Grand Canyon’s upcoming EP, Yesterday’s News, sees the California band trading out their classic roots influences for the psychedelic thrills of ’70s and ’80s-era rock. With inspiration rooted in the transitional phases of artists like Warren Zevon and Bruce Springsteen as they shifted into a new sonic landscape, it’s an exciting leaf to turn for Grand Canyon.
Priding himself on his cross between undulating, indie rock-driven guitars and the straight-ahead roots of Americana, Australian singer-songwriter Josh Rennie-Hynes traveled to Nashville to record his new album, Patterns, after receiving a prestigious grant from the Australian Council for the Arts.
Live the Love Beautiful is the latest album from the legendary Drivin N Cryin and the group’s first full-length album of new material since 2009’s working-class opera, Whatever Happened to the Great American Bubble Factory. Produced by acclaimed singer-songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan, who had his own two-year stint with the band as touring guitarist circa 2013, the album captures a number of things, including the current all-cylinders lineup, which features co-founders Kevn Kinney and Tim Nielsen, longtime drummer Dave V. Johnson and Estonian-born guitarist Laur Joamets.
It’s been a long past year of milestones for Kate Vargas since the June 2018 PopMatters premiere of a previous single, “7 Inches”.
Vargas tells PopMatters about her latest single, “Nothing Turns My Lock”: “This song started at the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, one of the most magical places on earth. Owned and operated by Pat Macdonald (Timbuk3, Purgatory Hill) and Melaniejane (Purgatory Hill), the place functions as a fun retro hotel year-round but, three times out of the year, 30-40 songwriters and a handful of engineers from all over are invited there for a week of songwriting. On the first night, we spin the bottle for our songwriting partners, write and record a song in about 24 hours, and then do it again the next night and the next night.”
Petrilli tells PopMatters, “‘Echoes and Silence’ is about feeling lost, like no one can understand you. It explores the feelings you have when journeying through darkness and loneliness.”
Six-piece indie folk outlet Grand Canyon are a flashback in time, reflective of the folk rock and pop of the late 20th century this side of Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac. Antithetical of the more synthetic nature of pop hits today, the band tends to hone their focus in on earthen hooks and infectious rhythms that would produce fitting anthems for any backroad. Grand Canyon isn’t just another quality indie outlet on the rise, though, having already proven their mettle through millions of album sales and multiple world tours underneath the belts of each of its members. With the recently released LP Le Grand Cañon, Grand Canyon proves their worth once again with a series of shimmering Americana-tinged pop expressions.