New Music – Page 271 – Queen City Sounds and Art

“Unfinished Love Song” by MBG Hits All the Right Notes About the Complexities of Romance

MBG2_sm — MBG, photo by Shireen K. (IG: shireenkphotoz)

Yearning, wistful, introspective, resigned, accepting—Leena from MBG packs a lot of emotional mileage into a spare and soulful song about love and how we often question ourselves in how we fit into the relationship and sometimes realize that we can’t live up to expectations because we have to be who we are and honest with ourselves more than fulfill someone else’s fantasy. Somewhere between a country song and bluesy folk, “Unfinished Love Song” may live up to its title because your life and your connections with people rarely end with the kind of manufactured closure that you might find in a movie, a novel or a hackneyed pop song. With its expressive guitar lines and nuanced vocals, “Unfinished Love Song” also has the subtext of a reminder to be gentle and kind with yourself even as you question it all. MGB’s new EP Have a Alright Day recently released on Spotify and you can listen to “Unfinished Love Song” below and follow MGB’s work and happenings at the links following.

twitter.com/mbgisleena
Have a Alright Day on Spotify
instagram.com/mbgisleena

Heron’s “The Glow” Evokes a Peaceful Summer Sunrise

Heron3_sm — Heron, photo courtesy the artist

Prior to the July 19 release of its second full length album Sun Release, post-rock band Heron from Warren Pennsylvania set forth the single for “The Glow.” Perhaps a nod to Microphones, the song itself begins with a dawn-like shimmer to the sun rising on a peaceful day of feeling whole and well-rested and motivated to do something as if, yes, one has a glow emanating from within to drive a spirit to living fully. Maybe that explains the title of the album as well. The ethereal echo of sounds at the end definitely sounds like someone or something has launched toward better places. Listen below and keep up with the band at the links provided as it prepares to roll out the new record and the more than likely series of live dates in support.

heronband.com
soundcloud.com/user-376736334
open.spotify.com/artist/1eDflyuVvl6VwwEmm1NQXM
heronband.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/weareheron
facebook.com/weareheron
instagram.com/heron.band

Ala Ghawas’ Richly Dynamic “Mars” Evokes 80s Art Pop Stars and Modern Soul

AlaGhawas1_crop — Ala Ghawas, photo courtesy the artist

Rarely will we share a song by the same artist this close together but “Mars” is a very different flavor and sound from Bahrainian songwriter Ala Ghawas. It’s still rooted in a sort of fusion of folk, jazz and pop but “Mars” finds Ghawas processing his soulful voice and otherwise incorporating a broad range of vocal styles in a relatively short song. Musically it’s a bit like hearing something that bridges modern soul with 80s artsy pop like Talk Talk and Peter Gabriel. The fascinating changes, dynamics and dazzling array of instruments brought to bear in the songwriting but channeled into an accessible form speak to a talent that could make him a darling of American alternative radio, if he isn’t already, given half a chance.

alaghawas.com
open.spotify.com/artist/1nj0MYUA0NqzniJd4FvUQN

Jett Kwong’s “Cream” is a Deeply Layered Dream Pop Confection With a Thought-Provoking Center

JettKwong1_lg — Jett Kwong, photo courtesy the artist

Julee Cruise-esque in the lush tones and sense of mystery, Jett Kwong’s “Cream” has subtle layers of sound that weave in and out of the song in a marvel of subtle dynamics between vocals, synth and the exquisite sound of the guzheng. Though the song brims over with unique melodies from the mix of instrumentation and Kwong’s especially expressive and versatile vocals at its center is a commentary about the dangers of romanticizing another person and of an era or a culture as has often happened with the West and Westerners and Asia and Asians. That complexity of intent and musicality gives the song a not so obvious depth that makes repeated listens so rewarding. Has Kwong transmogrified elements of Edward Said and Frantz Fanon into the creative alchemy behind this song? Only she knows but whatever the case it’s a pleasant surprise to hear a gorgeous pop song with an experimental edge and a non-didactic socio-political subtext.

soundcloud.com/jettkwong

Jake Morse Tells it Like it is With Wit and Brevity on “Oh Say (Can You See What’s Wrong?)”

jake-morse-cropped — Jake Morse, photo courtesy the artist

On “Oh Say (Can You See What’s Wrong?)” Jake Morse says more in a little over a minute about America’s cultural conflicts and being an aware human than many other artists say in an song three times as long or even on an entire album. From immigration, colonialism, sexism, performative patriotism and more, Morse comments deftly on it all. His call to trying for something as simple as being a better person and not giving up on the good is delivered with an honesty, spareness and humor. The video looks like it’s taken place offhandedly in some working class suburban neighborhood but that just makes it a little more relatable than something filmed to be more exotic or imbued with urban cool. Listen/watch below and follow Morse at the links provided as he releases a music video a month.

jakemorsemusic.com
soundcloud.com/jakemorsemusic
open.spotify.com/artist/7G7FBHw6D3RyvYx8lGVbaR
twitter.com/jakemorsemusic
instagram.com/jakemorsemusic

