Latest Posts

Slowcoaching – “Training Wheels”

January 17, 2017

Last time we checked in with Melbourne-born Slowcoaching, he was touting his dreamy new jam, “Night Fiction.” He’s caught our attention again with the delightful “Training Wheels.” Slowcoaching is still nodding towards The War on Drugs, Ducktails, and Wild Nothing – his music is full of chorus-drenched guitars, squiggly synths, and Kurt Vile-esque vocals. Head over to Slowcoaching’s Bandcamp page and do the right thing. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/297978193″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

wwoman – “Waste Our Summer”

January 16, 2017

Pittsburgh’s wwoman brings the heat with “Waste Our Summer,” off his latest album Let Us Sleep Together. The classic marriage of spacey synth and lo-fi vocals brings this track appeal, but a prominent groove-infused bass line is what sets it apart. The art of layered contrasting synth is something many strive for, but wwoman can actually claim to achieve in this song without sounding contrived. His self-classified “depression pop” conjures images of sandy beaches, polaroid-captured late mornings, and no worries; something we all gravitate towards this time of year. Track down Let Us Sleep Together over on bandcamp for more summertime-slacker vibes. Written by Cassandra Dailey

The Dropout – “Let It Go”

January 16, 2017

In the modern age of the music industry artists are constantly looking to gain themselves exposure, while streamlining content to their fans in a wholesome and creatively fulfilling way. Andrew Flicker of The Dropout has thrown his hat into the ring with the launch of bi-weekly single releases. The Dropout’s first release, “Let It Go,” is an anthem dedicated to letting the good times roll and sweating the small stuff no more. Through a swirling texture of synth and a spunky drum beat, it’s easy to lose all sense of responsibility, as Flicker chants “All the things you ever wanted, lay it out and disregard it.” This dose of pure indie electro-pop is all fun-in-the-sun-meets-baby’s-first-rave, while those of us in enter into winter-induced vitamin D deficiency. It’s dreamy, it’s dismissive; it’s oddly soothing and invigorating at the same time. Combat the winter chill by checking out for The Dropout’s new[...]

Hot Tip – Hold Me, Closely

January 16, 2017

Hailing from Buffalo, Hot Tip delivers a cohesive collection of electrifying cuts on their new 12″ LP, Hold Me, Closely. Formed in 2013, Hot Tip is made up of Katherine Goewey on vocals, drummer, Irene Rekhviashvili, both from the band Pang, guitarist, Stephen Floyd from the Mallwalkers, and bassist, Keely Guiliano from Cross Stitch. Hold Me, Closely was one of those late 2016 releases that needed to be talked about in 2017. The quartet is not one to fall neatly into a singular classification of what it means to be a punk band, that would be too easy. That would be too boring. Instead, what makes the band interesting is the fact that they fill Hold Me, Closely with a balanced assembly of different punk/rock elements. The band prefers to describe themselves as “free punk,” as they’re not just one styling of the genre. They are made up of splatterings of hardcore,[...]

Lukr – “A Long December”

December 23, 2016

What a great song to wrap up a long year of blogging! We’ve written about Lukr before, way back in June when he released his warm weather anthem, “Fucked Up Summer.” This time around, we’re closing down operations with his take on the Counting Crows classic, “A Long December.” Lukr injects his neon-pop grunge sound into the 90s hit, turning the already infectious song into a true pop jam with sparkly production values. Until next year folks! Have a happy and safe holiday season. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/296370530″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Jacob ZL – “Worst Days”

December 19, 2016

“They say the good die young and you know I’m still alive,” raps Flatbush’s Jacob ZL on his single “Worst Days.” Over a smooth beat courtesy of tomcbumps and purpan, Jacob recounts the time he spent with an old love. Discussing both the highs and the lows, “Worst Days'” dichotomy lifts the song from a depressing place into a vivid story. Passion drove ZL’s relationship and it wasn’t a sustainable deal, he claims with the line “How are we supposed to work when the first thought was that this wouldn’t work?” ZL’s crafted a track to vibe to but flexes his storytelling chops at the same time. Give it a listen below.

Lord OLO – “Dirty30”

December 19, 2016

Seattle’s Lord OLO commands a dark, cultish aesthetic. It’s represented masterfully and creepily in the video for his track “Dirty30.” Much of the video for the rap cut takes place on a Gameboy Color that appears to be projecting a new dimension. OLO makes a filtered appearance in the visuals, showing off his prowess with some clever bars like “No disrespect, your kitty just ain’t worth the litter.” Lord OLO has some DOOM vibes going in his lyricism too, particularly in the way that he talks about his OLO character. It’s like he’s telling a story firsthand about this figure, and it gets you itching to hear the next chapter. Listen to his album with producer Wann Sklobi here, and check out the video for “Dirty30” below.

-ToBy- – “flowers”

December 19, 2016

Miami rapper -ToBy- brings forth an experimental, yet accessible sound for his single “flowers.” The track speaks to ToBy’s feeling of taking part in an up and coming music scene. Demonstrated in the track’s artwork, ToBy comes from a scene that combines conventional rap influences and sounds with different forms of media like anime. “flowers” also teases some lo-fi, emotional sounds that we’ve seen from some Internet rap darlings, particularly out of Florida. ToBy’s at the forefront of a dope rap scene in southern Florida and “flowers” encapsulates both his and that regions sound. Give it a listen below.

