Images, sounds, and people, all make impression on us. The difference between us ‘regular’ people and the artists is that the latter are able to express those through words, and those sounds, and images.
As far as the sounds are concerned, it is practically a one-in-a-million situation, even among artists themselves, that someone can transfer those impressions into music like Marvin Gaye was able to do.
Still, quite a few musicians get close, but even those that are not able to reach those heights all the time, do it once so often.
Kid Koala - Once Upon A Time In The Northeast
Turntablist Kid Koala is one of those artists that can pick up sounds from disparate sources and turn them into his own. Something he does quite admirably in this Ennio Morricone-inspired take on his surroundings,
Gramercy Arms - Yesterday’s Girl
Gramercy Arms is from NYC, but by the sound of their latest single they just are somewhere from the Midwest or relocated to Los Angeles, as they are able to come up with quite an impressionable Americana sound here.
Lichen Slow - Pick Over The Bones
Joel Harries and Malcolm Middleton, aka Lichen Slow, combine Radiohead’s Pink Floyd fascination with more current post-rock trends. Still, they do it quite gracefully and with flair, so you don’t care where the inspiration came from.
Neil Cowley - Ticker Tape
Pianist, composer, and producer Neil Cowley says that this composition from his upcoming album is inspired by happy memories. He makes sure that the listener believes him in his word.
Liturgy - Angel of Sovereignty
No, Liturgy does not go heavy metal, or basically any rock here, but sticks quite tightly to both the name of the band and the title of the song. Which they do quite admirably, frankly.
Lovebreakers - Spark
Lovebreakers do stick to rock, the poppy, power pop style, which seems to suit this quartet quite well. With power pop, besides a good guitar sound, you need a good melody, and Lovebreakers definitely got a good one here.
Cat Clyde - Papa Took My Totems
Canadian Cat Clyde, definitely wants to throw a good wrench into the usual pop/rock mix, and she not only does that here but is able to make it really listenable too.
Sophia Marie - Could I Be Your Muse?
Did Taylor Swift actually create a movement? Definitely, and some artists who can fall within it do come up with good stuff, no matter what somebody might think of either Swift or ‘the movement.’ Sophia Marie shows why here.
A Light Divided - Inhale/Exhale
A bit of heaviness, particularly with a twist comes in handy once in a while and A Light Divided provides it here. The seemingly symphonic touches here provide that heeded twist.
Pozi - Smiling Pools
This trio does things the hard way by trying to keep things simple, something that can expose any vulnerabilities in your music quite easily. Happy to say, none of those here.