roots rock – Radio Free Lightning Bug

Melancholically languid indie rock. Gentle and easy folk-pop from America and France. Brown-sound inspired roots rock. It’s all here for you, questing music fans.

Lend me your ears, friends! This is this week’s Radio Free Lightning Bug’s Pack of Three.

***

“Never Got The Buzz” by Modern Leisure

Name: Modern Leisure

From: Denver, CO, USA

Sound: Wistful indie rock that carries the weight of the world, yet is quietly content in doing so.

Story: Denver’s Modern Leisure is led by Casey Banker, who’s shared stages with Mazzy Star and the Lumineers, with the band he’s in realizing the same kind of spirit as each of those. This song was inspired by the idea of a spark that can exist between two people, yet often never seems to get off of the ground. Can you relate? The song is taken from the band’s debut record, Super Sad Rom Com.

Links:

Facebook

Spotify

Twitter

***

“Tidal Wave” by Freedom Fry

Name: Freedom Fry

From: Los Angeles, CA, USA via Paris, France

Sound: Countrified folk-pop with glorious vocal blends and with pedal steel that comes in like a cool breeze on a summer day.

Story: Comprised of American Bruce Driscoll and Paris-born Marie Seyrat, Freedom Fry is the name of the band. The two met on the set of a music video and began writing songs together in 2011, with several singles and EPs since. This cut is a paean to love that is both desired and overwhelming at the same time. I am a convert, friends. And you will be, too. The new album is called Classic and is out right now.

Links:

***

“Good Luck Unto Ya” by The Rad Trads

Name: The Rad Trads

From: New York City, NY, USA

Sound: “Rock of Ages” era The Band textures, complete with loads of brass and celebratory vocal arrangements.

Story: To contrast the ecstatic love song from Freedom Fry, this one is a kiss-off track, albeit and extremely joyful one. “Good Luck Unto Ya” is an anthem to the end of a relationship that is marked with more of a sense of relief than sadness. The track conjures up The Band to my ears, singing drummer and all (that would be John Fatum), but also the trad jazz-style horn arrangements. As of this writing, The Rad Trads are on tour, promoting their second and newest full-length release On Tap, which will be released on September 14.

Links:

***

What think ye, good travellers of musical highways and byways? Don’t keep me in suspense! Share your impressions in the comments below.

Happy Listening!

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?

***

“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:

***

“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:

***

“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.

Links:

***

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!

Tag: roots rock

Pack of Three: Modern Leisure, Freedom Fry, The Rad Trads

“Never Got The Buzz” by Modern Leisure

“Tidal Wave” by Freedom Fry

“Good Luck Unto Ya” by The Rad Trads

Pack of Three: Sam Pace and the Gilded Grit, Chris Kelly and Nicole Gibson, Greg in Good Company

“Undertow” by Sam Pace and the Gilded Grit

“Swim to You” by Chris Kelly and Nicole Gibson

“Carrie’s Song (Told Me to Sing)” by Greg in Good Company