As its name suggests, The Dance refuses to stand still. Instead, it spins, flips, and sidesteps through different moods. Stand out track “Wait” is a synthy and addictive beast that will beg to be put on repeat. Titular “The Dance” is a nostalgic romp that evokes the stuttering, violent emotions of slow-dancing at a sepia-toned prom. Closing track “Peer Peer” is an ambient, stilted ditty that ends the album on a pleasant question mark. Schneit‘s throaty, melancholic vocals— which have become a calling card for Air Waves—provides the glue to these different textures. The Dance feels like a blurry night out, complete with romance, mystery, and good music. The ebbs and flows, good times and uncomfortable moments, and abrupt endings—That’s what life is about, packed up and presented through this record. highclouds
What I’ve learned over the last several years of making records is that the recordings benefit from inviting other people in. I’ve recorded several albums basically entirely by myself and I can’t imagine doing that again. Memory’s Fool is the record where I consciously embraced opening up the process and deliberately left space for other peoples’ contributions and presence. It’s the first record where I didn’t feel like I had to predetermine every aspect of the recordings, which is how I operated previously. Now I don’t want to know exactly how it’s going to turn out. The other thing is that inviting contributors allows for a different palette of instruments that I can’t play, like strings and horns. The recordings I’m working on right now for the next record lean even further into this zone and it feels really good. foxy
A cozy winter love song that sounds like a warm fire and feels like home. Lushly layered harmonies float over fingerpicked acoustic guitar, dreamy harmonica, intimate ethereal synths, and thick molasses tones of upright bass. "Cold night oh the stars are stunning, we warm by the fire like honey, these moments must mean something…"
James Champion There are certain albums that make very specific time periods in my seem to glow a little extra in my memory. this summer I’m sure every little thing I do while listening to this album will have that special memorable glow that I’ll look back on in years future with extra human fondness.
“‘Bittersweet, TN’ is a love song dedicated to time,” explains Morby. “It is about the abundance and scarcity around it that I feel almost always – that there is either a daunting amount or not enough but regardless – time is always on my mind. I tell this love story to the backdrop of America, or rather a Bittersweet, Tennessee – which like time itself can be a very beautiful or very tragic thing, depending, and one may not exist without the other. I sing it with my great friend – the very talented Erin Rae who really helped bring this song to life. There is a moment towards the end of the song where we have a cheers ‘to time,’ and I am so honored to be having those cheers with Erin in some sonic landscape for the rest of time.”
With Jaguar Sun’s latest album “All We’ve Ever Known” he digs into the aftermath of his debut album “This Empty Town” exploring the process of accepting where you’re at in life, looking at your past, and moving on from mistakes or moments that have caused pain. The album is a bittersweet but hopeful look into the future and everything that tomorrow can be.
There is a jubilance to these performances, even a joyousness. A wailing fiddle, played by guest member Mat Davidson (aka Twain), loosens up the country stomp of “Red Moon” and the gorgeous, blue-eyed harmonies of “Dried Roses.”
Red moon rising like a fire in me
So many questions, she asks them all to me
I have to answer most curiously
Scarlet angel, I am too small to see
Earn earn, shuffle round the big city
Burning the rubber down, crossing the hot concrete
I'm gonna leave town, there is someone to meet
She turns her head around a full 360
Woo
Bedroom rising from an old growth tree
Bringing out the sawmill, cutting the 12 inch beams
Building a pattern, the reservoir to fill with dreams
The Felice Brothers perform "Jazz on the Autobahn" at the 2022 XPoNential Music Festival. Recorded live at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront, NJ on September 17th, 2022.
Sparhawk said of his wife: “Hers was the voice of someone who is just singing, not trying to convince you of something. She was not singing to you. She was not singing to be noticed. Sometimes she didn’t even want to be seen. She just wanted to be.” Obituary
Storefront Church is the project of Los Angeles–based artist Lukas Frank. He released his debut album, As We Pass, last year via Sargent House. In a statement about the Low cover, Frank wrote, “In the wake of Mimi’s passing, I’d like to dedicate this to her. Low’s music has been incredibly useful to me; it’s like an antidote to anxiety, with Mimi’s voice at the heart of it—relieving, cathartic, and honest.” PF
Before Alynda Segarra (she/they), who records under the moniker Hurray for the Riff Raff, went into the studio to record the mostly excellent Life on Earth, their eighth album, they had decided on a new plan of action. Instead of trying to save the world, they would try to save themselves.