On October 23rd, a Sunday, in the year 2022, Bobby T. Lewis released his latest EP No One Never SaidIt on the independent label, Santa Rosa Records.
“I wanna understand what goes beyond the sky.”
The album is a yearning of sorts. A yearning for beauty. A yearning for understanding. A desire to know a thing that can never be fully understood.
“Time to bring it down and bring it down with fire!”
Words are simply words. Words merely scratch the surface of intent. They are mere utterances we’ve connected with insufficient meaning. A true conundrum as we trudge ever deeper into the nuclear age.
“It’s in a no man’s mind. It’s with no man’s hide. It’s with no more lies.”
The nostalgic EP was recorded in Seattle, Washington. And beautifully mastered by Chris Hanzsek. The project is dedicated to a dear friend, Doug Smith.
Keep up with the latest happenings of Bobby T. Lewis, both visual and sonic, by visiting his website and Bandcamp. All hail analog.
What Sid’s Balcony is doing in the studio is a little different than the average Joe, and it almost makes one want to dance, in a kind of experimental fashion – oh, and wait for the translucent mirage of the chorus to set in, it’ll blow you away.
“Getting Down” is about putting on a cheerful face in social situations even when somewhat uncomfortable and feeling the weight of social anxiety creeping in…
In short, it’s a play on words, meaning being both “getting down” as a dance expression and also as an emotional state of being.
The track is an absolute slow burner. A retro reflection in low fidelity. A sexy tidbit of attitude, style, and electrified resonance from within.
Sid’s Balcony is a sonic reflection that draws inspiration from the deep well of early nineties hip hop and psychedelic dream-pop.
ttypes is the solo project of Grand Rapids own, Tim Krauss.
The most convenient overlay for the sound of Krauss would be ‘indie’, but from there it creeps ever-outward from ambient instrumental, to piano-pop, to psych-rock, to electronic pop, and other various genres.
Krauss draws a lot of inspiration from the books of Ursula K. LeGuin and writes politically charged music from time to time. But not all the time.
This particular track reworks Beck’s remix of Philip glass’ ‘NYC 73 78’ which is looped, tuned, and harmonized in a heavenly fashion.
The vocals almost resemble poetry more than traditional song lyrics. It’s an iridescent trip through both space and time. A true treat for the underground listener.
Friendly Faces is an independent psych-folk outfit out of Chicago.
All the project’s music is written and preformed by Cameron Goulder and Griffin Mang, but now features Jakob Morris on the bass guitar. And for this particular single (that came out the 1st of October) features the beautiful Simona Boson.
We hope that you sit back, and fully enjoy this little track of lost innocence. Don’t be a fool.
The track is a sad, moody letter of endearment to the devil himself. Yes, that’s right, Lucifer. The prince of darkness. The Morningstar.
The track is inspired by “Satan is Real” by the Louvin Brothers.
The structure of this experimental track is inspired by Badu’s “Green Eyes”.
The demo was produced in-house using an electric guitar and midi keyboard, and the final version includes additional instrumentation layered over top of it. It almost feels like a fever dream.
Most of the lyrics are freestyle – spontaneous in nature.
In short, the track is a meandering reflection on existentialism, fear, the ego, and the desire to just let go of it all, and give in to the inner darkness of creativity.
The production quality is superb, the experimentalism is otherworldly, and the ensemble as a whole is just quite simply a sublime sonic experience to behold.
Be sure to check out the rest of the project on Spotify.
The sublime single “Ave Maria” by Brooklyn-based Micah Frank & Chet Doxas, exemplifies a masterful harp performance by Mary Lattimore, and seems to beckon a new age of spectral experimentalism.
The enigmatic track evolves from a lone tape loop into a fragmented spectrum of sound with melodic splinters of woodwinds and electronic elements woven throughout.
The cryptic soundscape unfolds as a hypnotic trance, and seems to lull the listener into a catatonic state.
The eclectic spectrum of intricate sounds, and Doxas’s woodwind voice sits atop the vibrations with timid fragments of brilliance. Follow the project on Instagram.
