Richardine Bartee
Graduation – A Split Second (Submission)
Have you ever watched a Charmin commercial? If my memory serves me correct, there is a commercial with fluffy clouds, compared to the softness in their cotton toilette rolls. That’s what ‘A Split Second’ by Graduation sounds like: A Charmin commercial. Hear Dream Pop, at its finest, below.
Teeklef – Want It (Submission)
If you’re bringing your evening to an end like me, ‘Want It’ may help you get there, to the place of quietude you hope to discover. I can imagine being in bed with my husband, listening to this record as he plays with the back of my head until I fall asleep.
Vowed & Benwah – Slavic Shake (Submission)
I have yet to go clubbing in London, but I will be out on the town for the Bank Holiday time. I imagine songs like ‘Slavic Shake’ will play over the speakers, as clubgoers dance, go back and forth to the bar(s) for drinks, and chain smoke fags, if that sort of things is allowed indoors. We’ll see what it’s about when it happens. Considering the length of records, the Vowed & Benwah gives you your money’s worth. Get carried away to the fluid composition out now on Castnowski’s imprint, Fraudulent Records, below.
KESMAR – Crushing (Submission)
KESMAR, the Sydney, Australian singer-songwriter, managed to release a song that satisfies the low and high energies of my being. How did he do it? I have no idea, but it is a skill that I don’t get to experience often. Therefore, I am thankful for the vibes. He’s so talented that when it comes to this song—not knowing what he’s singing about isn’t a dealbreaker. I won’t hold you, either. The beginning of the record reminds me of ‘Julia’ by R&B/Soul singer SZA. I don’t particularly love her version from the ‘Z’ album, but it is a musical style that I can appreciate when done right.
ALEX IVA – Let’s Try featuring Dominic (Submission)
I get to enter music venues, usually via VIP entry, and watch DJs and other musical acts perform. As I listened to ALEX IVA’s production featuring Dominic, it made me think of the last call for alcohol. The lights in the venue aren’t quite on yet, but you’ve made your way to the restroom to drain your bladder (and check your makeup and armpits). After your mini-vacation to the bathroom, you walk over to the coat check area to get your belongings. As you’re wiggling your body to the hallway where the lift or elevator is, ‘Let’s Try’ plays and fades into your night.
Radical Face – Doubt (Submission)
Outside of it coming across a lot like ‘Every Breath You Take’ by the British band The Police, Radical Face’s light and airy vocals juxtapose the vivacious drums and guitar, and speaks to the moments in my life when people’s roles were no longer clear to me. Watch the super cool music video below. The artist said the following about the making of the visual:
This is the most technically and physically demanding video I’ve ever done, as everything was done in-camera. No post was added at all, not even basics like colour-correction. The idea was to build an evolving portrait, fading between extreme lighting and background differences while singing. The only problem was, for this idea to work, I couldn’t move at all between takes. So we built a chair that could fix the back of my head in place, and I had to concentrate on not moving my shoulders or tilting my chin at all for about 30 to 45 minutes at a time. Really small movements were really noticeable when all the clips overlapped. Sitting that still with such concentration between takes is really difficult, mentally and physically. It’s like doing stop-motion, but with lighting, make-up and a live person. And thematically speaking, this was all a visual attempt to get across how, when dealing with depression, you often feel static, or numb, while the world around you seems chaotic. That even people trying to get your attention doesn’t really register, it all just feels pretty stuck in time.
Radical Face’s forthcoming EP, ‘Therapy’, will be out April 26.
David Quinn – Gap Tooth Girl (Submission)
Oh, dearest David Quinn, what’s better than hearing a song with a title that reminds you of yourself? Nothing. Why? Because loving me is like a pot of rainbow stew. What does that mean? I am not entirely sure, but it feels good whenever I hear it come out of the Americana singer’s mouth. Whomever she is, she sounds like the best thing that has happened to our boy, David Quinn.
