sit-and-spin

Artist: Caleb Landry Jones

Album: The Mother Stone

Reason We’re Cranking It: It has always driven us crazy when we hear people tell actors to “stay in their lane,” as if anybody is supposed to identify – or enjoy – being just one thing on their life journey. Thankfully, Jones – known for roles in films like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Get Out – is swerving out of “his lane” and all over the creative road, giving us an album that is two parts Lennon – John and Sean – and is as fun of a ride as you could hope to have in extended quarantine.

What The Album Tells Us About Him: Jones, who has been writing and recording music since age 16, clearly has been influenced by the Beatles, but not only from a writing standpoint. The production quality on The Monster Stone is a mother of feat – a carnival of sweeping sounds, crisp in each crackle, that lifts you up and drops you down on a roller coaster ride that is both classic and unconventional, at least by today’s standards.

Track Stuck On Repeat: With 15 tracks to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in the selection shuffle, but it’s “You’re So Wonderfull” – an early arriver off of the record – that sets the tone and steals your harmonious heart.

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Artist: Bonny Light Horseman

Album: Self-Titled

Reason We’re Cranking It: Hooks abound, it is Anaïs Mitchell’s mesmerizing vocals that grab hold of you, luring you into the music as a third party contributor, somehow making you feel as if you’re a part of the experience and not just a distant set of ears wrapped in headphones.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: Although we weren’t around at the time to be early listeners on Pet Sounds from the Beach Boys or Abbey Road from the Beatles, we imagine it was a lot like giving this self-titled debut its first spin. Sure, it may end up being one of of the best albums of the year when all is said and done, but if Bonny Light Horseman stays the course, they could easily create one of the “Best Of” albums of all time.

Track Stuck On Repeat: We’ve gone through the entire album so many times at this point that we’ve found new things to love in each track, but currently it’s the vocal back and forth between Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson on “Blackwaterside” that has us returning for more.

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Song Title: “Carol From HR”

Single Sentence Singles Review: In a season packed with easy-listening melodies meant to tug on nostalgic heartstrings, Wilmette delivers the goods on a riff-filled one horse open sleigh that skips melting snow and goes right for melting your face!

Beyond The Track: The band’s latest EP, Anxious Body, is out now on Mutant League Records. Get it here.

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Song Title: “Christmas With You”

Single Sentence Singles Review: We love the standards that come along with the holiday season, but when every Bing Crosby and Burl Ives cheer-giver are playing in heavy rotation from the day after Halloween to now, it’s nice to inject the seasonal playlist with a song like “Christmas With You,” which decks the halls in an entirely new way while still giving us the classic feels.

Beyond The Track: Want to hear what Coco Reilly sounds like when not writing for the holiday season? Check out her debut single, “Define You,” here.

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Song Title: “Beneath The Bones”

Single Sentence Singles Review: Soulfully subdued, it is a sonic walkabout for those of us who have a bodiless journey – free of the anchors we lay beneath ourselves – while listening to music.

Beyond The Track: Look for this tune to appear on KaiL Baxley’s third album, Danger Eye, set for release in early 2020.

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Song Title: “Madeleine”

Single Sentence Singles Review: Whether you’ve traversed the landscape of a toxic relationship yourself or were perched as a fly on the wall looking down on one, this song is eerily relatable, though it’s Biggs’ haunting delivery that makes it eerily believable.

Beyond The Track: Biggs has independently built up over 6 million Spotify streams. Want to help add to his total? Start with one of his other 2019 singles, “Miserable.”

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Song Title: “Acquaintances, Friends – Love Ends”

Single Sentence Singles Review: From Milwaukee by way of the UK, Aymen Saleh delivers a unique musical perspective to your speakers that is a mix of introspective life journey and fun-filled drinking anthem.

Beyond The Track: The first of three singles set for release in 2019, “Acquaintances, Friends – Love Ends” doesn’t have an album to call home, but you should still invite this one to live under your own digital roof. It is available for purchase here.

Song Title: “Kiss the Go-Goat”

From The Album: Seven Inches of Satanic Panic (art pictured at left)

Single Sentence Singles Review: “Kiss the Go-Goat” embodies all of the things you love about Ghost wrapped up into one song, including haunting vocals, pop-rock riffs and a hook that snags you and won’t let you go until the Great Pumpkin has risen!

Beyond The Track: Get all the ghoulish details on Ghost’s latest album, “Prequelle,” as well as touring info on their official website, here.

Song Title: “LIVE IT UP”

From The Album: Hurricane (art pictured at left)

Single Sentence Singles Review: Grab the keys to the DeLorean, wake up Doc Brown and spike up that hair – it’s time to go back to the future of punk with Booze and Glory and their latest track, “LIVE IT UP”, which pulls at all of the right punk rock nostalgic heartstrings.

Beyond The Track: Hurricane, the fifth album from Booze & Glory, drops on October 18, 2019. For more info on their upcoming tour dates, check out their official Facebook page here.

Artist: Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

Album: Dragons

Label: Thirty Tigers

Reason We’re Cranking It: Holcomb is one of the most consistent songwriters creating today, so when he puts out new material, we’re usually first in line to give it a listen. With “Dragons” he continues that dependable track record, delivering an album that we can’t stop spinning in regular rotation.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: The third track on the album, “But I’ll N ever Forget The Way You Make Me Feel,” completely sums up the Holcomb experience. Not only is it his signature catchy Americana, but like the title suggests, we never forget the way Holcomb’s songs make us feel. Whether it’s purposeful or not, he writes in a way that makes every emotion and experience that he sings about relatable on some level, which in turn, instantly marries the listener to the music.

Track Stuck On Repeat: A much-needed anthem for today, the title track is a morale boost in musical form, inspiring us to go out and slay our own dragons.

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