Tallest Man On Earth "I Love You. It’s A Fever Dream"
In times of trouble (like the constant brain tsunami everyone is suffering these days) there are few sounds more calming than that of The Tallest Man On Earth, who manages to make the world sound beautiful, small, intimate, and not the worst. Strapping on his acoustic guitar and cape (of course) Kristian Matsson is here to save your brain/planet. Gorgeous songs with a voice that should make Bruce Hornsby retire (do we really need a new record by Bruce Hornsby?), or get Thanos to finally bring back all of the Avengers. Being the Tallest Man is truly an unstoppable super power that will make you forget that the world is melting. Be saved by Tallest Man with “The Running Styles Of New York”.
Wand "Laughing Matter"
Wand seem to work very, very hard in an old fashioned way. Touring, recording (3 albums in 14 months!), and seemingly have more to worry about than how many Instagram followers they have. Wand have released Laughing Matter and according to Wand it is about “love during times of terror”. Sounds fun! You know what else is fun? Why Laughing Matter of course! A psychedelic folk trip through the mind of Steven Malkmus doing mushrooms with Syd Barrett. Stereogum said Wand sound like “post-Y2K Radiohead” – which is another way to look at it. Why don’t you vote (my influences vs Stereogum) and check out “Scarecrow” and the ballad-y “High Planes Drifter” (not a Beastie Boys cover, sorry) or the particularly Radiohead-y “Thin Air” (you win that round Stereogum).
doubleVee "Songs For Birds And Bats"
doubleVee are back! Hmm… I wonder, what are the two Vs they’re referring to? Vinyl Vengeance? Very Vintage? Vicious Vanilla? The meanest vanilla in town? In fact, doubleVee’s music would fit very nicely in a cartoon about Vicious Vanilla, a very mean ice cream cone that is terrorizing a western town in a new animated series that exists only in this blurb. Barb and Allan Vest… oh right! Those are the two Vs! Vest and Vest! Anyway, you know Allan from his work as the leader of Starlight Mints, and the sound on their lovely new EP Songs For Birds And Bats isn’t that far off from the quirky orchestral indie pop they were known for-except now we are lucky enough to also get vocal stylings from the talented Barb. Two Vs that sound great together! Songs are replete with sonic shifts, hints of just about everything from doo-wop to glam rock. It’s a cornucopia of wonders! Check out “Ladder For The People.”
Reese McHenry "No Dados (The People On My Floor)"
Who is Resse McHenry? Well, if you look up “swagger” in the dictionary (ok the google) you will see a picture of Resse (hey! who knew dictionaries had pictures in them!?!). If Janis Joplin was around and collaborated on an album with Elle King the result would probably sound something like No Dados. How tough is Resse? Well, she survived four strokes and is still kicking rock in the ass. I get a hangnail and I consider retiring! So get up out of that office chair and turn “Bye Bye Baby” up to 11 or Resse will find you and hurt you bad!