sit-and-spin

Artist: Steve Barton

Album: “Tall Tales and Alibis”

Label: Sleepless Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: The 3-disc set, which features 37 tracks, is a marathon of creation from Translator founder Barton, who offers up a goodie bag of songwriting treats. While each individual disc has its own unique perspective and feel, they’re no doubt plucked from the same collective inwardness, which Barton externalizes in the way he best knows how… by celebrating and lamenting through music.

What The Album Tells Us About Him: While most people are starting to consider retiring from their professions, 63-year-old Barton is putting in overtime, churning out a career’s worth of songs in a single studio outing. On “Tall Tales and Alibis” he’s combining his musical experience with life experience, punching his prolific songwriting into overdrive and delivering what could possibly be the most ambitious offering of the year.

Track Stuck On Repeat: While we normally reserve this section for a particular song that grabs hold of us, we feel it is appropriate to highlight a full disc given the diversity found throughout the listening experience as a whole. With the third compartmentalized collection, Barton hits the studio with a full band and explodes like a balloon… POP. Running his songwriting through a time machine, he touches down in various eras to give us everything from the Doo-wop inspired “Guilty of Innocence” to the Stones’ sounding “The Day My Baby Went Blind.” It’s a fun and uplifting way to round out your “Tall Tales and Alibis” journey.

Coming To A City Near You: Steve Barton tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Jonathan Wilson

Album: “Rare Birds”

Label: Bella Union

Reason We’re Cranking It: Like an album passed down to us by our music-loving father, “Rare Birds” has a classic and collective groove to it that feels built for cruising, destination anywhere. With just you, the clothes on your back and the album serving as its soundtrack, Wilson takes you on a trip, the kind that is an escape from the day-to-day grind and that you dread coming back from.

What The Album Tells Us About Him: From a songwriting perspective, Wilson reaches familiar outcomes but gets there by taking uniquely unfamiliar paths. His particular perspective on relatable subjects makes him a standalone, even when standing in the long line of talented singer/songwriters who have come before him.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “Sunset Blvd” is the kind of song that instantly makes you feel good, a beautiful blend of Wilson’s swaying vocals and his lyrical poetry. It’s soothe juice for the soul and a reminder of what music is capable of when it’s done in such a profoundly moving way.

Coming To A City Near You: Jonathan Wilson tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Anna von Hausswolff

Album: “Dead Magic”

Label: City Slang

Reason We’re Cranking It: Utilizing a 20^th century organ from one of the largest churches in Scandinavia for the majority of the 47 musical minutes, Anna von Hausswolff crafts an epic expedition into the morbidly acute inner recesses of her creative brain that leaves a haunting impression on all who venture inside. Magic isn’t dead… “Dead Magic” is proof to that.

What The Album Tells Us About Her: When von Hausswolff closes her eyes to dream, the imaginative landscape must spring to life like a Tim Burton movie. Her ability to compose such compelling artistic expressions while painting eerily-irresistible imagery through the rise and fall of her voice alone is as unique a creative POV as we have experienced in a very long time.

Track Stuck On Repeat: This is not a pop album. You’re not spinning “Dead Magic” for a quick feel-good fix. You’re investing time and focus when you sit down with it because that is what the songs require in order for you to get the most out of them. At just over 16 minutes long, “Ugly and Vengeful” sucks you in, building upon a growing sense of doom that seems to follow you like your own shadow. Ominous and yet somehow uplifting, the hyptnotizing organ play combined with von Hausswolff’s chant-like vocal runs raises you out of the ashes like the phoenix and stays with you for days.

Coming To A City Near You: Anna von Hausswolff tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Andrew W.K.

Album: “You’re Not Alone”

Label: Bee & El/Sony Music

Reason We’re Cranking It: In a world that is filled to the brim with negativity, bullying and gloom, it is rare to be reminded of the positive side of life. It is even more rare to be reminded of it with the power of rock and partying, but Andrew W.K. has done just that with his latest album, “You’re Not Alone.” Each track leads into one another like a rock opera that is consumed by our ears and filtered out through our brains, and by the time the last song plays through, we’re left feeling stronger and more uplifted than when we began.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: This album has a very emotional vibe to it. It feels like a journey – perhaps a journey that Andrew W.K. has made in his own life and is sharing with the world through amazing guitar riffs, masterful piano playing and entrancing vocals. The album has a truth and honesty to it that is undeniable and rare.

Track Stuck On Repeat: While we have the whole album on repeat, we can’t get “Party Mindset” out of our minds. It has a melodic piano hook mixed with a message of discovery that will have you singing along and drumming on your desk with positivity and partying, the rest of the day long!

Coming To A City Near You: Andrew W.K. tour dates can be found here.

In Their Own Words: Check out our 2017 chat with Andrew W.K. here.

And that means…

Artist: Camp Cope

Album: “How to Socialise & Make Friends”

Label: Run For Cover Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: We hate the term “girl band” for many reasons. You’d never hear a trio made up of all dudes being called a “boy band,” so why does gender matter when it comes to women who write and record music? If something rocks and moves you, why in the hell of hells does the sex of those setting and igniting the emotional charges matter? The answer is, it doesn’t. And while much of “How to Socialise & Make Friends” is a call to arms on gender equality, the album itself accomplishes that message without even having to say it because when something is this good, it creates change whether people realize it or not.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: For a band that has only been together since 2015, Camp Cope is a more cohesive unit than those who have been creating alongside of each other for decades. The Aussie natives are not only delivering serious messages through their music, but they’re doing it seriously, setting a high bar for all 2018 albums to follow.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “The Opener” does in fact open “How to Socialise & Make Friends” and it features some incredibly powerful vocals from singer/guitarist Georgia “Maq” McDonald, quickly becoming one of our favorites behind a microphone. If you’re not inspired by this track, there’s a good chance you may be a little dead inside. Thankfully, the song is crafted in such a way that it will wake you up after a handful of times through.

