Category: Just The Bits

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Gracie – “Jesse” (2014)

Gracie Jessie
Gracie
“Jesse”
2014

Self described “bummer jam” artist Gracie delivers on that stylistic promise. “Jesse” is a dissonant, down-tempo number. At the risk of being cheekily alliterative, I could have thrown desperate, droning, dreary or dirge-like into that mix. It’s depressing stuff, for sure, but darkness can be therapeutic. Sometimes being in a funk is good for the soul. Misery loves company. Darkest before dawn. All that jazz. Here’s your soundtrack. Besides, the fuzzed out guitar melodies and angelic backing vocals sound good enough to crack at least a bit of a smile, no matter your mood.

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Eddie Japan – “Albert” (2015)

eddie japan albert
Eddie Japan
“Albert”
2015

Wow. I don’t even know how to describe what Eddie Japan is up to these days. “Movie music without the movie” doesn’t cut it anymore. Their sound is grand and layered. The lyrics, in this case inspired by Albert Camus, are colorful and well-considered. They play with passion and purpose. “Albert” brings all of this together in stunning fashion. Strings! Horns! Backing Vocals! Guitar twang! Breakdowns! Outros! Eddie Japan have found the perfect middle ground between their unabashed pop (“You Will Find Me Dead in My Comfort Zone”) and their love of the epic (“A Town Called Nowhere”). It’s the sound of thirteen musicians coming together for love.

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Full Disclosure: Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative did the artwork for this single. That’s why it’s so awesome. The artwork, not the song. I mean, the song is awesome, she just can’t take credit for that.

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The Daily Pravda – “1999” (2015)

daily pravda 1999
The Daily Pravda
“1999”
2015

“1999” sparkles with The Daily Pravda’s if-it’s-British-and-has-a-flair-for-the-dramatic-we-don’t-care-what-year-it’s-from-we’re-inspired-by-it sound. Bowie? The Psychedelic Furs? Radiohead? They’re in the mix. Layered guitars and well-placed backing vocals add dimension to this spaced-out melodic morsel. The whole thing is refined, precise and expertly executed. I like where this is going.

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The Static Dynamic – “Relentless” (2014)

the static dynamic relentless
The Static Dynamic
“Relentless”
2014

I’m not a slacker. The 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble starts in just about a month and I aim to be ready for it. That means listening to a lot of new (to me) music. One song that caught my attention and made me hit repeat was this tune from The Static Dynamic. “Relentless” is compelling, dynamic* and melodic within its postmodern hard rock sound. Jess Collins’ vocals are stellar, deftly balancing power and restraint. The arrangement and energy are spot on. The band even flirts with prog rock tendencies while managing to keep things to a tidy 2:42. That kid of focus should make them a lean, mean, Rumble machine. The Static Dynamic are onto something.

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* I mean, it sort of had to be dynamic, right?

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Parlour Bells – “Celebrities On Ice” (2015)

parlour bells celebrities on ice
Parlour Bells
“Celebrities On Ice”
2015

I remember the first time I heard “Celebrities On Ice.” Parlour Bells had taken a bit of time off from live shows to do some writing. They returned to The Middle East last March with this stunner. I was hooked. Proving opposites attract, the cryonic preservation theme and raw, guttural guitar riffs team up for mischief. Other players in this sci-fi tragedy include martini robots, uncomfortable future truths, spacey synths, fleeting fame, holographic phones, extrasensory deception and a heavy hitting rhythm section. What does it all mean? I don’t know, but it sounds really cool.

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Township – Life Goes On (Until It Don’t) EP (2014)

township life goes on
Township
Life Goes On (Until It Don’t) EP
2014

OK, folks, time to put on our optimist hats. Sure there may be multiple feet of snow on the ground and piles of the dirty white stuff that reach high up into the sky, but winter can’t go on forever. Summer will be here in no time, complete with a brand new crop of summer songs. Looking back, it’s safe to say that the summer of 2014 was the Summer of Dudes Summer of Township. These guys put out four top notch EPs that season. I’ve written about a couple of them, but failed to mention my favorite. The Life Goes On (Until It Don’t) EP is the most seminal, horn throwing, unabashedly rocking set of tunes the band has bundled for mass consumption. The title track is hooky, vital and impossible not to sing along with. “Diamonds In The Floorboards” might be the band’s best live tune.* The recorded version is just as killer. The vocals are impassioned while the riff goes for the jugular. EP opener “Chevy Nova 1979” sounds exactly like a song with that title should sound. So, roll down the windows. Crank the stereo. Township just provided the getaway soundtrack for your next big heist.

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* Although the monolithic “Garden Of Our Love” gives it a run for its money.

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Animal Talk – Kid (2014)

animal talk - kid
Animal Talk
Kid
2014

Animal Talk makes living, breathing dance music. A year ago, they released Kid, an EP with a pulse as human as it is electronic. Why am I writing about it now? Because, today, the triumphant buzz and thump of songs like “Tie Me Up” and “Mama Was A Teenage Rocker” are keeping me sane. In fact, if I can play “Color Wheel” on repeat for the rest of the day I might just live to post again tomorrow. Guitars and effects blend into a kaleidoscope of sound. These songs get in my head and suddenly the world seems better than it probably is. That’s something.

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Scott Janovitz – Fall In EP (2015)

scott janovitz fall in
Scott Janovitz
Fall In EP
2015

Picking up where The Russians left off,* Scott Janovitz returns with an EP of layered power pop that may just melt the 100 inches of snow that fell on my heart this winter. The warm inviting sounds of “Fall In” belie the song’s less sunny undercurrents. Scott singing “Hear it in my voice now it’s ringing true/Hear it in my voice/Listen to my voice” in the damn-near-perfect second verse provides one of those subtle little songwriting twists that make my giddy. The Fall In EP is loaded with those moments. Like the unusual two-line-plus-twinkling-melody verses of “The Worst.” Or the chorus postscript tacked on at the 2:50 mark of “The Big Reveal.” The end result is magnificent. It’s good to be warm again.

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* That’s a very good place to pick up from.

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Magen Tracy – “Fiercely” (2014)

Magen Tracy Fiercely
Magen Tracy
“Fiercely”
2014

OK, so she’s put out another single since this one, but I just can’t let this fantastic song slip away without saying something. On “Fiercely,” Magen Tracy brings the Muscle Shoals sound to Boston. The Rhodes! The slide guitar! The backing vocals! It’s intense. The song is a slow, steady burn. Magen’s confidently restrained vocals go for honesty over emotional manipulation. There’s no melodrama here. This is real. This is good.

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Worshipper – “Black Corridor” b/w “High Above the Clouds” (2015)

Worshipper black corridor high above the clouds
Worshipper
“Black Corridor” b/w “High Above the Clouds”
2015

This… I mean… Come on! How can a band’s first pair of singles be this good? Oh, Worshipper is John Brookhouse, Dave Jarvis, Bob Maloney and Alejandro Necochea? Well, there you go. “Black Corridor” and “High Above the Clouds” are a pair of towering tributes laid upon the alter of the metal gods. The riffs smoke. The rhythm section destroys. The tunes are timeless. The performances are inspired. This is everything I want from metal in 2015, which is pretty much all I’ve wanted from any metal ever. Go figure.

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