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Skylar Gudasz - Rider
Skylar Gudasz - Rider

Skylar Gudasz - Rider


“Rider” is just one of nine passionate and lyrically stunning tracks off Skylar Gudasz’s new album Cinema, which takes us into the world of a black-and-white movie scene. The North Carolina-based musician's lyricism instantly places sharp images into the mind. “You ask me to be candid as you comb your errant hair / Well what, I want to whisper if my true voice is despair / or I’ve got too good at drinking or I’ve told untowardly tails / or I’ve hung too close the shimmering of your mirror on the stairs.” Cinema is Gudasz’s first album since her 2016 record, Oleander, where she was compared to a southern Joni Mitchell. A sweet folksy sound is prominent in “Rider” and brings the Mitchell mood back once again. At a time when many of us are feeling stuck and anything but free, Gudasz’s song is there to make us feel as if we are riding unbound on the back of a motorcycle— on our way to everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Bailee Penski on April 27, 2020
Salt Cathedral - How Beautiful (she is) feat. duendita & MC Bin Laden

Salt Cathedral - How Beautiful (she is) feat. duendita & MC Bin Laden


Brooklyn duo Salt Cathedral tap Brazilian rapper MC Bin Laden and songstress duendita for their latest single "How Beautiful (she is),"  exhilarating affirmation of beauty through soft dream pop textures diffused with Brazilian funk. It's as if vocalist Juliana Ronderos's airy vocals cradle you from the opening line, "I see her, so pretty, why can't you see?" before reaching the chorus. "She wines up / Shining on through every color," she insists, wanting you to recognize the good she sees in you. "Menina linda, 'cê veio da onde? / Tô me perdendo e perdendo o foco" ("Beautiful girl, 'Where did you come from? / I'm losing and losing focus") echoes MC Bin Laden in admiration, over a building bass. duendita's lavish verse rounds out the track on a moving note, simply stating, "Don't forget you're perfectly made." "How Beautiful (she is)" is the latest single leading up to Salt Cathedral's long-awaited debut album CARISMA, slated for a May release via Ultra Records.

Ysabella Monton on April 24, 2020
Margaret Chavez - Honeysuckle

Margaret Chavez - Honeysuckle


“Honeysuckle” is a dark folk masterpiece in balance from Austin-based Margaret Chavez (Marcus Striplin). The track opens with hypnotic guitar arpeggiations that draw you in like waving wildflowers drawing honeybees. Then come the lyrics, which paint vignettes of tragedy that seem initially at odds with the cheerful guitar melody. As the song progresses, the track unfolds into a retrospective of loss and love. Each verse relays another heavy anecdote of someone the narrator has loved and lost in some form. The stories that hit the hardest are underscored with dark, warbly synths that make you feel as though you are being teleported into the world of memory. The lyrics are so heartbreaking, it would be easy for the song to sink into sadness as deep as Striplin’s beautiful baritone voice; however, the buoyant guitar lines keep the song in the realm of bittersweet. It will be exciting to see what else Margaret Chavez has in store on their sophomore album “Into an Atmosphere," due to release July 31, 2020, via We Know Better Records.

Allison Hill on April 24, 2020
Phoebe Bridgers - Kyoto

Phoebe Bridgers - Kyoto


When Phoebe Bridgers released “Kyoto” she told us the track is about imposter syndrome or the feeling that she’s living someone else’s life. Instead of taking the speed train or appreciating her visit to a temple during her first visit to Japan with her bandmates, she instead finds herself spending time at 7-11 and having an unpleasant, expensive conversation with someone from her past whom she can’t seem to shake. In classic Bridgers fashion, the lyrics of “Kyoto” document complex emotions like ennui, resentment, and anger through commonplace images. In one of the most memorable lines of the song, she “drives out to the suburbs to park at the Goodwill and stare at the chemtrails with [her] little brother,” and the drabness of the concrete makes her love for her sibling all the sweeter. And for a song about psychological dissociation, the instrumentation is remarkably upbeat and even triumphant, making the song all the more versatile: listen to the lyrics if you need to be in your feelings, or focus on the bright trumpet solo if you need to get pumped for your day.

Karl Snyder on April 24, 2020
​Local Opener - I Hope All of My Friends Live Forever

​Local Opener - I Hope All of My Friends Live Forever


Local Opener’s new track is an all-around good vibes tune, the kind that makes you want to roll your windows down and crank it up as you soar down an interstate. “I Hope All of My Friends Live Forever” begins with a Fleet Foxes-esque vocal harmony before ushering in the full band. By the time the chorus rolls around we’re at an early ‘60s rock concert, with sing-along energy. The chorus itself demands to be sung by a crowd: “I wanna have fun again / I want all of my friends to feel the same / I want to have fun again / I hope all of my friends live forever.” Such a simple, resonant truth. A brief guitar solo continues the early-Beatles atmosphere before another verse that invites us all to choose happiness. “Wasted half of my life just being blue” croons the lead singer, adding “I’m trading in all of my gloom for sunny days.” Interestingly, the tune ends with a few contemplative improvisational bars in sharp contrast to the first three or so minutes, insinuating that choosing happiness isn’t always as simple as all that. Not simple, but certainly worthwhile.

