Heavy psych and deep soul combine to form Ghost Funk Orchestra’s spacious “Modern Scene,” a song destined to soundtrack a drive straight into the sunset. Hazy vocals from Megan Mancini gird the ensemble’s loose rhythm, while surprise harmonies stab through plunky electric piano and lumbering jazz drums to add more “modern” to this scene. Atmosphere […]
Rubber Band Gun hits the ground running and don’t let up with the insistent guitar and bass intro of “On Your Face.” Emily Moales’ yearning vocals pepper the track with welcome consistency in the face of this stringed onslaught, with moans of “I want to be/On your face” blurring into fuzzy guitars and sturdy drums. […]
Break-up songs don’t have a set template, but they’re rarely as tender as Bedon’s “Untitled” manages to be. Atop consistent hi-hat taps and loose blues guitar stomp, Bedon’s plaintive refrain that “I won’t deny it, I’ll cherish the times we’ve shared/We’re very different people in the end” feels reflective without a hint of self-pity or […]
“Laid back” isn’t just a repeated phrase in Be Cool Cowboy’s rambling and rollicking “Control Yourself,” it’s an imperative. Over plucky guitar and sharp snare snaps, singer Mike Parish’s comfortable cadence sing-speaks “Control yourself, control yourself/You gotta learn to get a hold, you animal” and cinches the song into focus around his unburdened delivery. By […]
There’s a sinister feeling from the start of Space Grandma’s “Dirt Bones,” as tight drums and staccato bass swirl around nerve-wracking phrases like “Sunrise, sunset/Dirt bones never forget.” But it’s Chris Phillips’ evocative baritone and surprising guitar work that keep this song from dissolving completely into darkness. A seemingly endless supply of guitar phrases—some low […]
Staff writer: Taylor Williams Feeling tired? Turn on “Jukebox Lean” and let the opening bass line’s shot of adrenaline carry you through the day. This track from the New Bomb Turks is pure punk perfection, all spiky power chords and raucous drums underneath Jim Weber’s howls. Just try and keep up with Weber as he […]
It’s easy to tell when a band has a good time together on a stage, but much harder to capture that energy in a studio. But on the short and sweet “She Was Your Girl” by Ugly Runner, confirmation of those good times come in the hoots and hollers behind Stephen Britt’s guitar solo centerpiece.
From the chainsaw buzz of an opening riff on “Cat & Mouse,” it’s clear that the three brothers of Radkey are here to melt faces, not make friends.
Enticing harmonies and soft tambourines may not spring to mind when thinking about J. Robert Oppenheimer, but London’s Extradition Order make a compelling case that the sound and subject pair better than you think.