URL: https://aoamusic.com/

This isn’t the first single from the collective Astronauts of Antiquity (Feat. Deploi) but this is likely the moment when they move from semi-obscurity into a higher profile position as one of the music’s scenes most talented and thought provoking acts. “Paradise” is a perfectly tailored and timed screed against the evils of Monsanto and other conglomerates threatening the earth and its people in the name of profit, but it goes one step further. Such screeds are, often times, musically simplistic or inert vehicles for moralizing songwriters, but that isn’t the case at all here. Astronauts of Antiquity prove, from the outset here, that they possesses superb musical instincts that enliven their verbal attack with melody, surprise, and physicality. This New York City based collective recruited the services of House of Vibe rapper Deploi for this song and his contributions elevate it from an arty piece to something much different – it’s equal parts cultural commentary and pop dance number.

URL: https://thelowestpair.com/

Tradition’s trappings can only carry you so far. Fans of Americana music, in all its forms, have a built in disposition to greet talented offerings in that vein with an uncritical love. Such fans are pleased, if nothing else, to hear the past so faithfully recreated and given modern production values rather than being forever consigned to the passing years and increasingly scratchy 45 records. However, there’s no way you’re going to leave any sort of lasting mark on listener’s consciousness, needless to say posterity itself, by merely recreating the past glories of other people. There needs to be some kind of transformational quality woven into the music that elevates it above mere tribute. The performers and writers have to heed the deeper lessons of this sort of music – ultimately, it isn’t the particular instruments used that matter, but instead it’s the force and flavor of individual personalities spinning those traditional elements in new ways that is the lifeblood of an enduring musical style.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/moonandpollution/ 

The debut album entitled The Box Borealis from Moon & Pollution, a duo showcasing the combined talents of Molly Dean and Graham O’Brien, has earned a few labels since its release. Some call it electronica pop. Others stress its shoegaze tendencies. There’s a certain amount of truth to these labels and more, but they often unintentionally limit the scope of the duo’s achievement on this ten song release. Various elements waft in out of the mix and achieve a fluid union. Some listener’s initial thoughts might beggar off at the idea of strong percussion and unusual, almost hip hop tempos seamlessly weaving around deeply emotional and quasi-classical vocals, but they’ll quickly realize the error of their ways. There’s an underrated, almost imperceptible jazz influence peppering the rhythms and the songs often play like heavily orchestrated, plotted affairs that nevertheless play quite naturally and unfold in a credible way. 

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/junkparlorband/

Bay Area indie rockers Junk Parlor – vocalist, rhythm guitarist and acoustic banjo-playing Jason Vanderford, drummer and cajon-player RT Goodrich, violinist Laela Peterson-Stolen, and bassist Tim Bush – have followed up on their 2013 debut Wild Tones and sophomore effort Melusina (2015) with the release of “Mick Jagger’s Heart”, a single from their forthcoming third album.

The track has been described as ‘Acoustic Bohemian Crooner Punk’, and features Leonard Cohen-esque vocals and lyricism against an energetic, eclectic instrumentation (violin, cajon, percussion, drums, electric bass, banjo, and electric guitar) that faithfully recreates “Junk Parlor’s energizing musical collage [which] includes 50’s rock and roll rumbling atop gypsy rhythms, a bit of Gipsy Rhumba, tango, Eastern Euro/Hungarian music, belly dance, and punk” (NoDepression.com, 2016). Vanderford, who claims to have been raised on “rock and roll and punk and everything under the sun”, spent five years recording and touring with gypsy jazz revue The Hot Club of San Francisco – thus amassing an appetite and aptitude for eclecticism that shows through in the band’s name (which was inspired by Vanderford’s collection of vintage furniture and antique pictures during his younger years) and musical output.

URL: https://eleanortallie.jimdo.com/

Debuts aren’t supposed to be this good. There are supposed to be flashes of greatness, even from the biggest talents, and a little bit of fumbling in the dark searching for their future sound. Israeli-born Eleanor Tallie, however, emerges on her debut EP No Turning Back, as a fully formed talent with the expressiveness and artistic instincts of a much older singer and artist. Some expected things happen. Tallie’s youthfulness and PR demands lead her to insist that the music contained herein is her style, “neo-funk”, a presumed mashup of soul, funk, and blues into a greater than the sum of its parts whole. Young artists always look for ways to promote themselves and stand apart. Tallie stands apart from the pack on her debut because she’s so developed, so finished as a superb purveyor of blues, funk, and R&B, traditional American musical forms, that it’s actually a little frightening and baffling to imagine where she can go from here.

URL: https://sashasbloc.com/ 

Recorded live in New York City’s legendary Capitol Records studios, Sasha’s Bloc new single “Runaway Blues” is the latest release from the powerhouse, Los Angeles based jazz collective. It follows close on the heels of two full length releases, 2013’s Melancholy and 2015’s Heart on Fire, and carries on with the same balance of virtuosity, intelligence, and stylish production that has distinguished these earlier releases. The group is joined on this song by the Grammy winning vocal group Take 6 and Alvin Chea, one of Take 6’s premier talents, delivers a spellbinding singing performance that matches the splendidly textured musical accompaniment. Every musical detail is rendered in vivid, beautifully rich detail. 

URL: https://thelowestpair.com/

The Lowest Pair, consisting of Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee, have established themselves as among the pre-eminent recording and performing acts working in the Americana genre today. It’s really the best of all possible worlds for fans of the genre. Winter is a memorable vocalist with an impressive range and Lee has multi-faceted musical talents that become quickly apparent listening to this album. He certainly doesn’t subscribe to the idea that the banjo has limited uses. They fuse this supremely melodic musicality with profoundly developed lyrical talents capable of making liberal use of the past while nevertheless making resounding personal statements that could come from no other pen. Their album Fern Girl and Ice Man is the first of two simultaneous, yet utterly distinct, full length releases and its eleven song track list should solidify the duo’s reputation as first among equals in Americana music circles.

URL: https://rachaelsage.com/

Rachael Sage’s one of the most multitalented artists out there – from ballet, through music and songwriting, up to painting and graphic design, there’s almost no art form that she’s not experienced in. She even played in theater while she was studying in Stanford University and became famous in the Bay Area for her acting and music. Her passion for songwriting began in her teens. “Choreographic” is Rachael Sage’s 13th full-length album and despite the fatal number, it’s been very well received by critics and fans alike. She shares that “Choreographic” was a way of getting back to her roots – dance. In order to achieve that, Rachael isolated herself in a hotel room and, drawing inspiration from ballet, “envisioned” the music as a dance. She carefully combined elements from pop, folk and rock until she created the masterpiece “Choreographic”.