Some artists (solo or as bands) appear and keep coming up with brilliant music throughout their careers. Others flare up, and then simply disappear never to come up with something good again. And let us just mention those that never come up with something substantial.
Yet there are those that come on really strong, move into shadows, turn up with something brilliant again, and then just remain somewhere there. In the middle.
We can mention Mercury Rev there, easily. Their debut ‘Yerself Is Steam’ was a brilliant slice of neo-psychedelia from top to bottom, sparking the revival of the genre in the early nineties, their two follow-ups were quite good, but not up to the level of the debut, for them to come up with something of a classic in ‘Desreter’s. Songs.’
‘All Is Dream’ still showed sparks of brilliance, and while their follow-ups were quite good, they somehow never got up to the level of their best two albums. Hopefully, we’ll hear from them again.
Sucker - Pretty
These guys seem to be somewhere between grunge and melodic pop, not a bad place to be in, and they know how to navigate nicely there.
Joy Guidry - Members Don’t Get Weary
It might seem strange for a basoonist/composer to come up with a single, but Guidry is obviously good enough to work within brief song structures quite well. Great vocals here too.
Man of Moon - You and I
This Glasgow duo can produce the energy of a full-blown band with ease here, and their melody and dual vocals work quite fine too. Excellent stuff.
Nisa - Smokescreen
Nisa likes to throw in things that seemingly shouldn’t be there, but the electronic touches she brings to this song fit in so well with her exciting vocal range.
Fran Ashcroft - Waiting For The Britpop Revival
Actually, Ascroft’s first craft is as a producer and he did produce the likes of Britpop greats like Damon Albarn, so he knows what he’s talking (singing) about here.
Dustin Kensrue - Death Valley Honeymoon
Alt or not, this is a perfect slice of Americana with the country thing at the forefront with an excellent song and dual vocals here.
Pride Month Barbie - Obsession
An interesting moniker for Tyler Holmes and Josephine Shetty (aka Kohinoorgasm) who usually operate as solo artists. Here they combine forces for a nice slice of synth-pop.
Steve Conte - Shoot Out The Stars
Conte made his name with The New York Dolls, and naming his new album ‘Concrete Jangle’ is quite fitting for this single from it and its nice guitar-driven melody.
flor - Same Color as the Sun
The Oregon trio likes their mid-tempo stuff, and they should, as this song should fit quite nicely in any late-night playlist, somewhere there at the beginning.
Talia Keys - Sweet Dreams
Keys is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and activist from Salt Lake City, who does a quite nice cover of that Eurhythmics biggie.
Dead Root Revival - Maybe Baby
Tom Savage and his Toronto crew just might be able to revive a dead root with this soulful roots rocker in the tradition of some great Canadian roots rockers.
Zac Brown Band - Beautiful Drug
DJ/producer Avicii might be gone, but his capabilities get a revival by Zac Brown Band with this song originally recorded back in 2015.
levitation room - Heaven
levitation room see somewhere there at the top modern psych rock and it is so good to hear from them again. From their current third album.
Joanne Shaw Taylor - Heavy Soul
Taylor proudly continues that British blues tradition with her new album, and this aptly titled song from it shows why she is so good at that blues/soul combination.
Big Wolf Band - Living on Borrowed Time
Like Taylor above, Big Wolf Band likes to dabble with some bluesy riffs and they surely should keep at it as they know their way around there quite well.
Nick Hudson - Khevsureti
Experimental baroque pop? Sure why not, this British artist based in Georgia knows his orchestral moves quite well and how to combine them with a good pop melody, as Scott Walker used to do.
Andrea von Kampen - Such Love Does
For a singer/songwriter, it is often quite essential to have a great voice, and von Kampen certainly possesses one, along with some excellent songwriting skills too.
Jack Manley - Smack Water
For a debut release, it is quite essential to choose your best stuff and Manley seems to have picked some good ones for his upcoming debut EP.