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Early Signs Approaches the “Highs and Lows” of Ebb and Flow of Fortune in Life With Zen-like Humor

Early Signs catalog the various ways in which life’s peak moments and not so lofty heights seem to work in parallel in our lives on “Highs and Lows.” The song written in a psychedelic pop Americana style loosely follows a cadence not unlike that of Warren Zevon’s 1977 hit “Werewolves of London” and like that song there is a sense of darkly ironic humor without malice. In this song the lyrics goes down a list of situations where we work hard, get recognized for such in petty ways, only to be rewarded with the opportunity to do more work or rewarded in other dubious ways such as the “social media queen” who trades her “boundaries for compliments” all while endeavoring without taking into consideration burnout, our own and that of the very situations we’re in. Is the song warning against being too satisfied before another downturn in life, against getting too comfortable? Or just bemoaning the perceived inevitable. The song works with multiple interpretations of one of the basic facts of life—that the good times don’t last forever. And that knowing this means that maybe you can roll with the flow of fortune and failure without despair. Listen to “Highs and Lows” on Spotify, look for the debut album out in April 2022 and follow Early Signs at the links below.

Early Signs on Instagram

Husbands Sonically Free Associate America’s Collective Dissociative Tendencies on “Wishbone”

The menacing bass line and almost motorik beat that opens “Wishbone” by Husbands and the way the song unfolds with disparate streams of sound is reminiscent of pop weirdo Russ Ballard. The song weaves together strands of post-punk, Krautrock, synth pop and experimental psychedelic rock across it’s duration. The distorted vocals, processed to sound robotic, cuts through the mix and then gives way to moody harmonies that contemplate the dissociative aspects of modern American culture. The fractured guitar solo in the first half of the song sounds like society or at least one’s psyche on the verge of fragmenting while the synth work mid-song touches on the warped, dreamlike soundscapes of Black Moth Super Rainbow. As the song plays visions of Stereolab collaborating Black Angels on a cover of Ballard’s 1984 hit “Voices” is hard to shake which just makes “Wishbone” a bit of an earworm in the end. Listen to the song on Spotify and connect with Husbands at the links provided.

Husbands on Twitter

Husbands on Facebook

Husbands on Instagram

Kate Schroder Provides a Model for Finding Your Own Guiding Light to a Better Life on “Monday”

Kate Schroder, photo courtesy the artist

Kate Schroder’s “Monday” begins with a sample from How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as a prelude to a song of chilly, incandescent tones behind Schroder’s focused and emotive vocals. She seems to articulate how depression and a touch of impostor syndrome can make every day seem the same and weigh you down with routine and a lack of energy to push forward yet find a way to grind through the same cycle over and over. The title of the song presents that immediate impasse that can seem insurmountable until you literally live through the day. But the flickering, luminous quality of the keyboard line limns the tune with the haze of dreams and aspirations that pull you through these tedious life moments that are less than inspirational. And Schroder herself sings of that impulse to work one’s way through a period in life when noting is an obvious guiding light except for the one you provide yourself even if only a little, a little at a time until you reach your goals. If rekindling one’s heart fires to larger sizes and a spirit of action for the good can work for the aforementioned Grinch, it can work for you too. Listen to “Monday” on Bandcamp and connect with Schroder at the links below.

Kate Schroder on YouTube

Kate Schroder on Apple Music

Kate Schroder on Facebook

Kate Schroder on Instagram

The ALLAY Remix of Erik Bashore’s “Contortion” is an Ambient Prelude to the Onset of Full Winter

The ALLAY Remix of Erik Bashore’s “Contortion” is so transformative that the spare, acoustic ambient track that is the original is rendered into pure atmosphere, its distinct sounds processed and blurred into a continuous flow. It’s like the warm and detailed instrumentation of the original is a campfire obscured by a sudden snowstorm. Post-rock becomes something darker and moodier when the original song wasn’t exactly short on a hushed vibe. If the track were used in a soundtrack perhaps this remix would be in the introduction and the original for the credit sequence. It’s reminiscent of Onehotrix Point Never’s score to the 2017 crime thriller Good Time and suggests hidden depths within a blizzard on the edge of civilization and setting the expectation of an emotionally harrowing drama ahead. Listen to the ALLAY remix of “Contortion” by Erik Bashore on Soundcloud.

Alexander Nikolaev’s “Snowflakes” is the Embodiment of Reflective Isolation of Winter and the Urge For an Active Future

With two lines of piano, spectral synth drones and violin Alexander Nikolaev assembles layers of sound in a dynamic that embodies the delicate individuality of snowflakes falling from the sky. And when all the elements sync together later in this very short song at two minutes, the context of the snowflakes in the bigger picture of snowfall in a vast landscape. The melancholy tenor of the melody suggests a time of reflective isolation but the song has a palpable sense of momentum suggesting an emotional leaning into the long winter season ahead even while life may seem fallow anticipating a year of activity following a period of stasis. Perhaps not just an evocation of winter but of this lingering and seemingly more perilous years of plague and unease with how it doesn’t seem to end yet looking forward to when life can move forward as normal. A simple work that works on multiple levels. Listen to “Snowflakes” on YouTube and follow Nikolaev at the links below.

