Rebecca Aaron – “Stay Inside”
-I appreciate the atmospheric approach to Aaron’s music. I definitely find myself being pulled into the quality vocal style. The lyrics are thought provoking, even if they do seem to be about a specific relationship. If you’ve ever been focused on a person and then had that connection disappear, I think this song will resonate with you. It’s a bit of an esoteric blues song deep down inside. I think it shows a complexity we don’t often hear in this genre.
Amy Studt – “Let the music play”
-Amy Studt has an evocative style. Her vocal cuts through so much of the noise of the industry right now. The piercing top of her register is really incredible. The overall style of the song is one that encourages perseverance. This is a track about continuing on amidst the trials. Something about this song reminds me of Dodie Clark and I absolutely love it. I could listen to this one all day.
Gavin Haley – “96”
-If you’re looking for a pop track, you can’t do much better than Gavin Haley. The lead vocal is as rich as they come. The overall style here from Haley shows a sense of what pop music is all about. The lyrics are about loving someone long term, but beyond that the overall style is engaging and will have you snapping along. I can see this track making it to a lot of anniversary or date night playlists.
AFTRHOURS – “High School (Original Proposal Song)”
-The thing that makes a singer songwriter stand out is that they have to write good songs and sing them well. I mean, maybe that’s not all that complicated. But if a song itself has a cute (read adorable) story, then it can really be better. This specific track is outstanding. We try to choose music based on the music not the videos, but this one is wonderful with the video as well. The human emotion, the deep and sincere love here… honestly it’s contagious and beautiful. This is a great song and we fully support the love and commitment of these two.
Amber Kamminga – “Name of Love”
-We don’t always feature music with this kind of pop energy to them, but I’ll tell you point blank why I liked this song enough to approve it – the chorus is ROCKING. The message about teaching someone “in the name of love” is kind of a mantra for me as a career educator. Most of the time I choose music because I think our readers and community will enjoy it, but this one I picked because I personally love the inspirational energy behind it. If others want to join me in clapping along, all the better.
John-Robert – “Adeline”
-The articulate acoustic guitar work on this song will sweep you right off your feet. But I’m telling you now budget some extra time for this one because you’ll want to listen to it a few times. The vocal tone and phrasing complexity is really something to behold. Once the track gets rolling around about a minute in, I swear it takes on a powerful pop energy that we rarely hear. This should rocket up the charts in the way that folks flock to Passenger or David Gray. It legitimately has that kind of power.
