Comment: Happy New Year! Let’s begin 2023 with an enchanting tune from Juliano, a neoclassical composer from Germany. Inspired by an array of related topics such as loss, grief, loneliness and inner conflict, the artist created Torn hoping it would mesmerize the listener with its beautiful melody. It is indeed a captivating piece.
Comment: When I started this blog, we were in the early phases of the pandemic with plenty of spare time and no kids. It’s safe to say now that whether we are working from home or in an office environment, the work load has gone back to pre-COVID levels, and between that and parenting a soon-to-be 1-year-old, time is getting scarcer by the day. This is why I’ve been so absent this month, as maintaining this website takes considerable time, not just writing the actual posts but also listening to plenty of submissions and new music every week.
I wish I could say this is all about to change in the new year but, in truth, I simply don’t know. In fact, like many bands in the past, I may even go on an indefinite hiatus. Anyway, while I ponder the future of T.A.M., I’ll leave you here one of my favorite tracks from the last quarter of 2022: Falling Apart by British band Sea Girls. Enjoy and have a wonderful New Year!
Comment: Muti-instrumentalist OrangeG is back with a new EP called The Void Bereft, which contains a few tracks that will be part of his upcoming album. Out of those, the first single is the introspective “Burn Both Ends“, a song about finding balance in life, especially when you are trying to do multiple things in parallel. As this talented artist put it: ““The song came together in the studio with gang vocals, rootsy percussion, and a singable melody that I hope alleviates those competing pressures, at least for a little while”. It truly is a fine indie track.
Comment: There’s no much I can tell you about A Tree On A Hill. I don’t even know the artist’s real name. What I can tell you, though, is that this Swiss artist feels a deep connection with nature, which inspires him to compose moving pieces such as Blue Dahlia. The track represents the lifecycle of that beautiful flower, from the moment it is planted to the moment it gives way to a new cycle. In a way, listening to Blue Dhalia makes this interconnected world feel alive.
Comment: “Campfire” sounds like a hit song Alanis or Hole could have released in the 90s, but it was actually written by a talented 22-year-old indie/pop artist from Reading, UK. Not only that, it is just the second single ever released by Frankie Bird. To say that she has a promising future would be a massive understatement.
It is no wonder then that when Frankie moved to London in late 2021 and became a regular on the open mic circuit, she proved to be a success all around the city. “Campfire”, in particular, is a little hidden gem that deserves to be found.
Comment: I haven’t done a #throwbackthursday post in a while, but after discovering recently that Augustana was not as well-known as I thought, I decided to feature that musical project today. My intention was to use my favorite Augustana song: “On The Other Side”, from their self-titled album (2011), but for some reason that whole album is not available on any streaming platform. For that reason, I had to settle for my second favorite song, Boston, which also happens to be their biggest hit. If there’s one Augustana song you probably have heard before (even if unknowingly), it would surely be this one.
Augustana has always been led by Daniel Layus, but these days he’s the only member of Augustana left. Boston was part of the band’s debut album and peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006, pretty good for an alternative rock band at the time. With regards to the meaning of the song, Layus once explained this: “You know, growing up, I had extended family on the outskirts of Boston, and we’d fly out there for the holidays fairly often, and I always loved it out there, in my mind it always seemed like the farthest point away from California that you could go”.
Comment: Roseburg is an alt-rock quartet named after the city where this musical project started: Roseburg, Oregon. Today, they’re based out of Utah and after two and a half years of silence, they came back last month with a new single, Alice, that was actually written a few years ago, when frontman Zach Knell was just 16. Knell, by the way, has the perfect voice for this type of indie rock music. If you’re a fan of bands like The Fray, check Alice out. You won’t want to miss it.
Influences: Hozier, Bon Iver, The Milk Carlton Kids
Release date: September, 2022
Comment: At My Feet is a raw but profoundly beautiful song that touches on the way depression can alter the way we see things. With strong vocals from Sam Clark and, particularly, Yasmine Shelton –who make up the Toronto-based indie folk duo Basset, this poignant track is impossible to ignore. It was the last song they wrote for the newest EP, In The Clay, and they almost didn’t make it on time, but I’m really glad they did. Honestly,
Comment: Hopefully, you remember New York-based singer: Cade Hoppe, who was featured here in January with his catchy single: Hurts. This time around, he’s back with a new song called Faded Love, about the risks and rewards of getting back together with an ex. Musically, it has most of the same elements that made Hurts such an attractive single, including Cade’s trademark baritone vocals. Indie pop at its best!
Comment: I used to live next to a small cemetery. It was one of those green areas that happened to have some old graves in them. You would think it was a creepy experience, but, actually, taking walks there was extremely peaceful and serene, no matter what your mood was. I felt something similar when I listened to Cemetery Walk, the second track in The Aquaerials’ hauntingly beautiful new EP: After the Apocalypse. If you’ve been paying attention, you may remember then that The Aquaerials is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Mark Swanson. who keeps composing gorgeous neoclassical melodies, just as the five tracks that make this record.
With all that is happening in the world nowadays, from the war in Ukraine to Twitter’s implosion, it comes in handy to have the soundtrack for what comes after the end of times.
