Here is the absorbing new single ‘Crow’ from New York-based Two Cent Revival. This atmospheric song hangs on a fabulous, melodic bass line from Tom Welsch and an excellent vocal performance that travels the dusty road between the almost-spoken storytelling of the desert-noir verses and the soaring, anthemic choruses. READ MORE…
It’s easy to lose oneself in the dreamy folk wonder of GoldenOak’s latest single, but as is the case with most of the Maine band’s music, there’s more to this song than meets the eye. READ MORE…
Pawn Shop Queen is the debut album for Los Angeles-via-Wichita songwriter Katie Jo, and there is plenty to enjoy in this raw and rootsy offering. She boasts a voice that has more in common with Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells than with most contemporary artists, although her style would sit easily alongside the likes of Margo Price and Whitney Rose. The songs have a vintage country sound, featuring pedal steel, fiddle and twangy lead guitar. Indeed, this record sounds like a well-practiced band set up all together in a studio, playing songs much as they would at a live show. As a result, the feel is natural and unprocessed, and it is refreshing not to be overwhelmed by over-compressed production and autotuned vocals.
Katie Jo has already experienced some immense personal challenges in her young life, and these are detailed in some depth on the biography pages of her web site. When an artist faces challenging life circumstances, the temptation to pour a little too much of their own story into their music is not always a blessing for the listener. However, Katie Jo appears careful to channel her experiences into a more universal lyrical setting. For sure, there are lines which occasionally cut through, and the closing songs ‘Are You Coming Home Tonight?’ and ‘Little Bird’ certainly provide some of the more heartfelt moments on the record, with the latter delicately suggesting that “sticks and stones can build a better home in time…(and) even broken wings can move you a little further down the line.”
Craig Gerdes tells his own love story in his new song “I Could Get Used to This.” The single, due out on Friday (May 7), is premiering exclusively on The Boot.
“From the opening lyric, this song is entirely true,” Gerdes tells The Boot. As the song details, the singer and songwriter married his high school sweetheart, Janel; they were 16 when they first got together and will celebrate their 35th anniversary in September.
“I wanted “I Could Get Used to This” to be a feel-good song, relatable in the fact that you can overcome anything if you put your mind to it and don’t let the outside world get in your way,” Gerdes says, adding, “My last album, Tough as Nails, was about the people. My last single, “You’re Not in the Picture Anymore,” was somebody else’s story. “I Could Get Used to This” is ours.”
Gerdes’ frequent collaborator, legendary steel guitarist Jim Vest, produced “I Could Get Used to This.” CMA Musician of the Year winner Jenee Fleenor, who plays fiddle on the song, is among the musicians who turned Gerdes and his wife’s story into a sentimental track that’s straight-down-the-middle country.
You, Me, and This Fuckin’ Guy is a LA-based musical project with some familiar faces. The art-rock duo LoveyDove that features veteran musicians Dan West and Azaelia Snail has teamed up with John S. Hall of NYC’s King Missile (remember “Detachable Penis”?) for this new project. Today we’re premiering a new song from their album Garden Variety Fuckers, an artsy, spoken-word piece called “FBI” that’s set over the backdrop of archival footage. READ MORE…
Songs like “Hot Time Traveler” ride a Massive Attack-like gait, with clacking drums, while the strings and guitars create an acid-drenched dreamscape. And then there’s “PCHDMT,” which wouldn’t feel entirely out of place on say – Rosalia’s last record, all fluttering flamenco guitars and ebullient strings, with an additionally healthy serving of the psychedelic. Appropriately, the song itself was inspired by Carnuccio’s own trips down the Pacific Coast Highway.