Citizen Cope has crossed over into mainstream success and gracefully back again. The urban poetic folk troubadour broke through with a hip hop inspired cadence blessed with melodic contrast. Rather than regurgitate the sound that made him a household name, he continues to adapt. It’s heard on rich productions like his recent Close To You.
The orchestration and some of the melodic revolutions recall Magical Mystery Tour or Sgt Peppers era Beatles. Blended with his trademark vocal delivery and some NOLA influence, Close To You brings exciting contrast. It connects with his fanbase while finding some fresh footing within his canon. As an artist he has integrity without trying to totally reimagine himself. Rather than being cookie cutter, his flavors continue to evolve with new complexities, but always stay savory sweet. It’s just slightly altered, rather than the same thing over and over. We can dig it.
Hear Close To You now on our Best New Indie Playlist.
Shannon Hawley breaks through with her inspiring new single Mercy. This narrative has triggered her most passionate performance yet, one ripe with vulnerability and tremble. Paired with an equally impassioned paternal duet with Nekter Gun, Mercy is an anthem for parents everywhere.
This coming into middle age crisis turns a new leaf on grace and serenity. The aggressive nature of this effective tribute brings the elephant in the room to the front for all to see. It shows itself in our crippling divorce rate and new culture shock, but it doesn’t get addressed in an open forum. Villages don’t raise kids anymore. In a new disheartened world where evil knows no bounds you can barely let you kids run the neighborhood anymore, parenthood is a prison and the community at large shows little empathy. Instead they take it as an opportunity to blame and shame struggling parents. Where is the helping hand in our new society? If your parents seem a little strung out, show some damn mercy. It’s the least you can do.
Hear Mercy now on our Best New Indie Playlist.
Taupe honors the lyrical angst of his new Castelvatrano (Still the Same). A narrative of this manner deserves such a passionate performance. That drama persists out of the vocals with the raucous boom of the arrangement.
Produced in a conceptual manner, Castelvatrano gets under your skin. As it should, this story where determination meets self doubt screams with imposter syndrome. There’s a romantic melodic quality, somewhere between Spanish and Italian, that adds to the projects conceptual nature and adds some Americana flare. The cinematic musical design beneath the energetic almost aggressive vocals adds to the singles captivating contrast.
Hear Castelvatrano (Still the Same) now on our Best New Indie Playlist.
We dig the clever art rock arrangement on Maimed, the new single from Viruette. Psych pop with alternative punk attitude, Maimed evolves with dramatic progressive appeal and compositional surprise. There are intense freak outs in the spirit of Car Seat Headrest contrasted with dreamy sixties pop sections in the vein of recent Father John Misty. That kind of progressive surprise should connect with fans of dynamic psych fueled projects like King Krule.
Maimed is just the third single from this exciting Boston based trio. They’ve set the bar high in anticipation of a larger release due out later this year.
Hear Maimed now on our Best New Indie Playlist.
The Wild Is Calling 