features - PAGE 34

Ursa Major Revelation – “Big Baby” (Video Premiere)

Ursa Major Revelation
Adam Grundy

Today I’m excited to introduce everyone to Ursa Major Revelation, and their new single/video for “Big Baby.” The band is Ursula Rose (vocals) and Dylan Rau (production/guitar) and you may remember Rau’s name from his work in the indie rock band, Bear Hands. The title track from their forthcoming EP is a glowing mix of memorable sounds that mesh well over Rose’s breathtaking vocal performance. While speaking on their new EP, Rose shared:

By the time I turned 30, I had a major revelation. I looked back on my life and saw a map. My life was a map of the men I have loved. Some of them were pretty cool, others less so. I let the map guide me through the creation of three songs, one for each of the major loves of my life. Dylan Rau made these instrumentals in various west coast closets and I wrote most of the vocals at an Airbnb in Joshua Tree. Additional recording was completed at a fishing cabin on the Oregon Coast. The songs feature production and mixing from dear friend and colleague Chris Chu (The Morning Benders, Pop ETC). Original artwork for each single by my grandmother Sara January Price.

I was also able to catch up with this talented band for an interview below.

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Juniper Honey – “Another Morning” (Song Premiere)

Juniper Honey
Adam Grundy

Today is a great day to share the newest single from California indie rock band, Juniper Honey, called “Another Morning.” The track uses top-notch lyricism paired with energetic instrumentals to highlight the deeply-intimate connection that unites and exhausts us all. With a laid-back blend of sounds that reflect the essence of the Central Coast, slacker rock scene, the single offers a musical escape for anyone seeking solace and resonance. Juniper Honey is Jake Hesse (lead vocals, guitar), Donovan Hess (drums), Cason LeSueur (guitar) and Josh West (bass), and their band chemistry pays off on electric songs like this. Hesse shared, ”I wrote this song when I was feeling overworked and stressed with thoughts of what I was going to do with my life. This song feels very near and dear to me, not only am I proud of where it has landed as a song, but it is one of the first songs that I truly feel has pointed me toward a songwriting direction that I am really excited for.” If you’re enjoying the latest single from Juniper Honey, you can pre-save the single here.

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Rank It All! Or Did I Just Create a Monster?

Rank Everything
Jason Tate

If there’s one thing we like to do around here, it’s rank things.

From our End of the Year lists to the countless albums/sports/food rankings in the forums, it’s just a tradition at this point. When the conversation dies down, break out a ranking.

The other night, I was lying in bed thinking about the “bias sorter” going around Tumblr in 2018. It originated, I believe, as a way for people to rank their favorite K-pop bands. I’d been using it for the past few years to start my end of the year album rankings. It’s an excellent way to review a list and decide what you like more: A or B. But the problem is that it’s a pain to use. You need to enter each item individually, click enter after each one, and then go through the ranking process. And after you’re done, there’s no good way to do it again without manually re-entering all those items. I started wondering if I could put something together that would let me input any size list of things I wanted, and then it could present them to me one at a time to pick from and give me a final ranking.

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Careful – “I Don’t Mind” (Song Premiere)

Careful
Adam Grundy

Today is a great day to share the latest single from art-pop solo project, Careful, called “I Don’t Mind.” Careful comes from the mind of multi-instrumentalist Eric Lindley, and he weaves a tangled web of musical landscapes similar to established artists like Mitski and Surfjan Stevens. Lindley shared, “For the sound of the song, I tried to keep a wide distance between the two moods: a very private, dry sound that really felt bare and alone for the “sad” parts, and a more soaring feel for the others—like you could hear Beyoncé or Adele singing the vocal, but the backing is closer to the digital decay of Crystal Castles.” If you’re enjoying this latest single from Careful, his full EP will be released on September 22nd called Promise / Practice.

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Zach Berkman – “Alone” (Song Premiere)

Zach Berkman
Adam Grundy

Today I’m so excited to share with everyone the latest single from ultra-talented singer-songwriter Zach Berkman, called “Alone.” With a rustic sound that fits well within the realm of Surfjan Stevens, paired with the vivid musical storytelling of Bruce Springsteen, Zach Berkman could be your next favorite artist. The song tackles the theme of a crumbling relationship, where Zach noticed that things were quickly slipping away. He shared:

”Alone” came along at the beginning of the end of a relationship, just when I knew I could feel something slipping away and when I still hoped I could fix it. The verses describe a crumbling house as a metaphor for a crumbling love. The crooked pictures and fading marks of a thing untended. I thought about my grandparent’s old farmhouse where we made these recordings, left dusty and in disrepair for so long then restored and renewed,  and I wondered whether you could do that with people. I know that when I wrote the song, the chorus was meant to be sung to someone else. It’s all in the second person, but I hear and sing those lyrics now as directed to self. The repeats of the title are at once mantra, warning, and a facing of fear. If we can’t reconcile our differences, we will end up Alone.