Alexander Nikolaev on Facebook

Alexander Nikolaev on Instagram

“Strange Kind of Love” is The Lovelines’ Enigmatic, Nostalgic Pop Debut

Brother and sister duo The Lovelines’ debut single “Strange Kind of Love” loops that title as a lyric throughout the song with a touch of different takes on the delivery creating an almost hypnotic rhythm. The layered percussion sounds both like a drum machine and like an organic drum sample while strings drop in to cast a nostalgic tenor toward the end of the song as the whimsical, slightly distorted guitar lead that came in early on the song to trace the melody set by the resonating bell tones. The image for the single looks like a 1960s designer’s idea of the near future and makes one wonder what this strange kind of love might be and with whom the woman pictured (the whole image looks like a very well imagined collage, adding to a surreal quality to the presentation of the song) might be discussing the details of such. It’s a simple pop song in just over two minutes and it sounds like music one might hear in a montage shot in a film set during the era of Mad Men and as such suggests there’s more than seems obvious on initial exposure. Listen to “Strange Kind of Love” on Spotify and follow The Lovelines at any of the links on their LinkTree below.

The LoveLines LinkTree

Flux In A Constant State Brings Us Along on a Mind-Bending Journey to Infinity On “Rainbow Over Rue D’Iberville”

Treated to views in Woodstock, NY from a national park structure atop a high vista, the video for “Rainbow Over Rue D’Iberville” by Flux In A Constant State sets a mood with some animation/high contrast filters over the footage. The steady percussion while guitar noodles playfully over the top like Robert Fripp’s work with Brian Eno. Cosmic tonal sketches, reverse delays taking you out of standard rhythms with improvisation in more standard rhythms over the top. While relaxing the song does take you along on its slinky yet steady path along its echoing, dreamlike soundscape to infinity. Watch the video for “Rainbow Over Rue “D’Iberville” on YouTube and connect with Flux In A Constant State at the links below where you can give a listen to the rest of the album Saeculum II: Causa Sui Boogaloo.

ttypes Taps Into the Nostalgia for Better Days in Hopes of a More Joyful Future With “Rock Bottom in Shanghai”

Tim Krauss sounds exuberantly wistful on the new ttypes single “Rock Bottom in Shanghai.” The upbeat melody is reminiscent of a late 70s ELO pop hit and intentionally draws on the sense of nostalgia then employed by Jeff Lynne and company but for this song the purpose is definitely subversive and its uplifting choruses are filled with expressions of heartbreak and struggling with how to bounce back from, yes, hitting rock bottom because all the old ways of clawing one’s way back to at least semi-functional normalcy aren’t really working but hopeful something will nudge you to better headspaces soon. It’s a personal song but ain’t that America? Listen to “Rock Bottom in Shanghai” on Soundcloud and follow ttypes at the links below.

ttypes on Twitter

ttypes on Facebook

ttypes on Instagram

Vases Makes the Fall of America’s Fake Meritocracy Seem Like a Dream Come True on “Comfort Creature”

When “Comfort Creature” by Vases starts out with its headlong pace and introspective vocals reminiscent of Beach Fossils or the better end of The Strokes, you’d be excused for not expecting some fairly heady political commentary. The fluid traces of the main guitar riff sounds like something one might better expect out of an indie pop band influenced by The Smiths but Ty Baron comes in with very direct and poetically rendered lines critical of the fake system of inherited meritocracy that poisons all levels of American and really most of world society and convinces most people they’re more worthy than they are just because they’ve enjoyed privilege all their lives. But Baron takes this content further and points to the culture’s “fetish for the young and all their creature comforts” as if when you’re past a certain age you have nothing to contribute to the world and should just get to some place of complacency in a career doing exactly what these days? Maybe mainstream media and “moderate” politicians haven’t been paying attention but that façade crumbled for most people decades ago but now the fallout is eroding and shattering corrupt institutions, unspoken and official, and too many corners of society are resisting going to a better place and too willing to crawl over others to hold on to the splintered remnants of these rungs on which they’ve been hanging for years unexamined and crying out in disbelief when people are demanding more than crumbs, glass ceilings and diminished expectations out of a world where a very few get everything and most have to scramble for perilously little. Maybe Baron isn’t quite as dire than that and his lyrics are far more elegant and personal than all of that but this song is a taste of his forthcoming Vases album that promises to be brimming with similarly vital political content. Listen to “Comfort Creature” on Soundcloud and follow Vases on Instagram linked below.

Vases on Instagram

Paul Terry’s Lushly Hopeful and Dreamlike “Seclusion Drive” Sounds Like the Precursor to the Twist in Forthcoming Cinematic Thriller Hidden Valley Place

“Seclusion Drive” is driven by melodic dissolves and brisk pace that suggests a curving path with a hint of mystery and menace ahead underneath a spirit of exuberance. Since it’s part of the soundtrack to a forthcoming thriller called Hidden Valley Place (album out now on composer Pau Terry’s own SkyBabyRecords imprint) it has a vibe similar to the music Pino Donaggio has written for various films across his long career but especially his scores for the films of Brian De Palma, think Body Double and Dressed To Kill where the music has a romantic quality, lushly produced and arranged with dreamlike, bright melodies and also functioning as a fine transition and contrasting complement to the darker elements of those movies. One wonders what nefarious places of the plot “Seclusion Drive” with its suggestive title might lead in the context of the film. But separate from that use of the music it’s a soothing listen that takes the mind to a daydreamy state. Terry has been a prolific composer for various works in television and film like Sidney & Friends, Emily and Care and his work for Hidden Valley Place sounds essential to helping make the twist in the movie more dramatic. Listen to “Seclusion Drive” on Soundcloud and follow Terry at the links below.