Monthly Archive: July 2016
First Listen: Chris Stalcup and The Grange – Downhearted Fools

With a grizzled voice steeped in realism, Atlanta’s Chris Stalcup is one of the best songwriters America has yet to hear. Pulling no punches, Stalcup’s Saturday night songs tug at blue collar heartstrings with honest emotion. Following on 2014’s Dixie…
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8 Questions: The Tambourine Girls

With the release of their second single, “The Tambourine Girl,” Australian quartet The Tambourine Girls edge closer to their debut album being issued later this year. Following on the hallucinatory groove of first single “Police,” one could consider “The Tambourine…
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First Listen: Chelan – Won’t Break

The icy synths on “Won’t Break” from Joshua Tree, California electro-pop trio Chelan are offset by the warmth provided by Jennifer Grady’s vocals. Along with composer Justin Gosford and drummer Chad Austinson, Chelan update Jan Hammer’s ’80s aesthetic for a…
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First Listen: Elephant Stone – Manipulator

A charged political statement, “Manipulator” from Montreal trio Elephant Stone would make even the Napoleonic figures indicted in the song dance. The first single from Elephant Stone’s forthcoming fourth album, Ship of Fools, you can stream “Manipulator” below. To be…
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Weekly Playlist: 22 July 2016
First Listen: Dead Rabbits – Get Me Over There

Borrowing liberally from the Jesus and Mary Chain and its bastard children, Southampton quintet Dead Rabbits ride a bent-string groove on new single, “Get Me Over There.” Set to follow up 2014’s Time is Your Only Memory, Dead Rabbits will…
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Video: Saint Leonard’s Horses – Spooky Lover

Aleister Crowley meets Ghost Hunters in the video for “Spooky Lover” from London’s Saint Leonard’s Horses. Filmed at the Royal London Hospital and directed by Thom Yorke and Joe Morris, “Spooky Lover” may not convert one to Satanism but Kieran…
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First Listen: Elijah Ford & The Bloom – Try As You Might

With an unrepentant pop sheen, Elijah Ford & The Bloom‘s pleading “Try As You Might” is a backwards-looking motivational pep talk that happens to rock. Set to follow up his 2011 solo debut, Upon Waking, the Austin-based Ford will release…
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Weekly Playlist: 15 July 2016
First Listen: Gringo Star – Heading South

Open the lid on a Victrola these days and the song that should emit forth is “Heading South” from Atlanta indie stalwarts Gringo Star. Bearing more than a whiff of nostalgia, the wispy “Heading South” requires only half of a…
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First Listen: Ultimate Painting – Bills

With only a brief murmur interrupting their stoic groove, James Hoare (Veronica Falls) and Jack Cooper (Mazes) do Luna as well as Dean Wareham and company on “Bills,” the first single from the duo’s forthcoming Dusk, their third collaborative release…
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