STRATEGIC ARTIST ADVOCACY SINCE 1997
Such a scorcher from The Pinx! "This time the duels draw blood," says The Spill Magazine in its post of the new single "It's Electric," out everywhere this Friday. The guitar action here is truly hot as hell. New EP "Electric!" arrives Aug. 14th. Click to burn. 🔥
Steven Hefter’s 2011 album, released under the clever moniker of St. Even, was called a masterpiece twice, once by the Baltimore City Paper (“a masterpiece of dark pop songwriting”) and again by Portland, Oregon’s Willamette Week (“Spirit Animal is a masterpiece.”)
So, that’s it. That’s the news. You should listen to Hefter’s latest songs with his latest band Reforester because he’s that good.
Need more convincing? Okay, let’s get into that.
Hefter left Portland in 2017 and returned to Baltimore and his good friend and collaborator, Austin Stahl, who he has previously played with as the rhythm section of long-running Baltimore-based band Small Sur – a band that has released three albums to date and shared stages with Angel Olsen, Damien Jurado, Vetiver, Strand of Oaks, Phosphorescent, and others.
With Reforester, Hefter and Stahl (who is also the recipient of some not-faint praise, being named “Baltimore’s Best Singer-Songwriter” by the Baltimore City Paper) have rounded out the trio with Hefter’s former Challenge Club bandmate Chris Laun, who may have been mistakenly overlooked by the local press, but did have his tribute song to the Baltimore Orioles played at Camden Yards on opening day, which frankly, may be the win out of these three.
In summation, Reforester is a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts scenario, because masterful songwriters flock together.
“Perpetuity,” the debut EP by Reforester, is out Aug. 14th, 2020.
"This combination of visuals and audio will expand your mind to a level of self-comfort that’s hard to obtain alone," says BTRtoday about Blesson Roy's "Let It Go" video. The video was created by Tom Gorai, who says, “When I first heard ‘Let It Go,’ it screamed at me loudly and I was deeply affected. I put it on repeat and just listened over and over as I let whatever influences I was feeling direct me to put together light and color and patterns.” Fun fact: Tom is an MTV Video of The Year winner for his production work on the iconic "Jeremy" video by Pearl Jam. The debut EP "Time Is A Crime" by Blesson Roy is out now on Slow Start Records.
INTERVIEW
Jedd Beaudoin chats with Inara George for PopMatters: In a mere three-song bundle, "exemplary of George's musical diversity and unique brand of songwriting.... one can find various strands of the American songwriting tradition throughout, whether blues, radio pop or the brand of songwriting that elevated Cole Porter to a pillar of the form." Listen to "The Youth of Angst," out now on Release Me Records.
Toronto, Canada’s Speaker Face is a meeting of earth and electronics from two members of the JUNO award winning band The Fretless. Trent Freeman and Eric Wright are joined by Ruby Randall, whose voice haunts with an honest beauty that can’t be forgotten.
The band’s transportive new album Crescent (Oct. 9th, 2020) is an immersive experience, layered with keys, beats, and atmospheric production, but also incorporating the propulsive strings that have made Freeman and Wright essential players in the mainstreaming of traditional Irish folk music with The Fretless.
Sometimes they say, “This song is so cinematic, it must have been written for a movie,” but does anyone say, “This song is so cinematic, it must have a movie written for it?” The upcoming Dream System 8 (David Klotz and Erica Elektra) single is the one waiting for a screenwriter to bang out the story of a couple you’ll grow attached to in three minutes flat. "I'm Sure Of This Ending For Us" is out Aug. 7th on Minty Fresh. Fun fact: Dave is the Emmy® winning Music Editor of “Stranger Things,” and is the man responsible for recording the viral version of “The Never Ending Story” from last season's finale.
The lyric video for Figg's "Jack Is The Pulpit" single was created by Hector Gallardo at Subharmonic City Productions and is premiering at The Big Takeover today. The song is from the decade-delayed debut album from the former Carissa's Wierd members that is finally available everywhere after all these years.
“I was just straight-up shooting for Hellacopters and Led Zeppelin. I’m a blues guitarist in a rock band,” says Adam McIntyre of The Pinx.
Whether or not the above amounts to a confession, McIntyre’s declaration of direction amounts to an intriguing version of the Atlanta-based band’s trademark dueling guitar sound, as last heard on its third album Sisters & Brothers, released in 2019.
This time the duels draw blood.
But, instead of reading about it, check out “It’s Electric,” the title track from the band's upcoming EP “Electric!,” on July 17th. Full EP arrives Aug. 14th.
"Delicately weaved in textured instrumentation and melodies... pensively moving through different twists and tangles." Deep dive today with Figg over at American Songwriter as writer Tina Benitez-Eves finds out what the band's debut album is all about and what happened during the decade between it being recorded and being released.
FANATIC’s Josh Bloom says, “The first time I watched this short film by Vacationland Collective, based around Chance Emerson's song "Annabelle," I teared up. You will, too.”
See it now over at The Bluegrass Situation
Chance's debut album The Raspberry Men is out now.
New music today from Alex Lilly: "Amuse Me" continues the addictive stream of songs that led Alex's 2019 album 2% Milk" to be called “awesome” (The FADER), “genuine” (Flood Magazine), and “spellbinding” (LA Weekly). Listen now at MXDWN. Three-song bundle "Love In Three Colors" out July 31st on Release Me Records.
"There are a couple of songs that should be considered indie pop classics... near-perfect combinations of Beatles-y hooks, Byrds-ian guitar jangle, and the innocent excitement of C-86 bands." AllMusic with its rave review of the Square reissue aka Square Cubed by The Orange Peels, out now on Minty Fresh.
My mom says every time I return to good spirits that the bitch is back,’” says Alex Lilly of her mother, who recently captured a photo of her daughter’s bitchy backness out in the yard, sniffing a rose, and cradling her Casio digital guitar. The photo accompanies the release of “Love In Three Colors,” a new three-song bundle, out July 31st from Release Me Records, that Lilly describes as, “a trilogy chronicling a relationship’s disintegration, aftermath, and the sunny side of being free of it.”
"I am glad vinyl is back in the rightful place where it belongs for the discerning listeners—it never had to make a comeback in my life." Terry Borden of Blesson Roy talks about his life history of loving vinyl records with The Vinyl District in today's edition of "The TVD First Date." "Time Is A Crime" EP out now on Slow Start Records. Album news soon!
"This band has been worth waiting for. A sound that is as fresh today as it would have been a decade ago." PopMatters drops another track from the decade-delayed debut album by Figg (ex-Carissa's Wierd, Modest Mouse, Love As Laughter) which will finally see the light of day on June 12th. Listen to "Jack is the Pulpit" now and the entire record this Friday.