Jul 31, 2022

Jul 25, 2022

Big Thief • Tiny Desk (Home) Concert • 2022



Bob Boilen | July 20, 2022
I love seeing friends playing comfortably at home, especially when those friends are members of my favorite band. What we see in this Tiny Desk (home) concert is playfulness substituting for the intensity that I normally find in Big Thief on a big stage. This band has made many of my best-loved albums in the past few years, beginning with its 2016 debut Masterpiece and including its 2022 double-album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. The first three songs in this set all come from that album and were written by singer Adrianne Lenker, with "Certainty" co-written with guitarist Buck Meek.

Big Thief songs are often filled with tender tales and poetic and playful words. I can say the same for Adrianne Lenker's many solo albums and for Buck Meek's 2021 solo album, Two Saviors. Drummer James Krivchenia produced Big Thief's recent album and also a 2020 ambient album of his own, A New Found Relaxation. Max Oleartchik plays upright bass for this intimate acoustic set on the top floor of a house in "windy Connecticut."

There's a bit of a "hold on to your hat" feel here, with players watching each other for a possible surprise. Maybe it's James Krivchenia's banjo percussion, the galloping rhythm on "Certainty" or how the four musicians sing aloud on a chorus; it is so much fun to see it all unfold. The final song was the biggest surprise; it's an unreleased song Big Thief has been performing, appropriately called "Happiness."

SET LIST
"Change"
"Dried Roses"
"Certainty"
"Happiness"

MUSICIANS
Adrianne Lenker: vocals, guitar
Buck Meek: guitar, vocals
Max Oleartchik: bass, vocals
James Krivchenia: percussion, vocals

Jul 19, 2022

Jacklen Ro • "Life With You" • 2022




"'Side By Side' is a dreamy ballad with ’60s doo-wop sensibilities. Throughout the single, Jacklen Ro deliver shimmering melodies, upbeat percussion, and soft, sweet vocal lines."
- Indie88

"A song about a love being tested by distance, Jackie Giroux and Caelen Perkins have once again delivered a single with a lyrical twist that gives pause"
- Country Queer

"Opening with sweet acoustic guitar lines and soft, buttery harmonies, ['Time Bomb'] slowly builds into an anthemic indie rock tune. It’s a pretty stunning energetic, yet angsty ballad that’s sure to get you singing along."
- Indie88

"Sweet, nostalgic"
- Brooklyn Vegan

“The song has a dreamy, child-like quality that is immediately endearing.”
- Adobe & Teardrops 

 “Truly a breath of fresh air”
- Country Queer

Girlpuppy • Wish • 2022



"Playful and easygoing, as [girlpuppy] paints a hopeful summertime daydream...if anyone's pandemic sidehustle sticks I hope it's [hers]."
NPR

"One of indie folk’s most promising newcomers...her knack for lyrical scene-setting and gossamer melodies that seem to hang in the air like the scent of a freshly baked fruit pie."
NYLON

"A breezy ode to less-than-effotrless love" 
FADER

"Destined for stardom. Her debut EP Swan features heartfelt serenades and bouncy indie rock jams that make her irresistible, and her delicate voice is simply magical."
Paste

Jul 18, 2022

Green/Blue • Paper Thin • 2022


The dark and dreamy halftoned realism of Green/Blue comes into near-perfect focus across 'Paper Thin'. Ever the prolific recording duo, Jim Blaha and Annie Sparrows are back with their third album in as many years, following previous releases on HoZac and Slovenly. Their Minneapolis basement studio has yet again translated to tape what many in the post-punk realm often fail to realize - a certain icy-cool confidence. Chilling vocal harmonies resonate atop melodic guitar leads and a razor-sharp rhythm section as the album stretches to just under twenty-five minutes. Green/Blue evoke a certain somber and honest set of sonics, distilling the now and pondering the future as these ten tracks spin vibrantly at 45 RPM.

Jul 13, 2022

Boule de Crystal • Amoure • 2022


Boule de Crystal est un duo de trap emo composé de Yanka (aka DJ Yanka) et d’Anotine (Sound Love Studio). Cette rencontre musicale est née d’une amitié queer et d’un goût commun pour la poésie urbaine. Sonorités médiévales, auto-tune, punch lines street et cosmiques, instrus trap et vaporeuses, textes féministes et queer...un rap d'avant-garde expé qui bouscule les codes normés.  
Pic by Rémy Perrier 

 

Low at Primavera Sound 2022


Flox • In The Shade • 2022


As you may have heard, Franco-British artist Flox has just released a new innovative album of nu-reggae titled ‘Square’.
 
As his seventh album the ‘Square’ is wide open: old school rhythms or techno-like approaches, vintage dub or futuristic take offs, thick sound basses and melodies, scraped to the bone...

Rhett Miller • Follow You Home • 2022





Rhett Miller announced his new album The Misfit with the dreamy and reflective debut single “Follow You Home,” featuring vocals from Cassandra Jenkins and Annie Nero. The album marks his first solo full length album in four years and will be released on September 16 via ATO Records. The Misfit, now available for pre-order, was co-written and produced by Miller’s Hudson Valley, NY neighbor Sam Cohen (Kevin Morby, Sharon Van Etten, Danger Mouse) and continues their musical partnership that began on 2018’s The Messenger

Jul 6, 2022

Let's Eat Grandma • Two Ribbons • 2022




Retaining all of the light-hearted surreality that made its first two records so bewitching, the UK synth-pop duo makes the sound of grief and joy glimmer on the dancefloor. PF


The band's new album, 'Two Ribbons', tells the story of the last three years from both Jenny Hollingworth and Rosa Walton's points of view. As a body of work, it is astonishing: a dazzling, heart-breaking, life-affirming and mortality-facing record that reveals their growing artistry and ability to parse intense feeling into lyrics so memorable you'd scribble them on your backpack.

Jōetsu Shore • Fearless • 2022

Cold Cold Nights • (The) Last Summer • 2022

loscil • The Sails p​.​1 • 2022


The Sails is a two-part collection of music written for dance projects over the last ~eight years. All of these compositions were commissioned specifically by the choreographers for their projects, many of which might not be performed again (and one that never did get staged). Most pieces have been edited and reworked for this collection for better sequencing and to breathe new life into the music. Part 2 will be released seperately within the coming months. 


Jul 5, 2022

Mat Ball • Album Trailer for "Amplified Guitar" LP • The Garrote • 2022




Mat Ball's Amplified Guitar is out today. It's as monumental as it is approachable and memorable. The fledgling label behind this release, The Garrote, is proving itself to be an operation that approaches everything with utmost care and it's just that which can be said about this short album trailer / documentary which they have produced and are sharing today. In it, you can glimpse Mat's process and clips of a conversation that we had last month in Montreal. Do check it out. And if you were already planning to cover this release, don't hesitate to use this video in your coverage!

Will Stewart • Nothing's Right • 2022




From Montgomery’s river region, up through West Alabama and over to Birmingham, a brief stint in Tennessee and tumbling back over Red Mountain to settle in East Birmingham. You could describe Will Stewart’s sound as “Central Alabama Music.” A little south of Nashville, some might say. 
 
Stewart’s new full length Slow Life is a collection of songs that capture his unique blend of varied styles and interpretations. In our current rapid fire consumer culture of “brands” and “influencers,” Slow Life invites people to take a seat and relax for a while.

Jul 4, 2022