NPR is featuring Kendra Morris’ new studio LP “Nine Lives” as part of their New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on Feb. 18 podcast, saying it’s “rooted in soul music and R&B, but it also sonically has nods to psychedelic rock. It’s colorful and gorgeous.”
Kendra’s new Nine Lives album is out now on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming formats via Karma Chief Records. Click here to purchase / stream here.
[photo: Milton Arellano]
KCRW Radio in L.A. are featuring Say She She’s new song “Forget Me Not” as their Today’s Top Tune!
When KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole shared Say She She’s new single, he told us (and we are quoting) “this is the funkiest shit I’ve heard in a while!” And we all agree that the Brooklyn-based, all-female disco-delic soul band is impressive. We are excited to share “Forget Me Not” on release day.
With his latest album, Ohio-based singer/songwriter M Ross Perkins throws back to the kaleidoscopic psychedelic pop of yesteryear, pulling from Laurel Canyon ‘70s songwriters, sweet Brian Wilson-esque melodies, and trippy psychedelic aesthetics. But, like modern luminaries such as Father John Misty or Weyes Blood, Perkins’ music refracts and reinterprets, drawing something that feels fresh from well-worn combinations.
He released his self-titled debut in 2016, and this year is following with his sophomore record, E Pluribus M Ross. Today M Ross Perkins is back with his latest single from the record, “Mr. Marble Eyes (Marbles For His Eyes),” premiering with Under the Radar.
“Mr. Marble Eyes (Marbles For His Eyes)” is yet another perfect pastiche of ‘60s psychedelia and orchestral pop. Following the spacey opening, the track bounces along, carried by sunny instrumentation and indelible Beatles-esque melodies. Perkins captures the colorful pastoral feel of the era’s pop hits, distilling them with a healthy dose of trippy lyrical imagery and laid-back energy. Working exclusively from his home recording setup, Perkins crafts an expansive soundscape, escaping into the past for a few minutes of warm pop bliss.
As he explains, “I wrote ‘Mr. Marble Eyes’ at a time when I was obsessed with trying to find the most surreal and colorful late-‘60s psychedelic stuff out there. I was listening to bands like July, The Move, and Tomorrow, and all I wanted to do was write songs that were as vivid and bubbly as that stuff. So ‘Mr. Marble Eyes’ was kind of my attempt at a song like ‘Jolly Mary’ or ‘My White Bicycle.’ I wanted to tell an abstract story with two opposing characters, one representing the establishment authority and the other representing the tripping wanderer who sees through everything.”
Check out the song below. E Pluribus M Ross is out everywhere on March 18th via Colemine / Karma Chief Records.
Exclusive Premiere: The Brothers Comatose Release “Working For Somebody Else”
BY JACOB UITTI
American Songwriter is premiering the latest single, “Working For Somebody Else,” from the San Francisco-based bluegrass band The Brothers Comatose.
The new song is part of their new LP, When It All Falls Apart, the five-piece string band is set to release in May. The group, which is comprised of brothers Ben (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), along with Steve Height (bass), Philip Brezina (violin), and Greg Fleischut (mandolin), have a number of tour dates in the works, too, which you can see below.
As the new song’s title may suggest, the track is an acoustic-centered tune about doing it for yourself. The band sings in unison, I’m tired of working for somebody else. I can get along just alright all by myself. I’m gonna bust that old dusty guitar right off the shelf. I’m doing things my way.
Goodnight, Texas Dissect the Turmoil of Alcoholism in ‘Jane, Come Down From Your Room’
By Blake Ells
In the years since Goodnight, Texas released their 2018 record Conductor, the band has released an EP, The Senseless Age, and a live collection titled Live in Seattle, Just Before the Global Pandemic, which largely featured an up-tempo folk and western sound.
The first track from their brand new album How Long Will it Take Them to Die, out today (Jan. 28), is quieter than their familiar foot-stomping hits, though. “Jane, Come Down From Your Room” is a grave tale of alcoholism destroying a family and the everlasting damage absorbed by the children of those dealing with the disease.
The story is a delayed reveal. The narrator eventually explains to his daughter that alcohol is the reason for his failed marriage and that he inherited his relationship with it from his father and grandfather before him. He has hopes that it won’t ruin her relationships, too.