Mikhal Weiner on April 23, 2020
Mackenzie Leighton - Paris Girls

Mackenzie Leighton - Paris Girls


Mackenzie Leighton is the friend you call up when you finally book that flight to Europe. She’ll take you down dark, cobblestoned alleyways to smoke-filled underground jazz clubs and give you that authentic Parisian experience not found in Lonely Planet guidebooks. You start to think that maybe after a week of observing the breezy elegance around you—and splurging on a bottle of expensive perfume—you’ll have acquired that coveted French elegance by osmosis. Leighton is here to tell you that’s not how it works. You can take her word for it, too. The California-born singer-songwriter moved to Paris after graduating from NYU and is still chasing that infamous je ne sais quois that Parisian women claim as their birthright. “Paris Girls” is a swinging jazz-pop number with a waltz feel in the verses. Leighton’s navigation of agile melodies makes her sound like a smoother Nellie McKay for a modern young audience. Unapologetic electric guitar remains prominent throughout the song, transporting you to the front row of that smokey Paris jazz club ‘round midnight. Until it’s safe to travel again, this track should hold you over.

Karyna Micaela on April 23, 2020
Nick Hakim - QADIR

Nick Hakim - QADIR


Quiet power and gentle ferocity—these are the reigning forces in the soundscape of "QADIR," the first release off of Nick Hakim’s upcoming LP, Will This Make Me Good. In addition to being the first release, "QADIR" was also the first song that Hakim wrote for the record. It’s an homage to his late friend who passed away in 2018 and for whom the track is named. Hakim conjures a sacred spirituality on this track by retaining a delicate balance between a heavy bass over a lightly driving beat, replete with acoustic percussion, and a haunting flute weaving in and out of a wide keyboard sound that holds down rich harmonies. Above all this, in a realm all its own, Hakim’s echoing vocals gently whisper truths in the manner of a prophet: “There seems to be a complexity to being kind / to your space to your temple / to your neighbors / who’ve seen the changes / We all feel change / Some of us wear masks / To hide the pain.” He is calling upon us to choose kindness and community. Surrounded by haunting background vocals on the chorus, Hakim draws us into an ethereal world that finally comes together in a mess of phantasmic voices, calling us from every side before fading slowly out into nothingness.

Mikhal Weiner on April 23, 2020
Jenny O. - God Knows Why

Jenny O. - God Knows Why


Jenny O.’s latest single “God Knows Why” will help you cope with a new reality. It’s soothing, sweet and true. The sound reminisces a summer day in the 70s, listening to soft rock in a field somewhere—the LA-based musician could easily be compared to a young Patti Smith. Not so much in punk, but the similarities of powerful vocals and distinct style are there. The release of this song could not have come at a better time, at the peak of the world’s questioning and current state of the unknown—adjusting to a normal that feels anything but. “I could hear just fine last night / Then I sat up and it went quiet / My right ear is gone forever / It was there and now it’s gone.” O.’s third studio album New Truth comes out June 19 via Mama Bird Recording Co.

Bailee Penski on April 23, 2020
Syd Silvair - The Moth

Syd Silvair - The Moth


Paging everyone in pop music: if you don’t know singer/songwriter and escapist Syd Silvair yet, you will feel her enchantment soon. As a skilled tarot reader by day, Silvair is endlessly inspired by the deck. On her latest single, “The Moth,” she conjures up a world of swirling disco and art-pop while reflecting on the aspects of The Magician tarot. “I find that my own feminine nature tends to attract people who are looking to take advantage of it,” mentions Silvair, “I’ve connected deeply with The Magician tarot card in an effort to take the power back, to nurture on my own terms.” And keep her power she will, as “The Moth” is Silvair’s own omen of empowerment to remind us that for every bit of tenderness there is an equally potent fierceness. Inspired by the feminine mysticism of Stevie Nicks, her songwriting is unsparing, bold and centered. Silvair’s velvety voice calls out messages of the rich visuals that inspire her, shimmering atop lush and groovy rhythms. Her melodies are undeniably catchy, like a golden spell. Syd Silvair invites you to step into her sphere as her upcoming tarot-inspired EP Reverie makes its way into our realm and emboldens our inner realities with the spirit of her music.

Deanna DiLandro on April 22, 2020
​Genevieve Stokes - Running Away

​Genevieve Stokes - Running Away


Genevieve Stokes’s newest single “Running Away” is a dreamy rumination on the intensity of new love. The singer-songwriter’s dynamic crooning vocals cut through the simple production of piano and sparse harmonies as she sings, “couldn’t see you coming / I was always running away / you hit me out of nowhere / will you stay?” Stokes explores the uncertainty of young love and how terrifying admitting your feelings can be. Drawing from her longtime inspiration Regina Spektor, the 18-year-old from Portland, Maine perfectly expresses the emotional turmoil of adolescence without falling into melodrama. She details the continuous loss of innocence as we grow older with precision, “And I'm nothin' but the things that I tell myself / Lie and think I'm / special just like everybody else / But somethin' in the water has been tempting me.” “Running Away” is the newest single off of Stokes’s upcoming debut EP out this summer.

Corey Bates on April 22, 2020
Andrew Bird - Capital Crimes

Andrew Bird - Capital Crimes


Andrew Bird has been a leading voice in the folk/bluegrass realm for over two decades. Like the best songwriters of the genre, he has a compelling ability to stir the mind and heart towards a feeling while exhibiting strong mastery of an instrument (the violin in his case). "Capital Crimes," albeit on-the-nose, is a closer view of capital punishment and the plunge of human compassion. His latest full-length album, My Finest Work Yet, is heralded as one of his best records (staying true to the title) in part because of his tasteful command of political commentary and soft folk musicianship. His latest single,"Capital Crimes," is a faithful echo of My Finest Work Yet. The track passionately incriminates a broken system that has no "sense of shame" in its method of determining who lives and who dies. This 6 minute, 30-second song raises a heavy hand in aggressive musicality, breaking from lyricism altogether around minute 4. The exaggerated pizzicato for the last 2 minutes of this track makes it an unmistakable Andrew Bird listen. Check out "Capital Crimes" wherever you stream.

Hannah Lupas on April 22, 2020

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