Jonny Element’s “Our Love” Is The Sound of a Half-Remembered Daydream

JonnyElement2_lg — Jonny Element, photo courtesy the artist

Jonny Element’s “Our Love” has a circular structure repeating with intersecting patterns to create a kind of hypnotic tonality that taps into the subconscious and stirring positive memories. In that way it’s a bit like an Adrian Sherwood remix that draws out the essence of a song and uses those musical ideas and fragments to create a dream like echo throughout. Though likely not quite the method used it sounds as though Element wrote a core melody that is in the foreground with two layers weaving in and out to give an almost visual experience in sound the way a filmmaker would use an opacity function in a video editing program to create a compound visual that conveys a depth of meaning. For “One Love” it’s 90s rave electronica with a touch of the dynamic and melodic structure of The Orb’s “Little Fluffy Clouds” and a modern synth pop gloss akin to what Purity Ring has been bringing to more mainstream music. It’s an interesting effect like a half-remembered fond memory shared by people at a particularly good moment in their lives. After the song you can explore Element’s work further and follow his goings on at the links provided.

joshuapageweb.wordpress.com
soundcloud.com/jonnyelement
youtube.com/channel/UCMQVzK1T1xyBURch8CWE7SA
twitter.com/JonnyElement
facebook.com/jonnyelementmusic
instagram.com/jonny_element

American Wolf’s “Somewhere Somehow” Brings the Chill Nights of Early Fall to the Summer Months Ahead

AmericanWolf2_sm — American Wolf, photo courtesy the artist

American Wolf’s latest single “Somewhere Somehow” is a wistful, tone rich headlong drift into hazy emotional clouds of melancholic introspection. Whereas his other 2019 singles “Growing Pains” and “Not My Life” sound like there is an attempt to create chill warm weather vibes despite the dark undertones of the lyrics, “Somewhere Somehow” has the quality of something written in early fall as the heat of summer is winding down and one’s inclination to dwell on regret has lifted along with a bit of depression and your mind can focus on what it all means and what’s more important to you than dwelling on an overwrought, perhaps even melodramatic, sense of loss that makes for good songwriting and externalizing those blues but not so great on your psyche. Obviously the influence of chillwave and those early bedroom synth pop creators like Toro Y Moi, Washed Out and Neon Indian is here but this sounds like those guys ditching the rewards of renown and fame and reconnecting with the methods and feelings that are great fodder for charmingly lo-fi odes to honoring one’s recurring and even persistent feelings of being on the outs with yourself and the world around you. Given the state of things, seems an apt soundtrack to dissolve some of that sense of anomie. Listen below and follow American Wolf’s music further at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/americanwolfmusic
youtube.com/user/AmericanWolfOfficial
americanwolf.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/AmericnWolf
facebook.com/americanwolfmusic

A-WA’s “Hana Mash Hu Al Yamani” Is a Lively and Poignant Hip-Hop Poem About the Immigrant Experience

“Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman” by A-WA and its music video may speak specifically to the experience of Yemenite immigrants to Israel but its presentation deftly humanizes the plight of so many immigrants around the world. With an eclectic sound that combines the beat-making of hip-hop with traditional Yemenite music and its lively chordal structures and compound time. The video and song was inspired by the story of the trio’s great grandmother who was brought to Israel in 1949 during Operation Magic Carpet. The group (Tair, Liron and Tagel Haim) took the story and cast in call and response fashion as with “America” from West Side Story which itself humanized real tension and conflict using creativity and ace dance moves. A-WA made a big splash with its song “Habib Galbi” in 2016 (from the album of the same name) which is the first song in Arabic to ever reach number one in the Israeli pop charts. On May 31, 2019 the group released its sophomore album BAYTI FI RASI and you can give a listen to that here.

“Ember” From Bahraini Songwriter Ala Ghawas is a Masterpiece of Elegance and Restraint

Ala Ghawas is a prolific and acclaimed songwriter in his home country of Bahrain. Rather than perhaps more traditional Bahraini music, Ghawas has garnered attention for his finely crafted indie folk. With his latest series of singles, the Ghawas has been exploring the use of dissonance and well-placed minor progressions in a style of music that tends to play it a little safer. “Ember,” reminiscent of Our Endless Numbered Days-period Iron & Wine. Ghawas’ use of minimalist elements to orchestrate an emotional musical figure is similarly sophisticated and his turns of phrase poetic and vivid. At first listen you might think it’s like some other chamber folk songs you’ve heard and it is in many ways but repeated listens reveal layers of composition that reward your attention with the details and emotional coloring. Listen below to “Ember” and more.

Luke & Sarah-Rose’s “F*ck You” is a Chant to Purge Personal Darkness

LukeAndSarahRose2_sm — Luke & Sarah-Rose, photo courtesy the artists

Australian duo Luke & Sarah-Rose are on the verge of releasing their new album and the single “Fuck You” gives you a taste of the way the songwriters are able to turn deep personal pain and frustration into a luminous and quietly cathartic melody that shimmers with an inner light. It sounds like Sarah-Rose is setting the demons that haunt her mind loose upon the water like lantern-motes of the psyche and bidding them goodbye. Rather than a simple resolution this aspect of the song and its flower-like rosette of a chant-like structure suggests an intentional process that draws upon the intuition to guide it. At times in this way it recalls the emotional delicacy and power of Tori Amos because the latter doesn’t dishonor her own life and struggles nor those of her listeners with glib pseudo-wisdom. At others like The Kills without the hard rock but the psychological insight and intensity well in place.