Amelia Meath & Blake Mills - Neon Blue
Imagine you’re watching a car drive down a mostly empty highway; it’s dark and late, they pull off into the parking lot of a 24-hour diner. A lambent neon sign hangs from the window illuminating the now-parked car’s glossy exterior. The passengers get out and order coffees at the booth under the light fixture. The sign’s glowing message shines against the glass, each letter taking a turn before they blink together. Feeling restless in their seats, they finish their coffees and decide to go: It’s nothing new here anyway, they agree and turn towards the road. Onto the next spot, onto the next night, wherever that may be.
Amelia Meath’s rich vocals and Blake Mills mellow and subdued instrumentation decorate “Neon Blue,” a track that’ll find you nestled within the ominous comfort of a late night and a good friend. The gently eerie debut single arrives as Meath and her Sylvan Esso-counterpart Nick Sanborn launch Psychic Hotline, an artist-led record company that strives to do right by creators in radical ways. “Neon Blue,” along with its B-side reinterpretation by Sam Gendel, is the first of several collaborative singles to be released over the next few months. In addition to this project, entitled the Psychic Hotline Single Series, Sylvan Esso has announced that their self-titled debut album will be the first release of what they’re calling the Psychic Hotline Reissues. Welcoming a new era of the movement-filled and sonically charged project that so many have come to love, “Neon Blue” masterfully scores the transition as a new chapter of Sylvan Esso begins. Photos by Blake Mills, Nick Sanborn and Marcella Cytrynowicz.
— Jenna Andreozzi on August 12, 2021
JR JR - Clean Up
Indie favorites JR JR, formerly known as Dale Earnhardt JR JR, have returned to the scene with new music after their self-titled LP back in 2015. The new single, “Clean Up” offers a look at the mind of someone coming to terms with their addictions and indulgences. The duo uses a throbbing bass line, simple plucked guitar and harmonies to illustrate the conflict that happens when one willfully chooses something that is bad for them. “Clean Up” brings JR JR to a more provocative realm, and one that we are excited to see more of in the upcoming album.
— Nick Arcos on January 7, 2018
Henry Jamison - The Wilds
Henry Jamison is a storyteller at heart. It may be in his blood — his father, a classical composer, and his mother, an English professor — but Jamison is a writer and artist in his own right, evidenced by his debut album The Wilds (released October 27th). Beyond writing, recording and arranging the album all on his own, Jamison has a special ability to bring each track to life. Take his song, “The Wilds”: it’s instrumentally rich without being overbearing, letting Jamison’s narrative whisk you away. “The Wilds” sounds like an old-time American love story - unassuming and familiar, but nevertheless, still surprising.
— Natasha Cucullo on January 7, 2018
Moses Sumney - Plastic
Los Angeles genre-bending artist Moses Sumney released his gorgeous and ethereal debut album Aromanticism into the world this September. Sumney has made a big impression on artists like Solange and Sufjan Stevens for good reason. His infusion of soul and folk come together on this album in a way that leaves us begging for more. A prime example of this heavenly blend is found on the third song of the album, “Plastic.” A previous version of the song can be heard on the first season of Issa Rae’s HBO series, Insecure. This new version serves as one of the more simplistic songs on the album, featuring just a fingerpicked electric guitar, a synth and Sumney’s captivating voice. The hook of the song repeats the line “my wings are made of plastic,” each time sung in a slightly different way than it was before, continuing to imbue the phrase with new meaning. This song of vulnerability, self-awareness and secret-spilling is the kind that you can leave on repeat and get lost in for hours.
— Dara Bankole on October 22, 2017
