premiere – jupiter sprites

– featured image courtesy of bella king –

the olympia, washington, quartet jupiter sprites quietly occupies a small parcel of land on the outer strands of the ether, their lilting dream pop imbued with an extra dose of hypnosis. after testing the waters late last year with “save the mystery,” the band returns today with “only good stuff,” a comparatively drowsy cut that offers up another aural facet on their self-titled debut extended play, due early next month.

“the song is sort of an homage to that feeling of gratitude that comes about when you realize how much you appreciate someone,” the band said in a statement via e-mail. adorned with rose-colored glasses and a vernal predisposition, “only good stuff” is a potent distillation to jupiter sprites’ core shoegazing tenets, the perfect introduction to a promising new band.

jupiter sprites arrives february 1st. take a listen to its opening number, “only good stuff,” premiering on the dimestore below.

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spissy – “radio” b/w “good for me”

– featured image courtesy of anna powell teeter –

spissy, the bloomington duo of ben lumsdaine and aaron denton, have been culling indelible pop songs tinged alternately with psychedelia and americana for a minute now; the band’s self-titled debut full-length landed in march of 2016 while a follow-up extended play, easy mirror, arrived at the top of last year.  after a slight hibernation, spissy have reemerged with “radio” b/w “good for me,” a pair of breezy, saturated singles effortless in their delivery.

“radio,” a synth-driven tour de force propelled by lumsdaine’s drumming and the instantly-recognizable wobble of a wurlitzer, is a perfect vessel for denton’s testament to the familiar and comforting.  the timbre of its outgoing synth solo dovetails nicely with the opening bars of “good for me,” an expansive mid-tempo ballad masquerading as a funk exercise.  as syncopated guitar interjections cascade into a wash of keyboard pads on the song’s refrain, denton wields the title as a hesitant question, gently repeating it as the track fades away.  taken together, the two singles are a cogent presentation of a songwriting duo that has further solidified over the past eighteen months and are hopefully a precursor to forthcoming spissy material.

“radio” b/w “good for me” is out today via winspear.  take a listen to the two tracks below.

sun june – “slow rise ii”

– featured image courtesy of bryan parker – 

as sun june’s debut album slides further into focus, it becomes harder to ignore its potential to be one of the year’s best inaugural outings.

on the austin quintet’s latest single, “slow rise ii,” laura colwell tentatively feels out the palm-muted echoes of the track’s foundation, her vocals gathering strength as the arrangement around her fleshes out.  what begins as a whispered, atmospheric facade tilts into something gritty, more forceful, colwell’s declaration of “i’m tired of feeling i was the only one” resonating long after the song abruptly evaporates in a cloud of reverb.

sun june’s debut full-length, years, arrives june 15th via keeled scales.  listen to its third single,” slow rise ii,” below.

sun june – “discotheque”

– featured image courtesy of bryan parker –

the austin quintet sun june are gearing up to release what is sure to be an essential summer record.  laura colwell’s lead vocal on the album’s second single, “discotheque,” has an airy weightlessness that underscores the track’s enduring melancholy, a complementary practice further embodied by the warm bell tones that overlay the track’s slow-burning arrangement.

“discotheque” is paired with a self-directed music video that traffics in equal parts nostalgia and poignancy, wide-open panoramas juxtaposed with intimate home film footage.  taken in as a complete audio/visual experience, “discotheque” is an understated, aching exercise in restraint, its slight haze imbuing the aura of a humid summer evening.

sun june’s debut full-length, years, is due out june 15th via keeled scales.  watch the music video for “discotheque” below.

kevin krauter – “rollerskate”

– featured image courtesy of alexa viscius – 

some welcome news in our small corner of the internet today: the indiana singer-songwriter kevin krauter has announced his debut album, toss up, out june 15th via bayonet records.  krauter’s name may ring a bell for those following the bloomington-based trio hoops; krauter’s songwriting folds into the greater collective of that band, but has captivated audiences at the helm of his own material, particuarly the impeccable, bossa nova-tinged 2016 extended play changes.

