Live music may not return until next year, but for the safety and longevity of music it’s probably for the best. On the bright side, it’s also the reason why everyone will get the chance to see Waxahatchee play her entire five-album discography next month. Today, Katie Crutchfield has announced a new livestream series where she will perform a different record in full each Monday in June. Crutchfield, the singer-songwriter behind the Waxahatchee moniker, plans to dig through her catalog in chronological order over the course of the next month. Starting on June 1st, she will play her debut solo album, American Weekend. Following that on June 8th, she will revisit her breakthrough sophomore record Cerulean Salt from 2013. June 15th will see her play 2015’s critically lauded Ivy Tripp, with a ...
This July marks the 25th anniversary of Elliott Smith’s sophomore self-titled album. To celebrate the occasion, Kill Rock Stars has announced a deluxe reissue of the LP, set for release on August 28th. Official Smith family archivist Larry Crane pulled the closest possible recordings to the original Elliott Smith mix downs from scores of reels, cassettes, files, and DAT tapes to give the album a fresh remaster. The special edition comes housed in a 52-page coffee table book featuring handwritten lyrics, stories from Smith’s friends and collaborators about the era, and two dozen previously unreleased images from photographer JJ Gonson. One of those new photographs is the original image that became the album’s cover art. What’s more, the collection includes the previously unreleased Liv...
Indie folk rockers Woods are back with a new album called Strange to Explain. Hear the entire effort below via Apple Music or Spotify. Due out via their own Woodsist label, Strange to Explain marks the group’s 11th (!) full-length to date. In the time since their last LP, 2017’s Love is Love, Woods frontman Jeremy Earl became a father, and guitarist Jarvis Taveniere relocated from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, turning the group bicoastal. The two bandmates also helped produce David Berman’s first and only album as Purple Mountains. Editors’ Picks According to a statement, the new record’s 11 tracks — including lead single “Where Do You When You Dream?” — serve a “sweet reflection for the 15-year-old band, bouncing back to earth as something hopeful and weird and resolute.” Stran...
You may not know Belgium-based singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees just yet, but she’s ready to charm you with a formal first impression. At least that’s the plan for her debut single, “Joe”, which she’s released today along with an accompanying music video. Mees is a 20-year-old indie folk artist with Ethiopian roots. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a gentle, scratchy voice, she whisks up music akin to Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, and Jade Bird in a modest but nurturing style. After stealing the spotlight at local live shows in Europe, she’s finally begun making moves to formally record and release her music. That’s where “Joe” comes in. With a soothing, strolling guitar melody, Mees tells the story of a wandering man who won the protagonist over when she was just a teenager. The narrative...
In our new music feature Origins, artists provide their listeners a bit of insight into the inspirations behind their latest song. Today, S.G Goodman explains what gives her that “Old Time Feeling”. The idea that we are somehow more divided than ever rings a bit false if you really think about it. It’s just now the extremes seem louder, spurred on by dire times and combative voices rising to the top. But even as the anger boils ever hotter, it’s important to remember that no matter where you’re from, there are allies everywhere. For S.G Goodman, that means maintaining an identity as a proud Southerner, even when her views conflict with those around her. Growing up in Kentucky along the Mississippi Delta, Goodman was well-versed in the conservative ideals and the concept of “the good old da...
Each Friday, Consequence of Sound rounds up the most exciting new music to hit our inbox. Today, May 15th, brings fresh singles from the likes of OneDa, Christian Lopez, The Sea The Sea, Lila Ikè, American Trappist, and Cat Clyde. Take a listen below, and keep track of all our favorite New Sounds via our exclusive Spotify Playlist. Christian Lopez – “Sick of Me” [embedded content] At just 24 years old, Christian Lopez has made a name for himself as a rock-tinted americana singer-songwriter. The Los Angeles-via-Nashville artist sounds like a cross between Chris Daughtry and The All-American Rejects on his newest single, “Sick of Me”, which uses an explosive chorus to highlight Lopez’s strengths not just as a songwriter, but as a pop-leaning country vocalist. According to Lopez, “Sick of Me”...
Our new music feature Origins finds artists revealing some of the inspirations behind their latest track. Today, Henry Jamison discusses his collaborative with Lady Lamb, “Orchardist”. Musicians are often inspired by life on the road, whether it’s the fugacious sense of time, the yearning for familiar territory, or the distance from friends. For his own mini “road record,” Vermont folk artists Henry Jamison has taken a novel, two-pronged approach with his new EP, Tourism. Due out May 15th via Color Study, the five-track effort focuses lyrically on the “dissolution of self” that led to Jamison’s recent breakup. The strain was brought on by his life as a touring musician, a common story for those whose home is lined with pavement. But while being on the road can bring certain relationships t...
Updated for the pandemic era, The A Late Show with Stephen Colbert now sees musical guests perform from their respective self-isolation spaces. Such remote, stripped-down settings may require some acts to make major adjustments to their arrangements, but for Laura Marling, whose intimate folk translates seamlessly. Broadcasting from her cozy London living room Friday night, Marling delicately offered up “Held Down”, a quiet yet still powerful single from her recently released Song for Our Daughter. The new album came out last month during the peak of the coronavirus, so its tracks feel especially tied to this time; watching the UK songwriter sing, “‘Cause we all want to be here now/ And we all want to be held down” in front of her fireplace certainly has a different meaning in co...