Every language on this Earth has some intriguing terms that are coined by one word that can at the same time have various meanings that in other languages can fit in quite a few words for each of those terms.
In Japanese, one such term is Shibusashirazu, a term that roughly translates into English as "we don't understand/are unaffected by cool.”
At the same time, this term is a name taken by a Japanese musical/theatrical collective - Shibusahirazu, which turns out to be more than just an orchestra, as it includes, at any point in its live appearances, anywhere between 20 and 60 artists - musicians, Butoh dancers, painters, whatnot,
As with its incredible live performances, Shibusashirazu, who range in their music from Sun Ra-style jazz to Frank Zappa’s take on prog and psych rock among other things, on record they are equally incredible and worth the attention of listeners, anywhere in this world.
The Goddamsels - Better Than
Mallory Chipman and Frédrique “Freddi” MacDougall are a Toronto duo that goes under the name of The Goddamsels. Turns out to be quite a fitting name due to their quite mellifluous vocal harmonies, particularly exhibited here.
Binoy - Cosmic Cowboy
Picking up a title quite connected to Gram Parsons’ musical concept, this Kenyan singer/songwriter definitely includes some cosmic elements into this one, with some delicate vocal acrobatics to boot.
Phillip Sayce - Backstabber
Some would call the music of Philip Sayce, yet this singer/guitarist definitely has quite modern take on the blues-ed-up rock that has been with us since the sixties. Quite good blues rock at that.
James Jonathan Clancy - Castle Night
At one point, they called the combination of folk singer-songwriters using electronics to create certain musical ambients as folktronica. The use of the term has vaned, but artists like Italian/Canadian Clancy continue with such a combination, and Clancy’s one certainly works
Peytan Porter - Lemonade
The variations you can expect these days to come out of the Nashville scene are getting more varied by the day, and this excellent singer adds to that with her combination of slow-burning blues and country.
The Thing - Midnight
This New York quartet likes their music on the garage, post-punk side of things with all the elements that have been included there in the last decade or so. Works so well for them.
Robert Connely Farr - Gettin Tired of Gettin Old
Farr is now located in Vancouver but was born in Mississippi, so evident in his take on the blues, blues, and just blues, at least on this track, but it suits him so well.
Dead Root Revival - Trillions of Stars
Another Canadian band that favors sounds from before, in their case the prime-time Doobie Brothers. Absolutely nothing wrong there, on the contrary, particularly since they know how to go about it.
Pan-American, Kramer - A Mountain is an Ancestor
Ambient maestros Pan-American pair up with ‘I can do anything man’ (and he can) Kramer, and come up with some exquisite, cinematic ambiance perfect for those late nights.
Thomas Nicholas Band - Better Than Home
The actor, (‘American Pie’ series fame), turned musician Nicholas seems at least equally adept at both, here with something that back in the nineties would have been dubbed college rock.
The Speakeasy - Signs of Spring
Well, no signs of spring in the Western hemisphere yet, but this Montreal quintet might just wish those signs in with this acoustic/electric combination of theirs.
Tucker Woods - Are You Glass?
This New York duo is taking the ‘old’ Simon & Garfunkel concept up to this century and more pop elements within their music and their quite good sense of melody carry them on.
Asia Chow - Save Your Tears
The Weekend fans might be surprised by this quite a folky take on one of his hits, but Chow’s excellent voice and guitar work will surely work for any discerning listener.
Taj Mahal - Queen Bee
The old master simply remains a master with this live version of a blues classic. Essentially, a classic from a classic, with nothing more needed to be said.
Amanda Cy - Knowing Nothing
If you need a clear vision of what (good) modern pop sounds like these days, you don’t have to go much further than this uptempo piece from this girl from Stockholm.
FLETCHER - Lead Me On
FLETCHER is already making waves the New Jersey singer-songwriter has all the predispositions to go big, particularly with this type of sleek, well-produced pop stuff.
Sean Walshe - American Son
Breaking onto the Americana music scene takes quite a bit of effort these days, and help from well-known friends like Blondie Chaplin of The Beach Boys fame could certainly help, and in Walshe’s case, definitely should.
She-Nut - Same Shit
She-nut is Juicebox P. Burton, a gender-fluid multi-disciplinary artist living in New Orleans, with equally genre-crossing, fluid music and some risqué words in this one should be no distraction.
KAWALA - American Adrenaline
These quite young guys have quite a mature sound as far as the quality of music goes, particularly if you are a fan of modern pop-rock, and then, why not?
Arab Strap - Bliss
The Scottish veterans are back, and by using a bit more electronics here show that they have not lost their touch even after all those years on the scene, pauses between albums included.