Sawtooth Brothers - One More Flight

URL: https://www.sawtoothbrothers.com/

The debut album from unique “double-brother” four piece The Sawtooth Brothers points the way to a credible, musically substantive synthesis of country and rock/pop sensibilities. There’s no pandering to the lowest common denominator here, no paint by numbers refraction of pop structures through a twangy prism, but instead an inestimable tastefulness that toys with formula rather than wallowing in it. It is an immaculately produced outing with perfect sonic balance between the relatively narrow range of musical elements and the songwriting never risks self-indulgence. Instead, this is a collection of concise and minimalist songs with understated, even slightly sophisticated, flashes of humor enlivening the writing.

Chris Murphy - Red Mountain Blues

URL: https://chrismurphymusic.com

Chris Murphy

Red Mountain Blues

The latest release from respected violinist and New York City native Chris Murphy, Red Mountain Blues, is yet another milestone in a career stretching back a number of years and featuring a number of largely unheralded gems that outstrip the work of much more visible contemporaries. These are fully realized slices of Americana goodness propelled by little more than a consistent triple punch of violin, guitar, and banjo augmented by occasional strains of mandolin. Some of the songs have light, brushed percussion work providing a propulsive rhythm while others rely, oftentimes to magnificent effect, on merely a storm of stringed instruments carrying forth endlessly inventive melodies. The album is evenly divided between instrumentals and lyrically driven songs, but there’s no meaningful difference between his two styles. Each approach yields the same rich melodic results and memorable harmony vocals.

Jonathan Cavier - Premier

URL: https://caviermusic.com/

With a foxy, easy groove worked into every song by Jonathan Cavier (former half of the duo EyeTalk who released five discs a few years back), his debut Premier is stunning through and through.  Too many albums are weighed down with filler and skippable tracks, but there are no duff cuts here and each tune has a level of polish that befits it while keeping the music real and honest.

Sam Seed The Shaggy Dog: L8Bit

Texas born but residing in Utah today, Sam Seed The Shaggy Dog was a mere 14-years-old when he first picked up a guitar and started showcasing a serious interest in music. Over the years his fascination and appreciation for music grew as he found himself immersed in everything from blues and jazz to EDM and hip hop. Today he lives in that electronic space, but also tosses some hip hop into the mix - which fans can hear on his latest release, this year’s “L8Bit.” Speaking of, the record starts off with “Plucked Heartstrings” and it makes you wait a second; builds an ambiance with one swift motion of sound before adding layers to its delivery. It’s a laid back track, while the title-track steps up the energy a bit. You get more movement with this one and it’s like a chaotic burst. As the record plays on, we head back down with “Hitchhiking Shark” but the mid-tempo feel gives it an eccentric vibe. Lastly, you can hear that blues like love in him with “(Rejuvination).” There’s depth in this one you can feel with every note. If you’re a fan of electronic music that has more to offer, check out Sam Seed The Shaggy Dog’s “L8Bit,” out now. (https://samseedtheshaggydog.bandcamp.com/album/l8bit)

Astronauts of Antiquity - “Paradise”

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.

The Lowest Pair - Uncertain as It Is Uneven

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.

Moon & Pollution - The Box Borealis

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. 

Junk Parlor – Mick Jagger’s Heart

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.