Push play and a sturdy drum beat punches out followed by thick, meaty, reverbed guitar on “Dallas,” a dark story of criminals on the run. Two tracks later, “South of the Boulder” explodes with driving, train-time drums and high octane twang guitars cranking out like the Old 97s on steroids as Novak recounts another story about an ex, or maybe current, lover again on the lam.
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.
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.
Misty Boyce was at a meditation retreat when she came to the following realization: “The Adam and Eve story is the first ‘bros before hoes.’ God and Adam were like, ‘Sorry Eve, we gotta keep this tight between us so we’re gonna throw you under the bus.’ And that’s shaped society ever since.” READ MORE…
In a world where everyone is currently stuck inside and longing for the days where they can go back to their favorite restaurant or shop, one must look for some positives. While it is true that there’s limited freedoms to what one can currently do, there’s now more time to spend time with family and friends, get some much required rest that none of us can seem to catch up on, and possibly even improve on themselves, whatever that may be. Boston native Adam Silvestri, otherwise known as Radiator King, pinpoints these simple gifts in life in latest single “Out in the Night.” READ MORE…