Sara Rachele’s forthcoming album Scorpio Moon (out on May 31 on Angrygal Records) is a striking collection of country, folk and dreamy ’60s pop-inspired songs. The ethereal “Dream, Dream Love,” which Wide Open Country is premiering today, is a song about enduring love that transcends time and distance.
Even if you don’t click the play button on this track from L.A. roots-rock sextet Grand Canyon, the least you could do is doff your hat for the sheer chutzpah they’re exhibiting by naming this band after something as iconic as the frickin’ Grand Canyon. You gotta really bring the goods is you’re gonna try something that ballsy.
Well, we wouldn’t be talking about this band if they didn’t have something special, would we? Though their latest album Le Grand Cañon has been out since last year, it has been plugging all the gaps in our musical vision board since then.
The history of hip-hop cannot be written without delving into Detroit. Even without Eminem changing the game, you still have the likes of Slum Village, Obie Trice, Big Sean, Danny Brown, and Royce da 5’9″ making their mark. Kid Vishis, younger brother of Royce, has proven himself as one of Motown’s most potent MCs. READ MORE…
Gainesville, Florida’s well-named The Savants of Soul continue to build momentum for their boisterous, engaging live shows. The big band builds on a palette of 60s and 70s soul, while folding in shades of punk, ska and jazz as well. The group’s new single, “Dead Man Running” affirms that the horn-driven band’s sound translates into the studio setting as well. The Savants of Soul’s Alex Klausner tells Relix, “No song of ours to date has captured what we want to accomplish or sound like as a band as much as this song has. It’s the product of years of refinement and evolution as we keep trying to strike at the heart of soul music and find out place in its rich sonic history. We’re proud of the effort and happy to finally release this piece of ourselves to the world.”
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The thrill of the unknown can be exhilarating. Untethered by tradition, Americana singer-songwriter David Quinn hit the open road to find himself and rediscover his love of music. The highway swept out from under his feet, weaving through the mountains of Colorado down to the sweltering heat of Texas and then back out west to the coast of California, collecting images and bits of songwriting for what would become his debut album. Wanderin’ Fool is very much indebted to what he reckons was his quarter-life crisis, an adventure that not only reaffirmed his passion but gave him a new lease on life.
The right collaborator proved key in bringing about the first new Drivin N Cryin album in a decade — Live the Love Beautiful, whose “Step By Step” video (animated by DJ Edwards) is premiering exclusively below.
DNC hasn’t been entirely idle during that time on the recording front; The group did release four EPs and a remastered, retitled edition of its self-titled 1997 album during the interim since 2009’s The Great American Bubble Factory. But frontman Kevn Kinney tells Billboard the idea of another full-length was daunting. “It’s crazy, because I can do a five-song EP in four days, three days, but for some reason it takes me months to make those four more songs that turn it into an album,” Kinney notes with a laugh. “I really loved the EP thing, and I was trying to wrap my head around making an album again. It’s crazy, but that’s why you have a producer — and luckily I did not have to produce this one.”