Logan Vath – “Linen”
-If you clicked on this article because you think of ETTG as a folk blog, then you finally found the track for you. Vath’s sound is as real and authentic as any we’ve heard all year in the folk category. His style of clean, expressive acoustic guitar is worth listening alone. Then, when his slightly gruff, honest vocals chime in, the sound fills expertly. He’s got a touch of Ray Lamontagne in him and that’s pretty high praise. I can’t put it many more subtle terms than to say I flat out like this song. It’s one that I’ll put in my personal collection and will probably revisit Vath’s work again soon.

Mia Rose Lynne – “Colorado”
-This is a story about getting away. It’s literally about living happily ever after. And that’s a fitting theme for a voice that sounds like a princess. I know that sounds trite, but trust me I live with someone who is an expert on princesses. There’s a sweet and sincere quality in Lynne’s voice that resonates on each note. But what I like more than anything is the genuine prodding of the song’s main lyric “what if we moved to Colorado?” It’s about setting out, getting away, and making it. I find that romantic but also inspiring.

SONA – “Come Up for Air”
-SONA are a new soul duo that can just cut you right to pieces. We tell bands all the time that we cover “old school soul” and if you don’t really know what that means, well… listen to some Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Anyways, SONA are more of what we’d call “new soul” but they do it with impeccable style. Imagine an artist like Allen Stone or St. Paul and the Broken Bones. They have that kind of cutting, but beautiful crisp soul. It’s a love song and it has the potential to make you cry, fair warning.

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