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Listen to Erik Hall’s Bold and Lively Interpretation of Steve Reich’s “Music For a Large Ensemble”

Erik Hall will release his new album Solo Three on January 23, 2026 via Western Vinyl. The composer and multi-instrumentalist interpreted pieces by Glenn Branca, Charlemagne Palestine, Laurie Spiegel and perhaps most ambitious of the group, “Music For a Large Ensemble” by Steve Reich. The composition originally written in 1978 for at least 23 performers finds its bright, lively spirit in dazzling sonic detail with its component parts supporting, augmenting and complementing each other in short and then longer lines back to those shorter and alterations in accent and volume to bring to the experience of listening an organic feel and one that stimulates the mind with the simple joy of its arrangements. Hall uses a divergent sound palette with synths, organs, pianos, guitar, bass (all performed, recorded and mixed by himself—impressive on its own) to lend a modern almost electronic music aesthetic to one of Reich’s classics. Listen to “Music For a Large Ensemble” on YouTube and follow Erik Hall at the links below.

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Silver Liz Creates a Cinematic Experience of Deep Affection in Dreampop Single “Through The Trees”

When “Through The Trees” begins it sounds as though you’re hearing strands of music from overlapping realities. But Silver Liz appears to write music with a deeply layered aesthetic with mixed styles intermingling in unpredictable ways. When the song gets off the ground it’s like an IDM song in terms of production and arrangement but the ethereal synths, melodiously atmospheric vocals and textural guitar work ground the song in human emotion and the feeling of deep affection for one’s beloved. The intertwining of electronic and organic elements is seamless and adds to a great sense of space and sonic depth throughout the song so that even at three minutes forty-five seconds it feels like a full cinematic experience with the changes in tone and emotional resonance. Listen to “Through The Trees” on Spotify and follow Silver Liz at the links provided. The duo’s new album III drops January 30, 2026 on limited edition colored vinyl, digital download and streaming.

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Trouble’s Braids Releases Live at Stone Cottage

Trouble’s Braids, photo courtesy the artists

Trouble’s Braids just released Live at Stone Cottage including intimate and lively versions of “Precipice” and “The Pines.” The former is a lighthearted song about living on the edge of mainstream society and striving to pursue one’s passions with integrity. The latter a more somber composition telling the story of being pulled between two types of live, one more safe and predictable and one more satisfying and liberated. The spare guitar work and vocal harmonies really draw the listener into the song’s heartfelt storytelling. Both songs come in the wake of the late June release of the Americana duo’s debut EP, The Big Tourist. The warmly rendered songs from the EP have an earnest energy mixed with a knack for creating mood that one doesn’t always associate with music associated with folk Americana. Trouble’s Braids consists of Oliver Franklin and Emily Pennington who got their starts in music in Seattle and Los Angeles respectively but now call Boulder home. The two new songs were recorded at Stone Cottage Studios in Boulder and highlight the project’s diverse musical instincts and style.

Listen to Live at Stone Cottage as well as The Big Tourist on Spotify and connect with Trouble’s Braids at the links below. Look for a new relelase in Spring 2026 with vinyl later in the year. See Trouble’s Braids live at Globe Hall with Jason Brandt & The Build Out, Tomato Soup and Grass Ceiling on Sunday, January 11, 2026.

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Trendsetter’s “Superhero” is Like a Downtempo IDM Journey to Mysterious and Intriguing Places

The dark tone at the onset of “Superhero” by Trendsetter (with collaborators Magnus Deus and Katty G) suggests long late nights driving the back alleys and byways like perhaps Batman would. The song has layers of saturated tone that feel like textures through which the yearning, melodic vocals come through like something out of a mid-to-late-90s downtempo song. But this piece of music sounds even more steeped in 2020s production. The percussion beats are in the vein of future garage/IDM but which drop drop out and echo lightly at times to give a subtle dub effect. But beyond picking apart the musical elements the song feels like a deep journey into mysterious places that stimulate the mind with the possibility of intrigue ahead. Listen to “Superhero” on Spotify and follow Trendsetter at the links below.

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Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E35: The Silver Snails

The Silver Snails, photo by Jasmine Ward

The Silver Snails has been percolating its new album Speed of Light for over a decade since the 2012 release of its debut album The Seven Melodies. The core of the group is husband-and-wife duo Lucas Ward and Elisa Fantini and fashions itself a “glam rock space pop family band.” Even a casual listen to the new album reveals great attention to songwriting detail, performance and production. It has a huge, uplifting, deeply melodic sound and in moments it may remind listeners of something Jeff Lynne and Trevor Horn had their hands in making. In fact, the group covers “Video Killed the Radio Star” by Horn’s New Wave band The Buggles (the video for the original song was the first to be broadcast on MTV) for Speed of Light including a music video made by the members of The Silver Snails. The couple’s three children Jasmine, Celeste and Elias also contribute to the project’s creative efforts including live performances. Long before The Silver Snails became a band Ward was a close friend of singer/songwriter Elliott Smith from whom Ward took some inspiration in his own musical endeavors as someone who writes and records his own songs with keen attention to craft and performance. The album is indeed like a glam rock affair but one that is just as informed by the playful, experimental and imaginative psychedelic rock of Flaming Lips with some sonic resonances with the more space rock end of ELO. Co-produced by Dylan Magierek, mixed by Peter Katis and Adam Selzer and mastered by Greg Calbi and Sterling Sound, its an album that sounds like something from a classic era of pop but with an immediacy that hooks you in with every song. Speed of Light was released on September 5, 2025 on streaming, digital download and CD.

Listen to our interview with Lucas Ward on Bandcamp and follow The Silver Snails at the links below.

