On the surface, Sara Melson’s latest single “All The Time” is breezy and bright. But underneath Melson’s flowy vocals is a morbid reminder.
“One day who knows when / you’ll be drifting like the wind / you might want to hold somebody’s hand,” she sings in the opening verse over gentle guitar, piano, and violin parts. “Your legs won’t work / like they used to / you’ll have to squint at the menu / trust me someday soon you’ll understand.”
The first song off debut EP, These Days, which will be released on July 10, 2020, “Sin City” makes quite the splash on the surface and behind the mic. Stephie James might be based in Nashville, TN but this soulful rocker holds her heart for Detroit, MI and all the iconic gritty rock, blues, and heart-on-the-sleeve emotional messaging that goes with it. Sonically, “Sin City” itself isn’t all that coarse of a listening experience. This isn’t a track distorted or fuzzed to the nines like music by Jack White or Brittany Howard’s project, Thunderbitch, despite support musicians to both artists – Matt Menold and Dominic Davis – adding their instrumental style to “Sin City” on guitar and bass respectively. Nonetheless, where James’s hometown intensity comes into play is the way she frames a story that she says comes from a place of personal life experience.
Sylvia Rose Novak’s new album is called Bad Luck. But the Alabama singer-songwriter-bassist is actually celebrating some “great luck that I got to make the album I wanted instead of just settling for something.”
The 10-track set, whose pensive “Arkansas” is premiering below, certainly fits the adage of “if at first you don’t succeed…”
Into An Atmosphere the forthcoming release by Margaret Chavez is due out on July 31st via We Know Better Records. The project of Marcus William Striplin’s music is described as “latin freak-folk rhythms with a topicality the microgenre has never dared to approach.” Ahead of the album’s release Margaret Chavez has shared the title-track, now available to stream.
While she’s not yet a household name, Stephie James has often been one of the key navigators for several who are. Working with the likes of Buddy Miller, Steve Earle, and Shawn Colvin as an assistant engineer at Dan Auerbach’s studio and touring with the likes of Anita Baker and Nikki Lane, the Nashville artist honed her sound while collaborating with greats. Her upcoming EP, These Days, was produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff). It captures her stirring noir soul—a callback to the retro pop of Amy Winehouse and classic rock ‘n’ roll of Roy Orbison rolled into one. James’ lead single, “Sin City”, is exemplary of this essence. Dark and rootsy, the tune features James as a venerable frontwoman to what becomes a garage rock-fueled jam, offering plenty of room to sink into its dusky, hypnotic vibe.
Listen to this week’s State of the Art Spotify playlist featuring:
Misty Boyce – The Clearing
RJD2, Homeboy Sandman – One of a Kind
Night Stone – Conquer Time (Lazerbeak, ICETEP, Sophia Eris)
Man Man – On the Mend
Devil Doll – You Can’t Have Me
Diet Cig – Stare into the Sun
Sylvia Rose Novak – Bad Luck
Ab Soul – Dangerookipawaa Freestyle
Epic Levels – Battle Prep
Earl Sweatshirt, Maxo – WHOLE WORLD
Beach Bums – Shrug (Lolipop Records)
Koncept, James Salvato – Movie Premier
Bright Eyes – Forced Convalescence
Tedo Stone – Same Old Kid (Laser Brains)
Hazel English – Wake UP! (Polyvinyl)
The Band Ice Cream – Eject
Nascar Aloe, Travis Barker, Jasiah – Dogshit
Slut Magic – Help Me
Chicano Batman – I Know It
The Dears – I Know What You’re Thinking and Its Awful
PUP – Anaphylaxis
Wyatt Blair – Candy Eyes (Early Tapes version)
Say Hi – Heavy Metal and Video Games
Geographer – Slave to the Rhythm
Zeds Dead – Save My Grave
Suicide Silence – Two Steps
Sa-Roc – Hand of God (Rhymesayers)
Sotomayor – Quema
D Smoke – No Commas
Fly Anakin – Hood Rockstars
languid.oceans – sway in the morn
Activity – Calls Your Name
Lightning Bug – Vision Scraps (Fat Possum)
Or check out the YouTube Playlist: