Variety Hails The “Fresh, Dewey” Feeling Of Vetiver’s New Disc
Variety says the new LP from Vetiver, Up On High, is “a return to the bright, airy acoustic folk of his first couple of pre-Sub Pop albums.” It is, writes the rag, an “album with effortless cloud-watching allure that, while not exactly carefree lyrically, comes across as cares-agnostic at the very least.” Read the full […]
Bootstraps Speaks With Atlas Artist Group
Atlas Artist Group recently spoke with Jordan Beckett, the man behind Bootstraps, about his life in music and the creation of his new LP Demo Love. “I was listening to a lot of Motown and Bill Withers while writing this last record,” Beckett told the site. “Specifically the lyrical content; it has a beautiful, honest […]
The LA Times Highlights Devendra Banhart’s Poignant, Politically-Minded Lyrics
Devendra Banhart is often cited for his easy-going sonic style, but The Los Angeles Times has honed in on a darker subject matter on one of the standout tracks from new LP Ma. “The shuffle-step bossa nova rhythm that drives “Abre Los Manos” suggests freewheeling joy,” writes the Times, “but the video and lyrics tell […]
New Music From Vetiver
Andy Cabic’s musical being is, like many curious 21st century musicians, shaped and sustained by divergent tangents. If he’s not crafting a melancholy folk-rock diamond in his Northern California studio, he’s moving a dance floor with bossa nova and house DJ sets, or helping curate a compilation of Japanese City Pop. What’s magic about the […]
CLASH’s Editor Tells MusicWeek About Nérija
MusicWeek recently reached out to CLASH‘s online editor, Robin Murray, to find out what he’s been listening to. Turns out, it’s Nérija. According to Murray, “The current wave of energy within UK jazz has produced all manner of superb artists, blending and bending forms as they see fit. Nérija share in this spirit, with a Harlem Globetrotters-style line-up of phenomenally […]
Music OMH Applauds Devendra Banhart’s Personal Style
Music OMH writes that Ma by Devendra Banhart “has a notable consistency and poise with the quirkiness of his early albums now having given way to more conventional approaches.” The site has a review of the new LP, which it says shows “glimpses of musical influences… a waft of Lou Reed, an undercurrent of Lee […]
Phony Ppl Play Tiny Desk Fest
Phony Ppl recently made an appearance at the Tiny Desk Fest, appearing alongside Megan Thee Stallion. According to Vibe, which was at the fest, the group makes "medley of rap, R&B, jazz, and even some boss nova. Phony Ppl been quietly bubbling below the surface. Over the years, they've performed with Erykah Badu, developed close […]
KEXP Shares Combo Chimbita’s Full Performance
“Combo Chimbita’s latest record Ahomale isn’t just an album,” writes KEXP’s DJ Chilly, who has been a huge supporter of the group’s new album. The site continues, “It’s a powerful feminine warrior who channels her heart and the spirits of our ancestors, fighting for enlightenment and pushing the world forward into a simultaneously ancient and progressively visionary future. […]
Reverb Interviews Tinariwen’s Eyadou Ag Leche
Reverb Magazine recently spoke with Eyadou Ag Leche, Tinariwen‘s bassist, about the group’s new album Amadjar, their career, and their influences. It’s a crucial look into the inner workings of a group that can be mysterious to Western ears, so it’s definitely worth a read! According to Ag Leche, the impulse behind the record was for […]
Buzzbands Compares Alex Bloom To Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, And Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker
“Despite citing the ‘Rock’ preset of a ‘white Casio keyboard’ as inspiration,” writes Buzzbands, “it’s Alex Bloom’s melodies and vocals that truly take the wheel. Falling somewhere between Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley (think “So Real,” not “Hallelujah”), making sense as his previous offering “Blue Room” was recorded at New Monkey Studio. In “Elevator,” Bloom […]
Gregory Ackerman Shares “Future” Video
Gregory Ackerman has released a lyric video for “Future,” one of four songs on his new Stresslove EP from Munich Records. The video is a cool animated collage of images based around the Stresslove artwork – give it a view right here! Stresslove, currently at radio, is available from our DL page. Get it in […]
Alex Bloom Goes For Adds
Chaos/Control is the new LP from Alex Bloom, a Los Angeles-based musician and a graduate of USC’s Thornton School of Music. He released his debut LP Blue Room in 2017 upon graduation and it was met with critical acclaim, with Northern Transmissions calling it “undeniably one of the most thoughtful albums of the year” and […]
Pitchfork Shares The New Single From Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron
Pitchfork has a stream of the new song from Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron, “Belief Pt. 2.” It comes from Lost Wisdom Pt. 2, which arrives early next month. Pitchfork quotes Phil Elverum about the song, which he says is “a flag planted, a declaration of belief in love no matter what, the culminating answer […]
BiRN Loves Bootstraps
The Berklee Internet Radio Network (BiRN)'s Kelsey Johnson has chosen Bootstraps' Demo Love as one of her "Prime Slices" this week. According to Johnson, "The album is an indie folk triumph, and it features staple sounds of the genre, such as ethereal electric guitar tones, acoustic guitar picking and strumming, and a dark kick drum, […]
VoyageLA Introduces Audiences To Gregory Ackerman
VoyageLA recently profiled Gregory Ackerman, whose EP Stresslove is at radio now and aiming for NACC debuts. The feature is heavy on backstory, as Ackerman takes readers all the way back to what it was like growing up in South Pasadena. “It was a great neighborhood to grow up in,” Ackerman says. “There were tons […]
The 405 Shares The “Delightful” Medicine By TENTS
The 405 has a stream of “Medicine,” the title track of TENTS‘ new LP. “‘Medicine’ sounds like the product of optimistic people who have been marinating in melancholy,” writes The 405. “There is an implacable sense of sadness throughout the verses, as the group reflects on the temporary nature of life. But the chorus bursts […]
Devendra Tells office About Identity
In a recent interview with office, Devendra Banhart opined on the transitory essence of experience. “There’s no solid self,” he told the site. “Everything I was so sure of 20 years ago, all those opinions changed. And everything I was sure of 10 years ago, those things have changed. Everything I was so sure of […]
New Music From Mount Eerie
Over the past couple of decades, Phil Elverum – who initially released music as The Microphones before transitioning to the Mount Eerie moniker – has developed a cult-like following amongst listeners for his sonic adventurousness, prolific creation, wry lyricism, and relentlessly DIY ethos. Yet his last few years have been a whirlwind of change. A few years ago, he was […]
L.A. Times Praises Samantha Sidley
The L.A. Times applauds Samantha Sidley for her “quietly radical debut album,” Interior Person. According to the newspaper, “the LP addresses the pleasures and torments of romance from an explicitly gay point of view,” and “happily conjures memories of Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie and mid-’60s Dionne Warwick.” In the interview, Sidley reflects on the recording process and her love of playing […]
Stereo Embers Shares TENTS’ Title Track
Stereo Embers is effusive about “Medicine,” the title track from the new album by Portland’s TENTS. According to the site, which compares the band to the likes of Field Music and AC Newman, “it’s such a great tune, so slyly danceable and grounded in its own unselfconscious truth.” Hear it right here. We hope Medicine can crack the NACC Radio 200 next week, […]
