Side Saddle writes warm, comfortable folk music, not just for horseback riding

3 Nov

With the volume of music being created today, it is refreshing to hear an artist that capitalizes on the fundamentals of songwriting. Ian McGuiness released a new folk record this year as Side Saddle, and is forthright and earnest from the outset. As a nod to his hometown, McGuiness calls his album The Astorian, allowing us to feel the upstate New York environment that so moves him.

The album opens up with “When It’s All Done,” a welcoming number. I find myself pulled in with the familiar chord progressions and the crescendoing chorus toward the end. Next up is another strong track, “Halcyon,” and the melodies branch out from there.  The album takes on this satisfying tone, one where I know where the album is going to take me, but I am happy to join Side Saddle on the journey. A journey that concludes with one of the strongest tracks, “Lush.” It starts out as a contemplative ballad, lamenting an old love, until it picks up with driving drum beat. Then enter heavy guitars, anchored by a gentle piano riff. An impressive finale to a solid folk-pop record.

The Astorian is out now. Find more information on Side Saddle’s tumblr.

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We All Want to Get Better

2 Nov

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Jack Antonoff is no stranger to catchy music. Not many realize that the creator of 2014’s hands-down alt/rock summer anthem “Rollercoaster” is the same bespectacled musician stage-left to Nate Reuss in Fun’s 280 million views mega-hit “We Are Young.” He was also the lead singer-songwriter of the Indie staple Steel Train and has helped pen some recent tunes like “Brave” by Sara Bareilles and “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift. It is really no surprise that his less than a year old project Bleachers released its first album Strange Desire to immediate chart success in the summer. Now, as the weather grows colder (at least in the northeast), Bleachers is kicking butt on a nation-wide tour, and I still cannot get “I Wanna Get Better” out of my head.

Released back in February as the band’s first single, “I Wanna Get Better” is a jaunty ode to the innate human desire to get better. The song is carried by a sputtered piano riff over persistent percussion. Antonoff’s desperate whine carries verses of jumbled and creative lyrics to theatrical chorus’ where musicians literally stand on the “overpass screaming at the cars” and sing “I wanna get better.” The best part of the song is the “screaming” bridge that leads into a buzzy guitar solo that distorts on top of a whirlwind of sound. The song is brought back to reality by Green Day-like power chords and then swings right back to the catchy-as-hell chorus. Hey, we all want to get better, but this song does not have much room to grow.

Personally, I know I have to get better about posting more consistently. Life as a first-year teacher has been time consuming to say the least, and I want to take the opportunity to thank Zoe, who has done a magical job keeping the blog afloat. Stay tuned for more tunes as always!

Check out more of Bleachers at the website, Facebook, or Twitter

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colourspacecolour releases jovial new eponymous EP

2 Nov

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I do end up judging bands by their names. I very nearly ignored Clap Your Hands Say Yeah because the name alone was too much for me to handle. You can’t have a comically simple name that is five words long, no one will remember it! But the music was enough to get me past it. “Satan Said Dance” remains one of my all-time favorite songs.

I discovered Sun Comes Out Twice As Bright a little more than a year ago, and fell in love with their sweet synth pop. Their name didn’t exactly roll off of my tongue but I was happy to see a talented female duo enter the scene. (Even the acronym SCOTAB felt uncomfortable to say.) The ladies, Pearl Button and Claudine Michael, had released a couple tracks under that moniker before rebranding- after some tinkering, they now only respond to colourspacecolour. (That name is hard for me to spell because I’m American and want to leave out that useless ‘u’ in ‘color.’) Only one video remains of their old persona, and it proves that these gals have a sense of humor on top of musical talent.

colourspacecolour have now emerged suddenly with a new eponymous EP, leading with “Ocean Floor,” their newest single. It is exactly what I remember loving about Sun Comes Out Twice As Bright, but has a darker feel than their previous sunny and bright demeanor. Not to say colourspacecolour isn’t any fun, quite the opposite, just listen to “Upside Down Inside Out.” I just love that whether they are brooding or gushing over a crush they are still one of the sweetest, most fun pop groups I’ve heard lately.

Check out colourspacecolour’s debut EP, out now. Find colourspacecolour on Facebook and Twitter.

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Magical Mystery of the Day: EVA

16 Oct

The internet is incomprehensibly vast. I like to occasionally dip my toe into the abyss of music on Bandcamp, by following tags of places I’ve never heard of, or wading through gag tags. I find a lot of insanity, but this time I’ve found a gem. Unfortunately, I’m not quite clear what the gem is yet, because it is clouded by its own mystery.

EVA is a delightful folk artist with some opera-worthy vibratos thrown in for good measure, but it’s her distinct personality that makes her so compelling. She describes her EP as the precise dictionary definition of “catholic,” and calls her music a litany of humorous and even minorly self-deprecating genres, including yolk folk and scat scum. This abrasive yet endearing tone isn’t so far from that of her songs, if you go through and really analyze her lyrics. “Trash” contains both a nervous and glucose breakdown, which I like to think are directly related to the plot of the track. Not to mention my favorite line(s) from her other song, “No Star”: “Lovable is really so absurd for you to boast/ Coming from a parasite I keep pining to host.” How romantic.

What is the cherry on top of this lovely new artist is her dedication to withholding any information about herself or her career. From my extensive five minute research on this artist, I cannot locate a website, social media presence, or even any suggestion that any Eva Patterson in the world has musical talent. Who are you Eva? Give me more music for my ears!

Find the only information available on this phantom on Bandcamp.

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Tall Fences Make Good Neighbors and other advice from Magic Bronson

12 Oct

magicbronson4Magic Bronson may not have coined that famous phrase about neighbors and fences, but the tone in their most recent single seems to match it. All things considered, “Fences” by Magic Bronson is a tribute to the duo’s parents, and a catchy one at that. But there is still an aspect of the track that feels tongue in cheek, which seems to both thank the most important people in their lives while also acknowledging just how hard it is to follow your dreams. “Good enough just doesn’t make it, kid you gotta take it into your own hands,” cries frontman Michael Nicastro. Brutal advice, but if you’re going to seriously pursue your passion, you need to hear it. And the only people who love you enough to tell you are good ol’ Mom and Dad.

“Fences” will be out on Magic Bronson’s upcoming LP, Wildlife, out 11/4 on War Cry Records. For more information on Magic Bronson, visit their website.

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