Pop music is a broad church, friends. It certainly spans our range of emotions, appealing to the varied reaches of our brains and souls. It almost makes you think that music in all of its forms is a human requirement or something.
Huh.
That’s for something to chew on as you listen, right?
And what have we got for you this week? Some growly and hard-edged blues rock with plenty of flames and leather, a soaring radio-friendly love song, and a rootsy and wistful tale of gratitude.
How can you resist?
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“Undertow” by Sam Pace and the Gilded Grit
Name: Sam Pace and the Gilded Grit
From: Austin, TX, USA
Sound: Hard-edged and soulful blues rock with a touch of hellfire-preacher menace.
Story: Featured on their most recent album Judgement Eve released at the beginning of June 2018, Sam Pace and co. continue to delve into the shadowy side of the blues with plenty of rock wattage as fuel to the fire. There is literal fire to this song as evidenced by the video, of course. But there’s also a Nick Cave-like biblical-scale end-of-days fire knitted into the sinews of this cut, too. Watch out for the next upcoming single, “Love and Anger” coming out later this month.
Links:
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“Swim to You” by Chris Kelly and Nicole Gibson
Name: Chris Kelly & Nicole Gibson aka “Kelly and Gibson”
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Sound: Anthemic and melodic pop rock that was made for mainstream radio, if only mainstream radio knew what it was doing (which it doesn’t).
Story: Centered around the songwriting and voices of the principle two who once met at a merch table while in different bands, and having since built themselves up from their roots as a YouTube duet machine, Kelly and Gibson is now a five-piece band. This is their newest single, a love song about powerful connections and the efforts it takes to keep them. They had the good sense to shoot the video in the outlying areas of Vancouver where mountains and sea have formed a love bond of their own. This song sounds like it fits right in.
Links:
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“Carrie’s Song (Told Me to Sing)” by Greg in Good Company
Name: Greg in Good Company
From: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sound: Soulful roots rock with an irresistible, mile-wide streak of cinematic melancholy.
Story: Performing as a unit in Southern California for a few years, Greg in Good Company have kept their options open when it comes to genres, with rock, pop, folk, funk, and even punk finding their way into the mix. This cut is a single that will feature on their upcoming album American Way that’s set for release on July 20, 2018. You can hear the raw gratitude and wistfulness in the lines, bolstered by an ah-ah vocal hook in the chorus that will set up shop in your head. Just let it happen, friends.
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So, what vibes are you feeling on these, friends? How’s your summer playlists coming? What’s the last track you heard that you now cannot live without?
Let’s talk about music!
Happy Listening!
PS – Happy 4th of July, Americans! Remember to vote in the mid-term elections November, especially if you’re 18-34 and not a fascist! It’s a ways away, I know. But don’t forget!
Radio Free Lightning Bug 