Singer-Songwriter
Joni Mitchell Announces Archival Series, Shares Early 1963 Recording of “House of the Rising Sun”: Stream
Legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is cracking open her vault for the very first time to present fans with a comprehensive archival series. Simply titled Joni Mitchell Archives, the campaign will highlight unreleased material from throughout her career, showcasing the artist’s evolution and lasting impact over the decades. The series massive archival project begins with Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967). Set to hit streets on October 30th, the five-CD collection includes Mitchell’s earliest-known recording, a 1963 in-studio radio performance for CFQC AM in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. There are also early versions of songs like “Michael From Mountains” and “I Had a King”, a 1965 mini set for Let’s Sing Out on CBC TV, and her rare Neil Young cover of “Sugar Mo...
Colin Meloy and Laura Veirs Join Raye Zaragoza on New Song “They Say”: Stream
Colin Meloy (photo by David Brendan Hall), Raye Zaragoza (photo by Cultivate Consulting), and Laura Veirs Folk artist and protest music songwriter Raye Zaragoza has announced a new album, Woman in Color. Due out October 23rd through Rebel River Records, it’s being previewed today with a single called “They Say”, featuring harmonica from The Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy and banjo arrangements courtesy of veteran folk musician Laura Veirs. A timely number, it finds Zaragoza taking the US government to task for its piss-poor response to the coronavirus crisis. “This song is about the dysfunction of American power structures. It’s about how the systems built to support the people don’t support all people,” she explained in a statement. “Especially during a pandemic, it’s been ex...
Alanis Morissette’s Such Pretty Forks in the Road Shines Light into the Depths: Review
The Lowdown: Alanis Morissette is back! After an eight-year hiatus, one of the ’90s pinnacle pioneers of alt rock is sweeping back into the spotlight with her ninth studio album, Such Pretty Forks in the Road. After four years of work and a three-month delayed release due to COVID-19, the album applies a trademark Morissette treatment — cutting lyrics and a voice that howls and croons and whispers as deftly as an arrow — to questions of adulthood, responsibility, and creativity to greater and more complete effect than what we’d last seen from her. The resulting album is extremely haunting, immaculately polished, and complexly kind. The Good: Such Pretty Forks in the Road finds Morissette exploring the tenuousness of fame, youth, and passion but in a way that thwarts that tenuousness in its...
Emerging Songwriter McCall Shares New Single “One Eye Open”: Stream
Rising Los Angeles songwriter McCall has shared the dreamy new single “One Eye Open”. It’s off her upcoming EP, On Self Loathing, due out sometime later this summer. McCall first began to break out with her 2019 EP Under the Reign. She specializes in what she calls “sad bops with spice,” and that certainly applies to her new offering. “One Eye Open” is fashioned around achingly personal lyrics and pared-back piano. Meanwhile, the studio effects — or her “spicy” ingredient — find McCall sounding like a kid in a candy store. The SoCal native arranges her own voice into a grand chorus, at times evoking Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”. But she uses this technique sparingly, and as often as she builds out the top line, she demolishes it back to simplicity. She also worked a series of breaks...
Top 5 Covers of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”
The tale of Fleetwood Mac (the Reader’s Digest version, anyway) can be told in two parts. There’s the blues rock version of the band, which featured a revolving-door of guitarists and gradually transitioned into softer rock over several records, and then there’s the pop powerhouse the band became famous as once guitarist-singer Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks joined for the outfit’s self-titled 1975 record. It’s the landmark album that would give the band its first huge success in America and result in several fan favorites like “Rhiannon” and “Landslide”. The album began a string of records lasting into the late ’80s, including Rumours in ’77, where the group, despite plenty of inner turmoil, could seemingly do no wrong musically. [embedded content] Though not originally a si...
Anjimile Announces Debut Album Giver Taker, Shares “Maker”: Stream
Trans indie songwriter Anjimile has signed on with Father/Daughter Records for the release of her debut album. Titled Giver Taker, it’s due for arrival September 18th. Inspired by “faith, addiction, and Anjimile’s own transition,” the upcoming nine-track project tells a larger story about self-discovery. A statement adds, “Giver Taker captures his ability to not only survive hardships, but grow into the person he was always meant to be.” Born in Dallas, but now based out of Boston, Anjimile infuses his style of indie rock and folk with musical bits of his past and present. Evident are the influences of the African pop passed on by his parents, his time spent in youth choir, and his love of both ’80s classics and recent works from Sufjan Stevens. Most of the recording was done thanks in par...
