The new Tape Space “Single” is not a whole lot of actual NEW music, clocking in under 3 minutes, but given that  I’m still obsessively listening to the Power Up EP from back in June, any newness is a welcome treat. 

I’ve come to expect a new song or two from Bravemaker every 3 months, so it was unsettling to see a five-month gap between releases! Fortunately, the new song continues the trend of pumping a pop song through a perfectly balanced DIY bedroom production sound with just enough flair to keep it interesting. The crunchy vocals and ominous bassline are perfectly alluring. 

The debut EP from TV Sisters comes out of the gate extremely strong – bopping and exploding with energy at every turn. Vocal responsibilities swap between guitarist Josef Rumsey and bassist Michelle Sullivan, though the catchy pop-rock vibes never waiver regardless of the lead. 

The beauty of an EP is that there is rarely enough time to bore the listener. TV Sisters make great use of that by firing on all cylinders from top to bottom. Really looking forward to hearing more from these three.

The new Language EP from ONLY is filled with jangly pop songs and head bopping rhythms juxtaposed with lyrics yearning for good times. On “July” they even joyously call out “We All Die!” as they grapple with surviving this mortal coil. Honestly tho, it’s an enjoyable upbeat gathering of songs released just in time for the summer heat to wain as we all grasp for one more good time.

I could write an extremely long-winded treatise on the dangers of nostalgia – revisiting particular times of life can either halt you from enjoying new things or, worse, ruin the thing that you thought you loved. 

But instead, I’ll say that it was a damn delight to see Daphne’s Operation pop up on Bandcamp. The Murfreesboro shoegaze outfit was part of the mid-to-late 90′s scene around MTSU and created a bombastic amount of music influenced by the likes of early Modest Mouse, Sonic Youth and Pavement goofery (new music at the time). It’s often spastic and all over the place but that’s part of its charm.

It’s also worth noting that there’s a door to a deep history of the current Nashville music scene here. Daphne’s Operation featured, among others, Bingham Barnes; who would go on to keep the low end for Glossary, Wooden Wand and Jasmin Kaset to name just a few. Some of the catalog was also recorded by Brian Carter, another consistent presence in the Nashville music scene.

The new album from Blank Range was released last week after a month of song previews and I’ve been settling in to the full-length experience. The band has been putting out bits of music since 2013 but this is their first long player. I went back through their catalog, starting with Phase II, to get an idea of how much they’d changed in that time. Turns out, not that much! They’ve been consistently writing Southern rock tinged songs soaked in gravely vocals for four years. This LP is an excellent culmination of those efforts, continuing a flow of worthwhile music but with a bolder confidence in its delivery. 

I certainly don’t consider Mt. Juliet to be the first place to go for experimental ambient music but TheBack ParkingLot’s latest release, Occupying Physical Space, proves that Nashville’s (and surrounding area) still have plenty of surprises. 

The two tracks of this release span a 30-minute runtime, often resulting in a challenging listen. That’s not to say it’s bad in any way but droning music requires a certain amount of zen headspace; letting yourself be patient and immerse yourself in the wall of sound, rather than waiting for the next chorus to kick in.

The title track of the record, a 20-minute piece itself, manages the great feat of breaking out of itself around the 5 minute mark; becoming a brighter and shinier thing for just a moment before it degrades and dissipates back into an ethereal space.