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“Sunshine” is Your Friend Nirantha’s Tender Dream Pop Song of Affection and Appreciation For a Loved One

Your Friend Nirantha, photo courtesy the artist

Your Friend Nirantha released the debut EP Desire Path on September 25, 2025 and the lead single “Sunshine” is a quiet and delicate epic. Minimal percussion keeps the pace as spare, ethereal guitar traces the background spaces of the song and lightly distorted bass provides the deeper mood and Nirantha Gopal’s voice sits in the foreground with of affection and appreciation. In the end with the child’s voice one might rightfully assume it’s sort of a creatively ambitious song for one’s child. Hearing bells and in the mix to add a touch of texture enhances the impression of this song coming out of more a desire to convey a feeling more than being influenced by a specific style of music. It’s not really dream pop or indiepop but fans of both will find something undeniably appealing here. Fans of Black Belt Eagle Scout circa Mother of My Children will hear some resonance with the way Katherine Paul crafts melodies with great emotional nuance. Listen to “Sunshine” on Bandcamp and follow Your Friend Nirantha at the links provided.

https://yourfriendnirantha.bandcamp.com/track/sunshine

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Bad Flamingo Leans Into Defying Conventional Morality on the Languid, Noir Folk Single “The Fruit”

Bad Flamingo, photo courtesy the artists

With “The Fruit” Bad Flamingo takes a more gentle tone from the dark edge of some of its other songwriting. Some tasteful slide guitar work and folk-inflected delicacy gives a new quality to the band’s tales of being from the wrong side of the tracks and leaning into sweet temptations. Bad Flamingo is expert at implying people in the throes of a romantic and sexual relationship or rare connection and passion. But this song is more like having the time to reflect on yet another facet of that relationship in a moment with the typical, and refreshing, lack of regret for transgressing conventional behavior and morality in pursuit and service to something real and vital. The title of the song and references to snakes cleverly allude to original sin while discarding such spurious notions and taking a thrill at defying god/mainstream society at the same time. In the video we see the be-masked members languishing about in what looks like a hotel room from the 1970s, an aesthetic suiting their vibe and the late night musings of the song. Watch the video for “The Fruit” on YouTube and follow Bad Flamingo at the links below.

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CTZNSHP Returns With the Dark, Moody and Dissonant Post-Punk Song “Hawaii”

CTZNSHP recently released Lost Loves (A Collection Of Rarities), a compilation of early demos, practice space recordings, previous and more recent studio recordings. The Montreal-based post-punk band garnered attention a little over a decade ago for its commanding and spacious guitar and emotionally charged vocals with lyrics of uncommon psychological insight. The lead single “Hawaii” sounds more melancholic like a dark surf rock song Chris Isaak might sing. Its lightly distorted guitar lead threatens to break apart in any moment and the vocals similarly so in its urgency. And as the song progresses that initial impression splinters because it sounds more desparate and dissonant than anything you’d expect from Isaak and more like something in the vein of Preoccupations or Protomartyr and how both bands can dip into a fractured sensibility and then back into coherence reflecting the actual experience of having a moment of peak emotion. Listen to “Hawaii” on Bandcamp and follow CTZNSHP on Instagram.

014LN’s Darkly Sensuous and Alluring Downtempo Neo Soul Single “Creep With Me” is Overflowing With a Yearning For Complete Connection

01L4N (pronounced Oilan) recently released the downtempo neo soul single “Creep With Me.” The song with production by Brittany Campbell (aka 01L4N), Aaron Day and Dayloop with vocal contributions from The Last Artful, Dodgr has a dreamlike quality that draws you into its words of desire and a yearning for complete connection and commitment with one’s beloved in a deeply emotional, physical and spiritual way. The loping bass line pulses with a lingering dynamic off which hazy atmospheric melodies flow with the sensuous vocals in luminous cool colors of tone. The mood of the song is reminiscent of the more experimental moments of Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah albums with commanding and alluring performances from Campbell that bring you back in to revisit the spell the song weaves. Listen to “Creep With Me” on Spotify and follow Brittany Campbell at the links below.

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Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E34: PINES

Josh Hight is a former member of post-punk band The Detachment Kit until the mid-2000s when the group relocated to Brooklyn. He operated for a time as a solo artist under the moniker Irons before relocating to the UK and immersing himself in the world of photography, film and soundtracks. The later came about in part after Hight met Richard Norris at a Stone Club event in London. Norris is perhaps best known for his production work with the likes of Psychic TV, Marc Almond, Sun Ra, Robert Fripp and Joe Strummer but also as a member of influential electronic dance group The Grid. In 2025 Hight released his debut EP from his new solo project PINES with In His Wake, produced by Norris. The record as the name perhaps hints at is a product of grief, disillusionment and the soul searching that happens subsequent to hitting life’s low points. But the music that has come about is made up of gorgeously melodic atmospheres and poignant expressions of loss, the dull reality of much of adult existence and its relative lack of inspiration and leaps of discovery, melancholic reflections on past relationships and a yearning for the collapse of the current mode of human civilization and its capture by oligarchic monetization through digital channels and a more transcendent and vital future once that dissolution is well under way. Musically it’s like a cosmic slowcore, pastoral shoegaze form of psychedelic pop that at times is reminiscent of Hawkwind’s more accessible moments and shades of The Zombies. With guest musicians like Andy Bell (Ride, Oasis), Emmett Kelly (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, The Cairo Gang) and Dottie Cochran (Deary) it’s a richly emotional experience and one that seems more complete than EP often does.

Listen to our interview with Josh Hight on Bandcamp and follow PINES on Instagram.