Friends, I’m bewitched by the enchanting new single from Your Friend, the recording project of Taryn Miller. Atop a primitive rhythmic chug, “Come Back From It” weaves a buoyant, ethereal soundscape out of gentle electric guitar and textural electronics: bedroom laptronica executed with skill and purpose. I haven’t figured out what Miller is singing about […]
We heard rumors, saw Instagram photos of recording sessions, and now it has been confirmed: after four years of nuthin’, Black Mountain is back! “Mothers of the Sun,” the fearsome, epic new single from their forthcoming album IV, suggests the wait was worth it. It’s also accompanied by one hell of a video — flat-out […]
When writing these musical moments for Sound It Out we have choices of which category the post might fit into, and while I picked “new music” for this Yoko Ono/Death Cab for Cutie single, seeing as how it’s a new single from a new album by Yoko Ono (Yes, I’m A Witch Too, February 19th), […]
From Lexington, Kentucky, pianist James Friley dishes up some curious, engaging songwriting this week under the alias Idiot Glee. Case in point is “Evergreen Psycho,” a tune that echoes the heartfelt balladry of soft-rock songwriters from the early 70s but is discernably a little off. Maybe it’s Friley’s voice, a plummy baritone that’s more earnest […]
Exciting grooves for discerning wallflowers arrive this week courtesy of Pillar Point, the electronic project of Seattle-based musician Scott Reitherman. “Dove” shows his savvy crossing the borders of of dance and rock, transforming a smart, pithy composition with the sublime throb and delectable melancholy of deep house. Reitherman’s bona fides as songwriter and bandleader come […]
Esperanza Spalding is one cool chick blending boundaries on the tune “Good Lava”—the first track from her upcoming Emily’s D+Evolution (March 4/Concord)—like silly putty, rolling over a rock riff here, imprinting a funky bass line there, while jazz beats flow down the sides like some hot molten stuff that makes you wanna go all Pompeii […]
New York City-based band Parlour Tricks (formerly Lily and the Parlour Tricks) were named Best Pop Band of 2014 by the Village Voice but the type of pop music they produce isn’t quite what you envision when you hear “New York City.” With their lovely three part harmonies (Lily Claire on lead vocals with backup from Morgane […]
Enough with the 2015 hangover — the new year means new music! And January brings a doozy with a tremendous album by Tindersticks, a British group revered for over two decades. It’s telling they would sneak out their new record in the new year, the easier to be overlooked come end-of-year list season, since Tindersticks’ […]
Lauren has list! You can check out all our Best of 2015 lists here. 1. M Train by Patti Smith tops my list for most amazing trip I’ve taken all year without actually leaving my apartment. Her ability to transport through words is unmatched. 2. And while we’re on the topic, the 40th anniversary of Horses. Yes, really. 3. Royal […]
A list from Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater! You can check out all our Best of 2015 lists here. 15 charismatic and/or really impressive non-humans I met in 2015: 1. Goliath Bird-Eating Spider – the world’s largest; my insane scientist friend Sean McCann let it crawl on his head while I took a picture). Guyana. 2. […]