This Canadian singer-songwriter and visual artist brings a gritty artsy folk grandeur to her songbook that is tough as nails and melodically moody in all the right spots. Oz’s new album, the self-produced Growing Pains aims to consolidate Oz’s talent into a caravan of styles and emotions, melding elements of soul, rock n’ roll, and jazz to her ever-growing sonic palette.
For your weekend listening stack, Takénobu returns with a new song titled “Got to Get By.”
This latest release is the third single from the upcoming self-released album, Always Leave a Note, due out September 3.
Here, singer and cellist Nick Ogawa and wife, singer and violin player Kathryn Koch, strike a balance between their music’s dramatic pop inflections and the sense of lingering unease that came with life amid a global pandemic. Naturally, the title serves as a mantra of endurance and catharsis. The strength of their songwriting and their earnest delivery also show off new depth and direction, offering a hint at the direction of the new album.
It would be blasphemy to compare anyone to James Brown, but it’s hard for Mr. Dynamite to not come to mind when listening to Dylan Chambers’ new track “Me vs. Me.” Right from the get-go, Chambers comes out swinging with a tight funk workout that is slinky, smirky, and sharp, where the band hits hard and the frontman is the star. Glide is premiering the song and video for this supercharged modern funk number that retains a middleweight modern soul legitimacy.
Glide is premiering the hard-biting “Heads Up,” which swarms with crushing lyrics, stomping folk, and to finish it off- an acrobatic guitar solo. Ditchbird has cemented himself as an artist who refuses to be “soundcast” into a particular genre corner and instead raises his musical middle finger with a glorious take mixing both the electric and organic.
Cello and violin aren’t exactly the lead instruments one would expect to drop stunning indie-rock compositions. Yet Takénobu brings an explosive mix of art-rock and all-encompassing new-wave that sounds as if Arcade Fire unplugged and holed up in a coffee bar.
Takénobu is the middle name and band and artist name for Nick Takenobu Ogawa. It is a combination of the Japanese Kanji characters in his father and grandfather’s names, and loosely translated means “Iron Will”. He is joined in live performance and on the new album Always Leave a Note by talented wife Kathryn Koch.
Glide is premiering “Peachy Keen,” which takes simple pop new-wave pleasures and mingles those hooks with an artistic flair reserved for jazz and symphonic works. Call it neo-classical-wave, yet we’re digging on this enrapturing effort due off Takénobu’s upcoming LP Always Leave a Note.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “Back to Sleep,” one of the standout tracks on the new album. With a rock and roll piano sound that smoky vocals that bring to mind Warren Zevon, the song carries a stomping groove that showcases Check’s talent for singing, songwriting and composing. There is a timeless barroom rock and roll sound to the tune as Check layers in catchy vocal harmonies and plenty of jammy electric guitar. Of course, the piano ties it all together and makes for a sound that feels straight out of the hazy 70s.