Latest Reviews

Though piles of great music has been released this past Friday, I would feel remiss if I hadn’t talked about hemlocke springs’ “enknee1” from last week. In the seemingly infinite pool of music that was released on August 21st, this track stuck out like a sore thumb, in all the best ways. Every inch of its architecture, every detail of its design screams distinction. From the cover art, the song title, the production, the relative lack of information behind the artist, as well as her voice and delivery, are all unorthodox in their nature. “enknee1” (pronounced ‘anyone’) is hemlocke springs’ fourth single of 2023 and only her sixth song ever released on streaming! “enknee1” is the final single leading up to her debut EP, going…going…GONE!. After garnering a sizable following on TikTok with the songs “gimme all ur luv” and “girlfriend”, hemlocke has continued releasing extremely unique, yet immensely accessible songs. “enknee1” is likely my favorite of the bunch.

Ashley Kutcher is a Pop singer based in New York, who was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Last Friday, she released a sentimental and emotionally compelling song entitled, “Matchbox”. Carried by somber and passionate acoustic guitars, Ashley offers an immensely vulnerable and authentic account of a relationship between two partners. They vastly contrast each other, yet fulfill the other’s missing pieces. 

Sid Sriram is an Indian Carnatic musician raised in America. His music career has global and international roots. For those like myself who might be unfamiliar with Carnatic music, it is a subgenre of classical Indian music that evolved from Hindu text and tradition. It is commonly regionally associated with South India. Sid Sriram was born in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. His family moved to California when he was one and his Carnatic music teacher mother raised him on the music. Sid eventually found interest in and became a songwriter for both Carnatic music and R&B. This past Friday he released Sidharth, a 13 song album featuring a special song entitled, “Quiet Storm”. 

Conan Gray is an American singer and songwriter well known for songs like “Maniac” and “Heather” from his 2020 release, Kid Krow. This past Friday, he released a new single titled, “Winner”. Though he has billions of streams and over 20 million monthly listeners, this song is my first introduction to Conan Gray. Being that his music is completely foreign to me, the fact that I was immediately immersed and captivated by the track goes to show how powerful it is. 

Ahead of the release of his second studio album, VICTOR, Chicago rapper VIC MENSA dropped his newest single, “Blue Eyes” this past Friday. Produced by Bongo, this track runs at just under three minutes and utilizes inspiring guitar riffs, an angelic choir, and powerful storytelling from VIC MENSA. 

Last Friday saw the release of Jon Batiste’s new album, World Music Radio, and on it was a New Orleans anthem entitled, “Uneasy” featuring Hip-Hop legend and fellow Louisiana native, Lil Wayne. Jon Batiste is a music titan of his own, having worked with Stevie Wonder, Prince, Trent Reznor, Lenny Kravitz, and Ed Sheeran, and not to mention his several Grammys, Academy Awards, etc. The all-star list doesn’t end there, with production credits from Pop music mainstay, Jon Bellion, who not only has a growing list of his own hit songs, but has written and produced hits for Maroon 5, Halsey, Eminem, Rihanna, etc. With such a stellar cast of musical prowess, it only makes rational sense that these gentlemen would craft a masterpiece of a song. “Uneasy” can only be described as such. 

Last week, the rapper, singer, producer extraordinaire, Russ, released his fifth studio album entitled SANTIAGO. Described in a hand-written note ahead of this album’s release, Russ pens the album as a “journey to self love + self mastery,” then goes on to list some of the recurring obstacles he’s faced, not only in the last few years, but lifelong turmoil that he’s chosen to face head on. SANTIAGO runs at a solid 41 minutes and is a remarkably easy listen. Such an admirable characteristic is likely due to the seamless transitions between every track and the accessible nature of the music itself. This is perhaps Russ at his most honest and vulnerable. With a tracklist full of notable songs, the most streamed track thus far is the song, “No More”. 

Hozier is an Irish musician who needs little introduction. He is a phenomenal song-writer, hit maker, and has a decade of music under his belt. This past Friday, he released his third studio album, Unreal Unearth. Amongst the highlights for me is a song called, “Damage Gets Done” featuring the 9x Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Brandi Carlile.

Has the taste and smell of a particular home cooked meal instantly transported you to a different time and place? Has one bite of an unsuspecting dish, shockingly revived a memory you had no idea you could still feel and touch? The force of nostalgia is unwavering and powerful. One whiff can immediately and immensely immerse you in a memory, a feeling, or a faint image of the past. The processes that occur when neurons fire are unfathomably complex, yet emphatically simple. It’s about the way that a pasta dish from a hole in the wall, mom and pop shop could bring you right back to being a kid with freshly scraped knees and a dirty Yankees shirt with a fresh plate of pasta, cooked by your mother, in front of you. This experience is difficult to articulate, but it's one that we’re all familiar with in some shape or form. It’s one of the many gifts of multi-sensory memories. For me, the most potent way to experience this phenomenon is through well-crafted music. Saturday Night Gym Club’s The Distance is just that. The soundscape that this album inhabits is like a tangible bridge to both nostalgic memories of my childhood and the memories of which I have yet to experience. The latter, being a truly mysterious phenomenon I have yet to derive meaning and or an explanation out of. The Distance in many ways, is a sonic portal, a time capsule, that upon opening it and immersing oneself in it, they are likely to be taken to another realm. As flowery as that sounds, it is an accurate description of the experience. Even the most untrained ear can recognize the amount of hours and effort that was spent, in attempts to tailor this album to each listener’s brain networks in a way that would fire synapses and carry them ‘the distance.’ Regarding an untrained ear, I am just that in this scenario. Electronic/Dance music is not a pocket of music that I am familiar with. Yet, this album works all the same. From the opening track, “U.V. Smile”, the album’s synths scratch a certain part of my brain, embellishing a classic 80s Sci-Fi movie. It gives me a world to live in that I don’t want to leave. Thankfully, this atmospheric energy is built into the very sonic foundation of The Distance. 

Hailing from Seattle with Japanese roots and musical prowess, UMI has released a new single entitled, “happy im”. I was digging into the depths of newly released music and felt like I was wandering hopelessly. I went from song to song, listening to each multiple times without getting an ounce of motivation to write about any of them. That all changed when UMI’s “happy im” entered the rotation. My ears were immediately captured when the layered acoustic guitars and lo-fi drums seemed to pour out of my speakers. I leaned forward in my chair, beyond intrigued. If nothing else, I knew this song had stellar production. And then UMI started her first verse. With a bright and warm voice with such a soothing timbre, UMI sings about the distinction between running from and accepting love. The moment you make the choice to stop running and allow yourself to be happy. In an interview with Numero, UMI described this type of love and happiness as, “the type that can be felt in many ways; love for a dream, family, career, a place, or a person. I wrote this song to remind myself, and those who listen, that it’s okay to be happy.”