Melissa Erin – “Whole lotta nothin’”
-If I gave a “best new Americana artist” award, I would give it to Melissa Erin. She’s been one of my favorite finds of 2020, that’s for sure. This song has the expressive sincerity of classic country music. I could picture this one getting applause at the Bluebird Cafe. It’s rare to find a new song with this kind of truthtelling and resonance. Melissa Erin’s vocal is good but the lyrics will stop you in your tracks. Give this one a spin, friends. It’s impressive.
Using his acoustic guitar to emphasize the vulnerability and intimacy at the core of his songs, Adam Silvestri—aka Radiator King—truly warms you up with “Out In The Night.”
From Silvestri’s newest album Unborn Ghosts, “Out In The Night” was written during an emotional breakup. Though his heart was falling apart, he couldn’t help but feel intensely grateful for having this person be a part of his life at all. This song was written to help muster the inner strength one required to move forward in life without someone you love.
Los Angeles-based indie folk artist Hayley Johnson used to go on shopping sprees to numb her insecurities, always chasing the next item that might help her feel good about herself. It took a lot of therapy — and a lot of time spent poring through feminist Instagrams — to break this cycle of self-loathing and consumption. Ultimately, she arrived at the conclusion that she already had everything she needed to enjoy self-confidence and happiness; she didn’t need to purchase anything.
Under the stage name The Little Miss, Johnson articulates this revelation in her latest single, “Spring Cleaning.” A very folky, almost country song condemning patriarchal consumer culture with incisive lyrics against dynamic guitar, steady tambourine, old-fashioned piano, and choir-like backup harmonies, the bridge builds to a climax where “all of that self-loathing is channeled into anger that is no longer directed inwards but rather outwards,” she explains.
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State to State‘s standout title track is a breezy, wistful anthem about the unbreakable connection we share with the ones we love, no matter the time or the miles in between. And the song’s new video is the perfect complement, following Burchfield along his sonic journey, an Americana travelogue borne of a restless spirit and adventurous heart.
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If you like the more downbeat end of the Tom Waits songbook and the intimacy of later Nick Cave albums then this is a perfect companion for your gloomier moments. Just don’t expect more than the wryest of smiles.