“Did I dream you dreamed about me? Were you hare when I was fox?
Now my foolish boat is leaning Broken lovelorn on your rocks”
So sang late, truly great, Tim Buckley, a brilliant songwriter, and one of the best vocalists in modern music in ‘Song to The Siren,’ one of his best songs.
He was not as appreciated as his also tragically lost son Jeff, maybe because his later works were a bit patchy, maybe because he succumbed to the lure of that siren he sang about, whatever the shape or form that siren was in.
Music, as part of our lives, is full of those luring sirens, and one of the ways for artists to sail safely along is just to keep creating good music as an element that gives them strength.
The Summer After - Antigravity
Jake Seidl who is behind The Summer After is one of those artists who like to combine the current hip song structure with some indie guitar sounds of the eighties. Works for him quite well here.
Allah-Las - The Stuff
Allah-Las have gotten their take on the sixties psych-rock down to a pat, cross-pollinating that Velvet Underground core, to whatever other sixties flavor they found at the moment. Enough to look forward to their upcoming new album.
Amaara - Bright Lights
Back in the late eighties, rock know-it-all writers at the time of dream pop’s inception predicted that it will be short-lived affair. Forty or so years on, it is alive, well, and coming up with some good music, as Amaara, aptly proves here.
Sarah Mary Chadwick - Shitty Town
Kill Rock Stars still lives to its label name and comes up with some great maverick talent, as Sarah Mary Chadwick shows here with this almost grandiose baroque pop ballad.
Sedona - Domino
A good pop song is good even if its theme is a bit sad, as Sedona (in a great manner) says: "Life has a way of knocking you down when you're already down. This song sheds light on a feeling we're all familiar with - disappointment.”
Sonny & The Sunsets - Waiting
These West Coast rockers are, well, inspired by the late sixties West Coast sound, the more mellow side of it. They do bring it up to modern times with ease, though.
Feral Vices - Lock & Key
This Kentucky duo like the harder side of rock - late sixties to mid-seventies for sure, with good guitars and dual vocals, still works when done well.
Chris Urriola - CINTRO
This NYC bassist switches to guitar here and shows that there is nothing wrong when you prefer the lighter side of power pop, with some power still popping up in the background.
Powerplant - Beautiful Boy
They label the music by this London quartet electronic punk, and this single of theirs might just be a good example of their The Ramones meet Hawkwind combination.
Pearl Earl - Evil Does It
The sound of these five girls is described as “Pink Floyd in the sunlight” or to ears tuned to more modern sounds, the other side of Tame Impala, if you will.
Bruce Haack - Cherubic Hymn
Recreating all the best psych sounds of all eras around the world is something Kramer and his Shimmy Disc are devoted to, coming up with this true psych ditty from Bruce Haack.
Marc Ribler - Armageddon
What can you expect from a man that worked with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Steve van Zandt, and Elvis Costello, among others? Well, a combination of all those sounds for sure, as this excellent pop-rock song shows.
Kim Moberg - The Seventh Fire
Here, Moberg combines her delicate vocals with some ambient country backing, as if the song begs to be included as a main theme for an upcoming, modern western film.
Simon Mavin - Good Hair Day
Good acid jazz is here to stay, as long as its songwriting and playing as Simon Mavin’s is here. But, then, Mavin is a seasoned keyboardist/producer who has a Grammy win behind his belt anyway.
Organ Morgan - Mood Swings
A trio actually, and no organ within our ears, at least here, but an intricate ballad with some equally intricate vocals, for all those late-night moods.
Curling - Hi-Elixir
The influence of Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine still looms high among the new shoegaze artists like Curling here, who add a few touches of prime Boo Radleys on this one.
Goat - Let It Burn
Psych purveyors Goat now have a film soundtrack behind their belt, this song is included there, with some excellent vocals, flute, and fuzz guitar, and with those masks still on.
Co-Pilot - Swim to Sweden
An exciting combination of another set of psych purveyors - Jim Noir and The Soundcarriers, and the actual sound is as good and as exciting as it looks on paper. The upcoming album is among those to really expect.
Steve & Genie Jackson - 7 Billion People
Is anything wrong with updating traditional folk sounds? Not really if they are done as well as this Montreal duo does on this upbeat guitar/fiddle/vocals combination here.
Monica - Letters
Modern R&B often abounds with so many production tricks that it over the song and the vocalist. Not here, where, the included electronics and heavy bass beats don’t overpower Monica’s vocals and her ballad.