Take one listen to Release Seed Water Run and listeners will feel all the emotions of The Last Optimist. With standout tracks on the album such as Only Two Ways Out and lyrics such as “we’re all standing on our own” really channel this feeling of resilience mixed with sadness. When listening to the album, it will remind listeners of an anthology of poems, but in the musical sense. The vocals of Danielle Pinals stand out on the album by combining the lightness of her vocals with the heavy lyrics, a musical energetic exchange seems to take place. Overall, the album from start to finish keeps listeners on a steadfast journey of a beginning, middle, and indefinite end.
Bill Godfrey’s EP Hypnotized carries the listener on a musical trip. From the start of the EP to the end, Godfrey’s instrumentals are a unique mixture of Indie pop and electronica. For Hypnotized to be the debut album from Godfrey, it sounds sophisticated and well developed. A standout track on the EP titled Perfect Place encompasses rhythm, soul, and flow. With lyrics such as “you’re what makes home a perfect place” and cozy instrumentals, a feel good combination emerges. The other songs on the album transcend from one mood shift to another. Godfrey is very intentional with creating a musical environment and invites the listener in, almost on a level of one to one intimacy. Sounds of the guitar and drums sprinkled in on other songs shapeshift into different feelings and musical textures as well. For a debut album, Hypnotized pulls in listeners like an ocean tide and an embrace of a hug all at once.
Mr. Grossman’s album Novella combines stories and personal tracks into one collection. A collection of 4 original tracks set the scene in his experimental album. The track Any Takers combines the instrumental with a vibe of mystery. With lyrics such as “putting on my best shoes and my best face, going out for my next embrace” paint a picture of a person’s place in the world and where heartbreak catapults them. Its inspiring to hear a story about how a woman takes her pain and is challenging herself to get out there into the unknown. Another standout track Escape works almost hand in hand with the first track on the album. With the musical arrangement being such a beautiful mix of piano and vocals of Mark Grossman, the lyrics “escape to me, I won’t thank you much, I won’t ask too much, I won’t make too many plans” offer almost like a soft shoulder to cry on in conjunction with Any Takers. The beautiful mixture of instruments and meaningful lyrics combine into a collection that listeners will want on repeat.
Johanna Dadap’s single The World’s Gone Up In Smoke is nothing short of musical brilliance. With lyrics such as “the world’s gone up in smoke and mother nature’s broke, but she’s too young to die” showcases the relationship Dadap has with the environment. She sounds like she is speaking directly to mother earth and explaining the relationship that we have with it. She showcases the struggle of the earth and personifies her with the themes of rebirth, death, and continuing on. The tone of the lyrics and arrangement makes it feel like not only is she speaking out on the environment, she’s speaking to mother earth as a whole. When listeners hear her music and her voice, they will draw similarities with The Weepies and other pop musicians. Dadap is not only impressive vocally, but she is multi talented in a span of musical instruments and also specializes on the side in music production and songwriting. Anyone who listens to the single and is exposed to Dadap’s brilliance will only want to listen more from such a talented singer songwriter.
Take one listen to Yaya Diallo’s Kachii: Traditions to Traditions and you will hear a mixture of traditional music with Diallo’s own signature flair. Sourced from the Minianka culture of south-eastern Mali, Diallo’s goal was to not only play Minianka balafon music, but to infuse with the traditional Western instruments of the violin, cello, double-bass, flute alongside African percussion instruments. These are the sounds of djembe, talking drum, and dounou to make a new sound for anyone who listens to Kachii: Traditions to Traditions. The symbolism is so important in this album as well, honoring the traditional role of the coredjouga. A standout track from the album is Kachi Zie. With the beautiful mixture of violin starting the track off the sounds of fusion are definitely heard. Vocals are brought in throughout the song as well, only making the song even stronger. Another standout set of tracks from this album are Fantakalo: Part One and Fantakalo: Part Two. Immediately hearing percussion and then the sound of the smooth violin start the set of the songs. With Fantakalo: Part Two, the violin headstarts but in a subtle way. The sounds of percussion and vocals hit the ground running for the overall vibe of the track. Overall, if a listener is wanting to hear something not only new, but diverse and a beautiful mix of traditional music of the Minianka culture with the traditional sound of Western instruments, this is an album one will want to immediately hear.
The Music Court 