So, some artists just continue going through the motions, no matter what - whether they got the inspiration or something substantial to say. Or maybe not. Of course, everybody, including them has the right, as the image above simply puts it, to be wrong. Sometimes.
On the other hand, there are those artists that just cool it down, and don’t come up with anything if they feel there is nothing good to say at the moment. Or at all. And they have the perfect right to do that. In most cases that works better for them, and for the audience in general. After all, if they have so much great work behind them like Tom Waits does it just might be quite enough.
Yachtley Crew - S*x On The Beach
Nothing wrong with riding on a trend, particularly if you are good at it, and the so-called yacht rock, which has been around for decades, but now with a fresh tag, is high at the moment. This seven-person-strong Southern California outfit seems to have sussed the essence of this genre quite well.
Dustin Kensrue - Death Valley Honeymoon
‘Desert Dreaming’ is quite a fitting name for Dustin Kensrue’s new album and this single he has chosen to represent it does its best to show that he has all the right chops to work the late sixties cosmic country fare.
The Eighty-Six Seas - Coffee and Art
Indietronica is another genre that keeps on coming in and out of fashion, and it is back again with this upbeat song about an infamous art crime without going too overboard.
Flung - Crescent
Flung is one Kashika Kollaikal who likes to dissect and combine sound bites and beats. A tough thing to do, and you have to have a great sense of what needs to be in and how to time it. Works a charm here.
Magana - Break Free
One of Jeni Magaña’s ‘daytime’ jobs is to play bass for Mitski, but going solo can also work a charm for her, and as she notes about this one: "I started this song as a small loop, and ended up stretching it out to incorporate some words and other musical elements that felt important.”
Les Big Byrd - Curved Light
Stockholm’s Les Big Byrd seem to be fans of horror movie soundtracks and here they try to adapt to the genre with the addition of some nifty beats, easily coming on top.
Dog Park - Time
This quartet hails from quite a few places - France, the U.S., and Brazil but gels quite nicely here on their quite spontaneous take on dream pop with a bit of a bite to boot along the way.
Adam Wiltzie - Tissue Of Lies
Adam Wiltzie is a co-founder of ambient/drone champions Stars of the Lid, and as far as the sound goes for this solo outing, not much is different than usual (and it is a great usual), with some excellent guitar touches along the way.
Mieko Shimitzu - My Tentacles
Picking up on some radical, mutant sounds of the early to mid-eighties, this Japanese multi-instrumentalist and singer does right to her inspirations like Lizzy Mercier Descloux and indicates that her upcoming album is something to watch out for.
Wilderado - Sometimes
Wilderado has been making waves in the Americana music circles for a while now, and this, their latest single shows why, indicating that they are on an upward swing at the moment.
Scar - Paralyzing
Scarlet Byford or Scar is not afraid to tackle a ballad with mainly just voice and a piano, something that can expose all the faults with the song and how you handle it, but she manages quite fine here.
Maddie Zahm - little me
An artist who counts her streams in millions also goes the modern ballad way and does not disappoint her raising army of fans eagerly awaiting for her new album to drop.
Slow Joy - Pulling Teeth
Dallas artist Esteban Flores likes it a bit louder in his grunge/emo combination here, but in no way goes overboard, knowing when to slow it down and speed it up when needed.
The Chesterfield Kings - Meet You After Midnight
The old garage rock hands don’t give up on what they know best, and, after all, they shouldn’t because they still know quite well what garage rock is all about, coming back on the scene with a vengeance and some nifty harmonies to boot.
The Outsiders soundtrack - Stay Gold
Sky Lakota-Lynch(Johnny Cade) and Brody Grant (Ponyboy Curtis) are part of the Broadway musical cast of ‘The Outsiders,’ presenting here a slice of that musical’s soundtrack that promises some interesting things.
Julia Pratt - Carolina
Quite a haunting ballad from Pratt’s forthcoming EP, doing one of the hardest things for a singer-songwriter- presenting something substantial with just your voice and acoustic guitar.
Tenille Townes - Thing That Brought Me Here
Tenille Townes is one of the better storytellers coming out of Nashville these days, her brilliant voice going a long way in presenting her stories in the best way possible. A great arrangement here too.
WILDES - I Was New
London-based artist WILDES cites PJ Harvey and Patti Smith as influences but seems to have blended those into something quite personal and specific in this brooding song from her new EP.
Bootsy Collins - The Influencers
Bassist extraordinaire Bootsy Collins can probably manage easily by himself but gets some extra help here from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and Dave Stewart, and the results are, as you might expect, nothing less than intriguing.
Sheppard - Edge Of The Earth
Australian sextet Sheppard likes their sound to be in the modern pop alley. Of course, nothing wrong with that if you do it well, and they do. Chart bound.
The Right to Be Wrong - playlist by zivkovic-nl | Spotify