Various Artists – The Hamilton Mixtape

December 19, 2016

There’s no doubt that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Hamilton: An American Musical has been one of the biggest cultural events in recent memory. The musical and its songs have been able to permeate almost every corner of pop culture, both here and abroad. On this new release, Miranda presents his treatment of the historical figure’s story in its originally conceived format: a mixtape. The Hamilton Mixtape, while a far cry from the flawless grandeur of the musical, serves as a suitable companion piece to the Broadway hit. A slew of industry big shots and indie stars come together to spin the well-known songs into a new context. The tracks themselves range from straightforward covers of the songs to completely reworked and reimagined takes on them. Miranda also threw in two new songs, demos of songs cut from the musical (“Valley Forge” and “Cabinet Battle 3″). Most[...]

Trilllhippy – “SENSATION”

December 16, 2016

Coming from Tallahassee by the way of Germany, Trilllhippy channels his stoner ways into the hazy hip hop track “Sensation.” Trilllhippy is just that, a cool young peacelover, and on “Sensation,” his vibes are rubbing off on a new romantic interest. The chorus is a window into their relationship, “She watch how I inhale it, I light it, she sense my stoner fragrance, she love it.” Youthful, excitable, and experimental, “Sensation” sums up the feeling of new love, new experiences, and living outside of responsibility. It’s a dope track. Listen to “Sensation” below and check out more from Trilllhippy here. 

nIgel – “Gray Music” ft. Neph

December 16, 2016

Chicago’s nIgel and his frequent collaborator Neph keep their rhymes black and white on “Gray Music.” The two Chicago rappers drop a couple of verses that evoke melancholy, washed feelings. Producer Weirddough sets this mood with a killer beat featuring haunting moans, some orchestral strings and jazzy drums. The rappers have sharp words but also flash their stoner ways in their lyricism. Much like the color in the title, several attitudes went into making “Gray Music.” Both solemn and incandescent, the track comes ahead of nIgel’s EP The Future Looks Gray with producer Xany, and they’ve produced some dope work in the past. Give it a listen below.

Kosha Dillz – “No You Can’t”

December 16, 2016

The premise of Israel-American rapper Kosha Dillz’ “No You Can’t” is to remind everyone that he’s reached a status where he doesn’t have to pass out favors. Whether that’s borrowing toilet paper or playing a show for free, that’s not something Kosha will subject himself too. Ripe with self-awareness, “No You Can’t” has the dope distinction of being a really funny track but also goes hard as hell. Dillz raps “Being stupid as hell’s the smartest thing I ever did,” but he’s more than capable of navigating the track’s zany, bloopy beat. After two hard verses, he breaks the song equivalent of the fourth wall, saying “Last verse better than the first two.” It’s little elements like this that make Kosha Dillz a fun, personable artist to listen to.  His personality comes with every bar. Give “No You Can’t” a listen below and check out more from Kosha here. 

$cotti Bishop – “And 1 Freestyle”

December 16, 2016

It’s going to take several listens to grab every bar that Sacramento rapper $cotti Bishop drops on his track “And 1 Freestyle,” but each one is worth it. With no flow off limits, he drops hard lines like “Make a 3 look like a free throw, make a dime look like a C-Note.” Each line comes with the assured brashness of Bishop’s delivery. The instrumental is a great beat for a cypher and Bishop uses it to his advantage, fitting everything you’d want into a freestyle rap song into two minutes. Listen to more from $cotti here and press play on the video for “And 1 Freestyle” below.

Mellow the Muse – “I’m in Church”

December 16, 2016

Mellow the Muse is a female rapper from Dallas, Texas with an unconventional, underground flow. It’s conversational but certainly not lazy, and her technique allows her to have a never-stop approach. She fires out sharp verses for two and a half minutes, only breaking to remind everyone that she’s in a place of divinity, nonchalantly quipping “I’m in Church.” The beat has some Tetris vibes to it, accompanied by some pounding bass and a taste of some haunting church chorus. Check out more from Mellow the Muse here and listen to “I’m in Church” below.

Automotive Steamhorse – “You’d Be Surprised”

December 16, 2016

We think brand new Seattle act Automotive Steamhorse are on to something with their latest single, the droning “You’d Be Surprised.” The song has a pretty unique backstory. “The lyrics of the song are based on a letter I received from an old friend who I counted cards with… There was a husband and wife who had about 10 people working under her, the FBI ended up busting them for fraud. They had ripped me off for thousands of dollars. The husband committed suicide – he took his motorcycle in the wrong lane of traffic. The wife ended up sending me a letter about two years after the fact, [and] all the lyrics are taken straight from the letter.” Recommended for fans of Pedro The Lion, Phantogram, or Radiohead. There’s also a music video for “You’d Be Surprised” – check it out here. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/247110926″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]