Coming To A City Near You: Camp Cope tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Soccer Mommy

Album: “Clean”

Label: Fat Possum Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Less angry but no less visceral, Sophie Allison has the potential to be her generation’s Alanis Morissette – an artist who hikes up her emotionally-covered sleeves to bare the scars that life, even in her relatively short-lived 20 years, has left on her soul.

What The Album Tells Us About Her: Allison connects to humanity through her music, finding a kindred spirit in the concept of being. Sure, we’re all on different paths, but “Clean” speaks to the crossroads we all find ourselves standing at eventually, a communal space where universally-shared experiences crash head on.

Track Stuck On Repeat: There’s something about Allison’s ascending vocal delivery on “Last Girl” that is spellbinding. We’re six plays in already this morning and the new song scent has yet to wear off.

Coming To A City Near You: Soccer Mommy tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Screaming Females

Album: “All At Once”

Label: Don Giovanni Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Seven albums in and the DIY-punk trio is still getting better, finding a seamless track-to-track studio groove with the return of producer Matt Bayles who previously worked the control booth on 2015’s “Rose Mountain.” It’s a beautiful marriage, the kind of best-case-scenario coupling that would make others in creative relationships jealous.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: For a band called Screaming Females, there’s not a whole lot of screaming going on and that’s perfectly okay with us because lead singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster’s resonating vibrato is best delivered when under control. It’s a mesmerizing serenade that calls out to you like a siren, and it’s an instrument she knows how to use to perfection in any given musical circumstance.

Track Stuck On Repeat: Sure, those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks, but those who rock will be unable to throw “Glass House,” at least out of regular spin rotation. If cassettes were still a thing (not in a collector’s way) and we were putting together a mix tape, this track would get the call.

Coming To A City Near You: Screaming Females tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Olden Yolk

Album: Self-Titled

Label: Trouble in Mind

Reason We’re Cranking It: Are you folking kidding us? We’re having a difficult time finding a reason not to. Each song off of the self-titled debut is a nostalgic joy ride, the kind that places us in the backseat of our father’s lime green van circa 1983 as he popped in his favorite 8-track cassettes and took us on a Sunday drive down by the coast. This album doesn’t just pass along a feeling, it gives us the feels!

What The Album Tells Us About Them: The songwriting tag team of multi-instrumentalists Shane Butler and Caity Shaffer are committed to the idea of making all that is old new again. From their beautifully blended vocals to the sooth-induced pacing of the album as a whole, they’re tapping into an era of music that is not well-represented in modern music and doing so in a way that is still completely modern.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “Verdant” is folk with a psychedelic stimulant injected into its bloodstream. Hypnotizing in the way that it floats through you, it stays a part of your subconscious long after the music fades from the speakers.

Coming To A City Near You: Olden Yolk tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Caroline Rose

Album: “Loner”

Label: New West Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Infusing a fusion of pop and electronica with the bread and butter storytelling vibe of the singer/songwriter camp, Rose has bloomed into a unique voice that feels like the musical mashing of Poe (Anne Decatur Danielewski) and Butch Walker. “Loner” isn’t so much a loner as it is a standalone.

What The Album Tells Us About Her: While Rose takes her art seriously, she also isn’t afraid to have a little fun in the creative process. “Loner” is the kind of album you listen to in the car with the windows down, one hand thrust outside the vehicle as it rides the continuous oncoming current of air. Surfing the breeze while shooting the breeze with Rose on such subjects as loneliness and monetary fixation, these are the kinds of conversations you find yourself having with friends on extended road trips. When Rose hits the road again with her next album, we’re calling shotgun.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “More of the Same” is the first song off of the album and does a brilliant job at establishing the musical world you’re about to step ear into. Catchy with an infectious chorus, it’s like the perfect bag of trail mix, a commingling of sweet and salty that, no matter how much you convince yourself of having only “one more bite,” you continuously revisit over and over again.

Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to sit back and listen to “More of the Same” just ONE more time. Or 20.

Coming To A City Near You: Caroline Rose tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Joey Dosik

Album: “Game Winner”

Label: Secretly Canadian

Reason We’re Cranking It: Dosik’s latest offering (being re-released with four bonus tracks), loosely inspired by the game of basketball, is a soulful, shoulder popping good time… a slam dunk. With a natural and seamless ease in the way he delivers on each track, the impassioned piano man ignites recollections of long lost pick-up games with friends while the radio sat on the blacktop pumping out songs that would forever be tied to memories. There’s a shared sentimentality to the EP that makes everyone who listens to it a member of the same team, and in crafting it in such a way, Dosik has created a true game winner.

What The Album Tells Us About Him: Looking past the fact that he’s a Lakers fan (we bleed Celtics green here!), Dosik is impassioned and wears his heart on his sleeve, combining two of his loves, basketball and music, into a tell-all tale of who he is at his core. We can’t wait to hear what he shares with us next.

Track Stuck On Repeat: To steal yet another term from the world of sports, the title track is deserving of an instant replay. If “cool” had a signature sound, “Game Winner” would be it. Picture Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield, cruising around in a long lost scene from “Pulp Fiction,” one hand on the steering wheel and another holding firm to a Big Kahuna burger, as he grooves out to this song en route to lay out some epic monologue that people will recite for generations to come. That should give you a pretty good sense of just how cool this song is.

Coming To A City Near You: Joey Dosik tour dates can be found here.

And that means…