on “rollerskate,” the lead single from his upcoming full-length, krauter trades syncopation in favor of a dusky, more straight-ahead groove, guitar arpeggios and vintage synth pads swirling together in the foreground.  a mantra-like guitar motif jockeys for prominence with krauter’s lead vocal, here devoid of any falsetto.  as a whole, “rollerskate,” feels like a vessel in transit, an apt nod to its title; take a listen below.

air waves – “morro bay”

– featured image courtesy of the artist – 

the brooklyn-based, nicole schneit-led outfit air waves are gearing up for the release of their third full-length, warrior.  the album’s title and its contents are an ode to the folks fighting extraordinary battles in everyday settings, including schneit’s mother, who successfully fought fallopian cancer and is now in remission, and schneit herself, who faces a continuous struggle for her dignity and acceptance as a queer woman in society.

the album’s lead single, “morro bay,” has a decidedly nautical vibe, with buoyant keyboard textures and jangly guitars gently merging as the song progresses.  coupled with its central hook, “you can find us in our room / listening to graceland tunes,” “morro bay” basks in the comforts of familiarity yet simultaneously seems to be searching for a bit more clarity and assurance, evincing the plaintive undertones that often accompanies such nostalgia.

warrior is due out april 6th via western vinyl.  sway gently to “morro bay” below.

why bonnie – “practice”

– featured image courtesy of the artist – 

austin upstarts why bonnie are eyeing the release of their debut extended play, in water, due next friday via the wonderful sports day records.  after announcing their arrival with the propulsive jaunt “made of paper,” the texas quartet deftly switch gears on a new single, “practice.”

“practice” stakes its claim on a collective mid-tempo ostinato, one that allows vocalist blair howerton ample ground to develop her narrative and follows her lead as she shifts into the track’s mantra: “the rest is practice / it’s not the real thing.”  after appearing to wrap up just past the two-minute mark, “practice” blossoms into a gorgeous coda saturated with extra textures to make its resolution that much more triumphant.

why bonnie will drop their four-track effort in full on february 16th.  disappear into “practice” below.

hovvdy – “in the sun”

– featured image courtesy of bronwyn walls –

austin’s hovvdy are slated to release their sophomore album, cranberry, on february 9th via double double whammy.  the duo’s three preceding singles have all reflected the impending warmth and comfort this album will be capable of providing; its fourth single, “in the sun,” accomplishes the same feat through slightly different means.

a mix of acoustic and electric guitars bleed together and coalesce around a soft back-beat, a muted palette that swaddles a tender lead vocal occasionally laid bare.  the linchpin of “in the sun” paces timidly in the background, a pastoral synth line with just enough buoyancy to float to the surface when needed before receding back into the greater texture.

like the very best of recipes, “in the sun” is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts, a beautiful collage of frank, minimal pop.  listen in below.

why bonnie – “made of paper”

– featured image courtesy of the artist –

austin-based relative newcomers why bonnie are slated to release their debut extended play, in water, february 16th via sports day records.  a glimpse of the succinct, promising four-song collection comes in the form of “made of paper,” a three-minute indie-pop jaunt that finds vocalist blair howerton ruminating over a coursing bass line and angular, ascending guitar riffs.

it’s an indelible earworm packed full of relatable nostalgia, a potent cocktail that leaves a lasting impression.  take a listen to “made of paper” below.

cina polada – “nowhere”

– featured image courtesy of the artist –

in a little more than a month, the finnish quintet cina polada will drop their self-titled debut extended play via the swedish label strangers candy.  after sharing its cascading lead single, “gloom,” earlier this summer, cina polada has returned with the ep’s closing number, “nowhere.”

arguably even more propulsive than its predecessor, “nowhere” is centered on the tumultuous union of a frenetic drum line and a dizzying guitar melody, which pummel the song’s texture in tandem while a cavernous lead vocal glides effortlessly through its stratosphere.  once again, cina polada proves to be extraordinarily adept at sculpting irresistible snippets of pop perfection.

cina polada arrives september 29th; get swept away by “nowhere” below.