Tag Archives: song-to-know

Song You Need to Know: Musclecars, 'Shelter'

Musclecars’ “Shelter” is airy and urgent. The production is uncluttered; the piano refuses to settle on any easily memorable vamp; singer Brandon Markell Holmes unfurls long, wordless ad-libs in daredevil falsetto, content to take his time and play around in the upper register. Later, all the parts start to coalesce, …

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Song You Need to Know: Patrick Holland, 'Up to You'

Patrick Holland’s latest single is immaculately layered: rolling bass line, soft, percussive pitter-patter, something like birdcalls zipping through the background, a sweet, squeaky synthesizer riff poking through all the prettiness. “Up to You” builds intensity stealthily, as snippets of wordless, pitch-shifted vocals emerge to play tag with the main motif. …

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Hope Tala Made the Song of the Summer Morning

Hope Tala’s “Lovestained” is a hybrid as intrepid as it is airy: The guitar suggests Brazil in 1965, the steel drums add a springy touch of the Caribbean, and the bass seems plucked from an irresistible hit on American rap radio in 1998. “That’s what the vision is: Bringing together …

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Song You Need to Know: Laura Stevenson, 'Dermatillomania'

The title of indie singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson’s latest single is the name of a OCD-related mental illness that causes people to repeatedly pick at their own skin. But despite that ominous title, Stevenson’s latest — a jangly pop-rocker that recalls Rabbit Fur Coat-era Jenny Lewis — is about persisting through …

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Song You Need to Know: Angel Bat Dawid, 'We Are Starzz'

In a recent interview with Qwest, Chicago jazz artist Angel Bat Dawid discussed the importance of cultivating a tight bond with her bandmates. “We went grocery shopping and sat down and had a meal together like a real family,” the multi-instrumentalist and composer explained of her group’s recent trip to …

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