If you’re enjoying this latest single, you’ll be happy to know that Zach Berkman’s new album has been announced for release on November 10th via Brooklyn Basement Records, and it is called The Heart Of.

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Interview: Chris Farren

Chris Farren
Drew Beringer

Earlier this month, Chris Farren released his latest full length album Doom Singer. The propulsive power-pop record features Farren’s biggest yet most vulnerable songs ever, as he tackles nagging self-doubts and shortcomings all while the world continually falls apart around us. The addition of Macseal drummer Frankie Impastato and the production from Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, Farren was able to take his soaring choruses and musical idiosyncrasies to new levels, resulting in one of 2023’s best records. Below Chris and I discuss our favorite songs on the record, the making of Doom Singer, the creative process behind his music videos, and Buddy.

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Interview: 13th Law

13th Law
Adam Grundy

Recently I was able to catch up with Evan Lawrence, better known as 13th Law, to ask him the details behind his great new summer single “It’s Alright.” In the interview, this talented artist opened up about his music upbringing, he explained the differences in writing for Babyfang versus his solo project, as well as what fans can be on the lookout for as the year unfolds. 13th Law’s latest single, “LightRun” is out now wherever you stream your music.

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Matthew Lowry – “Coming For You” (Video Premiere)

Matthew Lowry
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to introduce everyone to Matthew Lowry, a talented singer-songwriter who is bringing a lot of Florida sunshine everyone’s way on the shimmering new single, “Coming For You.” The song has a nod to the Foo Fighters’ style of humor, paired with the picturesque music storytelling of Ben Folds and the pop sheen of Elton John. Lowry shared:

I knew right away when I wrote the riff for this song that I needed to follow through on it.  It was so much fun from the start because, for a long time, my songwriting had been missing the hard rock that I grew up loving. The stuff that made me want to put a guitar on.  A little Southern flare mixed with the rock anthems I blasted throughout my entire childhood. No better way to be honest with yourself and move forward than to let out the real stuff you have inside. And since this album is about that journey to embrace yourself and move forward in life, it was perfect. Once this was tracked in the studio, that feeling I had from the start was confirmed. I wanted this to be the final single before the album came out.  Lyrically, it’s pretty straightforward: I’m over trying to be anything for anyone. No more fear, no more paranoia. I’m bringing my shit front and center. This is me, this is my music, this is who I am. Then to be really me, we knew that we wanted to make the video as ridiculous and goofy as we could. Since I started planning the album, I had this idea for the “Flamingo County Games” as a Jackass style backwoods Florida Olympics. A bit of a nod to the Foo Fighters in their golden era of amazing music videos with those huge rock anthems. In the end, it all came together, and I honestly could not be happier.

Matthew Lowry’s latest track comes from his new LP, Flamingo County, due out on September 15th.

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Coma Girls – “Candles” (Song Premiere)

Coma Girls
Adam Grundy

Today is a great day to share the latest single from Coma Girls, called “Candles.” Coma Girls is the moniker of songwriter Chris Spino, and he tackles the themes of addiction, recovery, and wanting to be a better person with grace and poise. On this journey of self-reflection that is drenched in great guitar sounds and soothing vocals, Coma Girls showcase his staying power in the music scene. When speaking on his latest single, Spino shared:

’Candles’ was one of the first songs I recorded for the album. It was also the only one that we ended up re-recording when the album was close to being finished. The original version was very upbeat. We ended up slowing it down. We made the drums more fat and in the pocket, right from the jump of it. The lead guitar part is very inspired by picky guitar players, such as Kurt Vile, that use their fingers rather than a pick. The backing vocals are stacked harmonies that are meant to sound choral, haunting, and continuous throughout the song. The lyrics are very bittersweet. It’s talking about loving someone and always having their back, even though you know that you shouldn’t. It eventually shakes out in the end, which causes a lot of emotional inner conflict.The song takes a sharp left turn towards the end. The distorted guitars come in abruptly. The drums break out, very loudly, into a wall of sound. The chanting mantra, “leave your candles lit, my pain keeps burning on and on and on,” is grief expressed through the death of an ideal, and the struggle that comes along with that afterward. It’s very unsettling to resolve these feelings within myself without the confirmation or acknowledgment of those who disappointed me. It takes a lot of self-work to cope with. Ultimately, a part of me had to die in order to detach myself from whatever toxic environments I was once clinging to. In doing that, I have a new life as a result. As scary as it was at first, it turned out to be very exciting and was the cause of a lot of growth and motivation. I’d been messed up. I participated in so much nonsense in my life. Once I decided to do things differently, there was a real struggle that took place. I think that’s what this song speaks to.

If you’re enjoying the direction of Coma Girls latest track, you can check out more music from this talented artist when his new LP, Crystal Pistol, drops on October 13th.

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