Author: Charles Johnson

Photograph Courtesy of Jealouspainter’s Instagram

Alternative underground bedroom slack-rocker Jealouspainter lays down some existential truth with the very cool “Giant Hands” — a radical track off her new grunge-folk album, Wired & Tired. It’s a lackadaisical jam worthy of a righteous slow burner. Now, listen and dig. 

The music sounds as if it was born in another time, or perhaps dimension. It feels so right, yet sounds so unfamiliar and perhaps even ominous at times. Nevertheless, there is a sort of innocent glow that radiates from this diy project. And seems to pull the listener in ever closer upon every subsequent listen. We can’t wait to see and hear what the future holds in store for Jealouspainter. It should make for an interesting show. 

Keep up with the artist out of Montreal on Soundcloud. 

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Photograph Courtesy of Gyro Man

Gyro Man recently dropped the lyrically charged track, “DistrictUtterney” (feat. Termanology). The jam goes hard with its distinctive old school beat and ultra smooth flow. Check it while it’s hot. 

Hip-hop seems to be splintering off into a fragmented realm of dark times. However, there are still lyrical poets who roam the streets at night, laying down the truth, and wielding the torch of the unknowable. 

Check out Gyro Man’s tracks on Soundcloud. 

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Photograph Courtesy of Oliver Hazard’s Instagram

Waterville, Ohio-based alternative folk band, Oliver Hazard, recently released their infectious single, “Take me Back”. It’s a rhythmic, upbeat track reminiscing on the good old days of years now gone. A sort of pastoral awakening to the gentrification, and modernization of rural America. 

Perhaps change is inevitable, but one thing is for certain, the past always seems to glows brightly with a familiar golden nostalgia.  

The Hazard boys are watching their small agricultural community in Ohio slowly evolve into a thing they barely recognize anymore, so they’ve partnered up with the city to throw Oliver Hazard Day (a street festival celebrating their roots as a Waterville, Ohio band). All alcohol sales at today’s festival will be donated to the local Library.

Be sure to follow the Hazard boys on Spotify, and be sure to catch them on their tour. Here is a list of upcoming dates and locations:

9/1: Bellefontaine, OH Hookahville 50

9/5: Pittsburgh, PA Funhouse at Mr. Smalls

9/7: Bethlehem, PA Levitt Pavilion Stage

9/8: New York City, NY Berlin

9/9: Cambridge, MA Atwood’s Tavern

9/11: Philadelphia, PA Ortlieb’s Lounge

9/12: Washington, DC Songbyrd DC

9/15: Nashville, TN Americanafest

9/20: Columbus, OH Rumba Cafe

9/22: Goshen, IN Goshen Brewing Company

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Photograph Courtesy of Devon Church’s Instagram

Winnipeg-born and now Brooklyn-based experimental pop artist Devon Church recently released the whimsical single, “We Are Inextricable”. The song contains sensual lyrics that float through heavy themes of romantic obsession, chaotic dysfunction, and the bizarre nature of the human experience.  

The brawny vocals of Church anchor down a synthetic soundscape saturated with mesmerizing drum machines and delirious, overdriven synthesizers. 

Heartbreak is a very strange thing, and one is often not even aware of the existence of the heart, until it’s shattered into a million little pieces. It takes time for a heart to heal, and sometimes it never really does, so perhaps it’s best to just keep moving forward, and to never look back.

Dreams, however, are inescapable. The one you love most seems to haunt the heartbroken over and over again, until one forgets what was and wasn’t an illusion. Perhaps, life is nothing more than a beautiful illusion.  

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Photograph Courtesy of the Instagram of Daniel Ruiz

Today, Daniel Ruiz released his music video “Goodbye Letter From a Loved One” off his new EP, Stories from a Whiskey-soaked Mind.

The timeless music video was conceived, designed, and edited by the visual extraordinaire, Gemma Belmonte. It’s fantastic.

On the track, Júlia Martín lays down a moving death march on the drums, as Daniel Ruiz utters some of the saddest words ever spoken. 

The image is one of a classic noir film entailing a bittersweet farewell. 

Purchase the EP via Daniel’s Bandcamp and be sure to give him a follow on Spotify. 

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan