Total honesty policy, typically when I hear a group of songs that begins with a soft acoustic guitar coupled with hushed, intimate, vocals I tend to skip ahead to the next thing. Fortunately, when listening to the Demos from Dark Party, aka Carmen Canedo, I forced myself to indulge a bit further and discovered some wonderful vocal overlays, swirling guitars and a voice that is reminiscent of Sharon Van Etten in terms of the mournful weight it can carry. 

The tracks were recorded by Todd Tidwell and I can only hope they continue to be fleshed out, though there’s a magic to them as they stand now.

The tags for Night Machine’s first batch of demo’s describe the band as “metal”, “retro” and “synthwave” – a combination that can be embarrassingly cheesy when not correctly balanced. Fortunately, based on these three demo tracks, the band seems to have figured out the right formula. It’s certainly over the top at times but that’s an intentional dramatic flair, not an accidental one.

The final track, “Gunslinger”, is the black sheep of the three. While it feels in need of the most polish, it certainly shows a band willing to investigate all sorts of genres. 

Speaking personally, a little self-deprecation goes a long way in stirring my interests. The sophomore LP from Vekunin is described as “not so highly anticipated” and his bio describes himself as “a bored teenager.”

DANCE-2NITE is a pleasant dose of Vaporwave, complete with the DIY production, slowed down vocal tracks and Japanese album title translation. The album hits its stride about mid-way through with the title track and rounds out with a ‘West End Girls’ sample coupled with Pulp Fiction snippets. 

While the album may not have been highly anticipated, it’s appreciated.

When a band labels themselves “Nautical Rock n’ Roll” – I take note. When a band illustrates their cover art with a illustrated tableau of deep sea characters – pirates on sharks, Davy Jones, a ghost mermaid – my curiosity levels rise. 

Rusty Shipp’s debut, Mortal Ghost, hits on both of those entry points and resulted in a spin through their debut. Overall, the album is a collection of big, chuggy, riff rock with a bit of a throwback vibe to late 90′s post-grunge rock bands. Surprisingly, the band succeeds the most when it veers off course. The stripped down, exploding approach of “Hotel Bible”, the ambient tons of “The Lighthouse” and the searing take on “Helter Skelter” are the most intriguing to my ears. Their soaring vocals and wall of guitar approach on the rest of the record is effective at setting a mood but those particular tracks show a band with more diversity than they initially let on.

You can watch the lyric video for “Tip of my Tongue” over on Youtube or dive into their full album over on Bandcamp.

It’s been a good month for Becca Mancari. She recently debuted a new project with Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes) and Jesse Lafser over at The Basement East entitled Bermuda Triangle. Now she’s debuting her own solo work over on NPR for her forthcoming album, Good Woman. The first track, “Arizona Fire”, has an intimately personal vibe to it but continuously swells throughout the duration expelling a warming confidence. That’s a lot of flower language just say it wasn’t what I was expecting and I’m intrigued to hear more. 

The album is set for release on October 6th.

As previously mentioned, the latest from GAY VIBES (aka Seth Graves) is a much more collaborative effort than previous undertakings. The electronic backdrop is a much slicker affair than his 2013 release, My Baby’s Got Worms, but it’s a logical progression in accessibility from his previous works, i.e. Bougie Nights. 

Look for performances from Kyle Andrews, Leticia Wolf (Dead Deads), Hot Tub Club, Amy Wright, Crystal Wood and Arlene Sparacia (HR Lexy) throughout the release. That’s a whole host of talent to bring on board for a single release but GAY VIBES manages to bring them all together into a cohesive, chilled-the-fuck-out, cohesive, gathering.