Jae Jin – “Book in the Cloud”
-Like clockwork every few weeks we get a new submission from Jae Jin. Here’s the thing, though, we can’t quite him. We don’t even want to quit him! He’s delightful. Just listen to the harmonies on this track and tell me you’re not melting right there in your seat. Jae Jin has the lightness of pop music and the timelessness of Simon and Garfunkel folk music; there’s no one like him in music right now and we’re thrilled to feature him here.
Andrea von Kampen – “Portland”
-Von Kampen is one of those artists we’ve covered a few times because she is extremely talented. The clarity in her vocal will win our hearts every time. Then you add the cool production elements like an organ and some easy going Americana backing instrumentation and… total swoon. She’s singing about a place I’ve never been in a region I want to visit. This is like a siren song in flannel; I can’t wait to hear it live.
Bri Clark – “Giving Up”
-One of the comp artists in Clark’s material is ETTG darling Ben Abraham. When we first heard her voice, we said “absolutely!” to that comparison. Some might call this pop music, but it’s also about as core a folk song as you can get. If it didn’t have the atmospheric keys and had an acoustic guitar instead, it would be 100% folk. Anyways, the heartfelt lyrics and flawless vocal performance here have us looking for Clark’s US tour as soon as she announces it.
St Pete Holland – “Yours and Mine”
-I actually didn’t include this song on a few other possible lists just because I wanted it to be in the right kind of company. I am totally rooting for St Pete Holland to take off. I am hoping to cover the full album because they’re just so freaking good. “Do you still get high on my memories?” I mean I’m not sure that’s the lyric, but I think it is. I love the sentiment here. If you’ve ever looked back on a defunct relationship and kind of missed it even though you know it’s for the best… I mean… just listen to the damn song and sing along on the chorus.
Sean Della Croce – “Rebecca Henry”
-This is a love song. I love this love song. I love the love that this love song describes. I love the writing, the melody, the clarity, and the sheer brilliance in the composition. It’s also unbelievably hopeful in a really not-so-hopeful time of life. Please listen to this and share it with your best, beautiful friends.
