Back in September we heard the debut single from Yon Ort, aka Eric Wilson. The track, “What You Feel”, is a mellow groove mixed with psychedelic vocals with lyrics proclaiming that our reality is not reality at all. It’s some heavy subject matter for a pop song but that disparity is exactly what makes it work so well.

The full EP supporting that track is now available for your enjoyment. The remainder of tracks don’t tackle our futility in the same way but there is a rather clever persistence of pondering our place in the world and trying to know the unknown. If lyrics aren’t your thing, rest assured that there’s plenty of thick bass lines, rolling guitars, swirling keyboards and creative vocal takes throughout.

It’s a highly successful first release as it keeps it interesting from start to finish. Picking a favorite isn’t easy but with just five tracks, thankfully you don’t have to.

The debut release from The Drowsees is an all-too-short single of two tracks that manages to pull all the right inspirations from shoegaze, dream pop and synth pop all at once. Both tracks are an exercise in detached, melancholy vocals backed by a wall of guitar, occasionally unleashing a wall of feedback and reverb.

Two tracks isn’t a whole lot to go off of to judge the merit of a band but if they can manage to write eight more of these, they’ve got themselves an incredibly enjoyable album.

Daniel Pingrey has a rather fascinating discography over works. BIG CHANCE TIME BABY is a series of “re-imaginings” performed via the “Electronic Toys” settings on his Kompakt. Christmas Eve at the Castle Orchestration is a delightfully executed collection of traditional Christmas songs, existing on the opposite end of the spectrum of the prior release.

His latest, Shorts, is another entirely new entity. This ongoing gathering of tracks are, as the name implies, quite dainty in length but still manage to set an enjoyable mood in their brief lifespan. Hopefully he makes good on his promise to keep adding to the collection, as 3 tracks is simply not enough.

In 2017, Hammock managed to release two full-length records; Mysterium and the Columbus original motion picture soundtrack. Both are meticulously crafted, deliberately paced, sweeping records of ambient post-rock instrumentals.

With that in mind, it’s pleasantly surprising to see that they’ve already released another EP this early in 2018 with Repeat/Texture. It is four compositions of more quality ambient music. Their album description says each track was built around a sound meant to induce a specific mood but that’s certainly in the ear of the beholder. These tracks are excellent companions for quiet contemplation and staring into the void.

At the last Birdcloud Cool Christmas, Joshua Hedley took the stage and performed a stunning rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” His long-standing presence performing at Nashville honky-tonks was a sufficient endorsement of his skill but actually heard him sing in person is a different experience altogether. It was confirmation that his upcoming Third Man Records release was worthy of anticipation.

The title track to said album, “Mr. Jukebox”, is now available in the form of this official video and it delivers as one would hope. In it Hedley does battle with a director wanting to exploit his country style, having him perform from a beaten down country home, riding a horse with a banjo or sitting in a rocking chair with a gun in his lap. It’s a funny video but, moreso, a commentary on the Modern Country World that Hedley doesn’t quite fit into. Thankfully.

There’s plenty of Classic Twangâ„¢ to his voice, backed by slide guitar, piano flourishes and a catchy hook. The album is surely filled with the same refreshing style and be pre-ordered over at Third Man now.

Side note: If you aren’t following @joshuahedley on Twitter, you’re missing out.

We posted about the Sad Baxter single for “Baby” back in November when it was covered by NPR’s “Songs We Love” and now it’s got an official video – courtesy of the Nashville Cream premiere.

The 90’s grunge vibe clearly influences more than just their music as this video is a perfect throwback to the time when music videos were semi-narrative, ridiculous and fun. This would fit right in on 120 Minutes and I’m sure Matt Pinfield would have plenty of good things to say about it.

To be clear, just because there’s a 90’s vibe here, I’m not slagging on this. Deezy’s voice has a growl to it that is undeniably appreciated and it presents itself perfectly at the apex of this track.

This new split single from Cosmic Thug Records features Emma Swift and Pony Boy each tackling covers of Neil Young – “Mellow My Mind” and “Like a Hurricane”, respectively.

Pony Boy’s take on “Like a Hurricane” turns the somewhat anthemic original into a mournful lamentation, expressing the underlying sadness of the song. Swift’s “Mellow My Mind” maintains the melancholy of Young’s version but trades the melodrama for her unique voice and a delightfully warbly guitar.

The single isn’t officially released until Feb 14th but you can hear both tracks over on Bandcamp now.