Jeremy Zucker on the Concept Behind Love Is Not Dying
Kyle Meredith With… Jeremy Zucker Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public Jeremy Zucker calls Kyle Meredith to discuss Love Is Not Dying, a concept album about being in a relationship with someone battling addiction and mental health. Zucker speaks on the therapy of writing, coupling overwhelming beauty with the apocalypse, and balancing love and death. On the music side, the 24-year-old New Jersey native discusses using guitars meaningfully, teaching himself piano as he was writing the songs, and the success he’s found around the world. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Meredith digs d...
Cat Power Pays Tribute to Cassius’ Philippe Zdar with Cover of “Toop Toop”: Stream
Cat Power (photo by Inez & Vinoodh) and Cassius’ Philippe Zdar (photo via Dyane de Serigny) Today marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Cassius’ Philippe Zdar. To honor the late French producer, his friend and collaborator Cat Power has shared a cover of Cassius’ 2006 hit “Toop Toop”. Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) and Zdar worked together numerous times over the years, with the former appearing on a handful of tracks on Cassius’ 2016 LP Ibifornia. Zdar even worked pro-bono on Cat Power’s classic 2012 album Sun. Their close relationship led Marshall to pay homage to Zdar at his funeral, where she teamed with -M- (French rocker Matthieu Chedid) for a performance of “Toop Toop”. Zdar’s widow, Dyane de Serigny, recalled in a press release how she joined the duo at Cas...
Brian Wilson Performs “God Only Knows” and “Love and Mercy” on Colbert: Watch
Brian Wilson popped up on Thursday night’s episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Beach Boys singer-songwriter performed two of his most timeless ballads — “God Only Knows” and “Love and Mercy” — remotely from his grand piano. “Hi, this is Brian Wilson everyone,” the old bard announced over his keys. “I just want you guys to know that we’re all in this together.” From there, he dove right into the crescent waves of his veteran falsetto — as angelic as ever. Watch the replay below. Don’t forget: On June 19th, Wilson and legendary songwriter and arranger Van Dyke Parks are reissuing their first collaborative album, 1995’s Orange Crate Art. So, if you’re looking for some rays, well, there you go. In related news, his embarrassment of a cousin Mike Love recently...
Lady Gaga Doesn’t Need Pop (Pop Needs Lady Gaga)
Lady Gaga is a living legend. Only a little over a decade since the release of her 2008 debut album, The Fame, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta has cemented her place among the best of the best — not only in music, but entertainment itself. Critical acclaim, a legion of fans, and a slew of awards (including tough Grammy and Oscar victories toward an eventual EGOT) are just the shallow end of Gaga’s dominion. Her versatility, her creativity, her skill, and her work ethic all make her a standout from her contemporaries — far more than any of her much-publicized outfits. More than anything, though, Gaga is an artist who’s not afraid to fail, and any past failures have only made her stronger. Looking back, they’ve become an extension of her idiosyncrasies, the likes of which she’s shared to ...
Grace Sings Sludge Shares New Song “Friend to All”: Stream
Grace Sings Sludge, the solo project from Grace Cooper of The Sandwitches, has shared the new song “Friend to All”. It’s the latest single off her forthcoming album Christ Mocked and the End of a Relationship, which just received the new release date of July 17th. Christ Mocked… is her fifth album under the Grace Sings Sludge banner, but the first recorded at a proper studio. If “Friend to All” is any indication, she’s definitely benefiting from crisper production. The new single is a lovely journey into gothic folk. Over gentle, minor-key guitars, Cooper spins an anxious tale of a downtrodden woman who’s “been friends to all,” in her own way. Cooper’s singing is expansive and expressive; she loves to whittle down a vowel until it’s little more than a hum, and then flip her voice upwa...
Meskerem Mees Is Not Your Average “Joe” on Her Debut Single: Stream
You may not know Belgium-based singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees just yet, but she’s ready to charm you with a formal first impression. At least that’s the plan for her debut single, “Joe”, which she’s released today along with an accompanying music video. Mees is a 20-year-old indie folk artist with Ethiopian roots. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a gentle, scratchy voice, she whisks up music akin to Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, and Jade Bird in a modest but nurturing style. After stealing the spotlight at local live shows in Europe, she’s finally begun making moves to formally record and release her music. That’s where “Joe” comes in. With a soothing, strolling guitar melody, Mees tells the story of a wandering man who won the protagonist over when she was just a teenager. The narrative...
