VERDICT The message of kindness, self-belief, and confronting challenges pairs perfectly with the high-quality hip-hop artistry. [Mega Ran] delivers the gift of well-produced beats paired with uplifting messages.
Adobe & Teardrops premieres the new video from Old Heavy Hands, “Shelter Me,” writing, “While Old Heavy Hands has perfected the art of fist-pumping country rockers, the band’s performance here shows us the soulfulness with which they approach their music.”
While Old Heavy Hands has perfected the art of fist-pumping country rockers (fully on display in their upcoming album Small Fires,) the band’s performance here shows us the soulfulness with which they approach their music. On this slow jam, each musician deeply feels their performance, the kind of musicianship that makes everything the band does feel magnified and immediate.
“Shelter Me” captures the heartache and feeling of futility in an uncaring and unforgiving world. It was written in response to the injustices that caused the deaths of folks like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The request for shelter, safety and justice is brought to bear through lines like, “Can’t shake the situation/ Pointing cameras at the proof / We can’t breathe or sleep at night / With those devils on the loose.”
Listen: Captain Americana playlist for 1/2/24
Listen to this week’s Captain Americana Spotify playlist featuring:
Old Heavy Hands – The Flood
Stephie James – Losing Side
The Handsome Family – Skunks
Gwen Levey and The Breakdown – The Next Lifetime
Bonnie & the Mere Mortals – Brandi Carlile’s “Keep your Heart Young” with Matt Elias
Megan & Shane – Lasso
Jax Hollow – Ride Or Die
Shannon Clark & the Sugar – Good Woman
Kath Myers – Not in my House
Brian Revels & the Heat Lightning – Anywhere with You
Anna Ash – What You Didn’t Say (Demo)
Molly Parden – Cigarette
Matthew Check, Miss Tess – The Way That You Are
Roger Street Friedman – The Ghosts of Sugarland (Acoustic)
Ross Cooper – Everybody Wants to be a Cowboy
Dallas Moore – Smokin’ Belladonna and Drinkin’ Gasoline
Michelle Brooke – nowhere but here
Tender Creature – You’re Cheatin’ Heart
The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow – Run Baby Run – Live from the Egremont Barn
Billy Keane – Halo
Phoebe Hunt – Galloping
Parker Woodland – True Love Will Find You in the End
Jamie McLean Band – This Is It (Live)
Quiet Hounds – For Miles
The High Divers – Already Won
The Steel Wheels – Wait On You
Tai Shan – How It Flew (The Kite Song)
Cassandra Violet – Burn it Down
Mark Bryan – Make It Right
Zander Schloss – Play Me a Happy Song
Listen: State of the Art Spotify playlist for 1/2/24
Listen to this week’s State of the Art Spotify playlist featuring:
Coma Girls – Heaven (Baby Robot Records)
Stephie James – Losing Side
Super Cassette – Path Through the Past
Helltones – All My Heart
Mega Ran, Whitney Peyton – Gimme The Fruit!
Volk – I Fed Animals Remastered
Josh Rennie-Hynes – Head in the Clouds
Beekeeper Spaceman – Locusts and Honey
Shane Rennison – Drunk
Jax Hollow – Ride Or Die
Dylan Chambers – Don’t Give Up on my Love
Jordan Maye – Tarot
Gringo Star – Hanging Around
Jeff Rosenstock – HEAD
The Exbats – To All the Mothers That I’d Like to Forgive
Misty Boyce – Charades
Church Girls – Nightmare Nights
Karaoke – Opposite of Time
Sonja Midtune – talk like on tv
Kath Myers – Bad TV
Worriers – I’m Not Mad
Homeboy Sandman – Therapy (Truth Hurts Remix)
Red Rum Club – Godless
Catbite – Call Your Bluff – Live
Lazerbeak, Kokou Kah – Nervous
Summer Dregs – A Word
Starbenders – Body Talk
Koncept, Slug (Atmosphere), Montao, Lane Shuler – What in the World?
Thayer Sarrano – Rose
Flarelight, Brian May – Glimmer
American Pancake shares their thoughts on “The sparkling, nimble intricacies of ‘Continent’ by Oakland’s queer fronted, twee, indie rockers Super Cassette… as gorgeous as it is emotionally impactful.”
[Super Cassette’s new album Continue? (out Dec. 1) poses the question, “is life worth living?,” through the lens of electro indie-rock at its most danceable and celebratory. Primary songwriter Max Gerlock (they/them) employs the tried-and-true tactic of juxtaposing joyous pop arrangements against dark lyrics, tackling difficult subjects.
Continue? opens with its title track, a guitar driven anthem with arcade-game synthesizers, asking whether modern life as an artist is even worth living. Its grandiose chorus contrasts with lyrics about triumphing over anxiety disorders and suicidal ideations. It’s ultimately a song about not just surviving, but making the conscious decision to thrive.
48hills reviews the new record from The Helltones, noting its “wide variety of influences: rockabilly, mellow sunset blues, and jazzy tones matched up with a pluck of country twang, with spectral punk AF moments scattered in between.”
The new album Medusa comes from Oakland’s surf-soul rock and roll six-piece, The Helltones, who skip, hop, mix, and arrange wiry textures into a hearth, similar to the beloved Detroit Cobras. That’s why it hits familiar. Medusa takes you through a wide range of influences: rockabilly, mellow sunset blues, and jazzy tones matched up with a pluck of country twang, with spectral punk AF moments scattered in between. Boy howdy! The Helltones don’t just tackle it, they conquer the quagmire of psychedelic surf, soulful Americana, and retro rhythm and blues—or as I like to say, they time-trip because they actually have the acuity to execute it.