“Northbound” by Mount Mural – A Song Feature

     Mount Mural artfully and intelligently layers guitars to create a commanding acoustic soundscape. The lyrics of “Northbound” refer to a northbound train and the instruments skillfully deliver one. It’s particularly appealing during the final 80 seconds. Beginning at 4:49, the song undergoes an energized and energizing build of momentum. Then at 5:23, the instruments cooperated to create a soundscape of a stopping train, with one guitar simulating the bell-like warning at a train crossing. 

     It is easy to associate the Post-Rock genre with the music of Mount Mural. Their songs have an emphasis on texture and timbre. But the four-member band touches a number of genres. The beginning of “Northbound” incorporates Shoegaze that is a cross between a humpback whale conversation and the metal-on-metal irritation of a train-motion start. The vocals are more aligned with Dream, which is a contrast to the sense of purposeful movement of most of “Northbound.” The band accurately describes the song as “upbeat/energetic drums, driving bass, dreamy vocals and intertwining guitar parts capturing a daytime psych vibe.”

     Mount Mural was formed in Barrie Ontario. The members of the Canadian band are Clayton McMillan (vocals, guitar), Kyle Gottschalk (guitars, synths, effects), Calvin Amadeus Zacs (bass, synths), and Evan Smith (drums).

     “Northbound” by Mount Mural

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mountmuralmusic/

Bandcamp: https://mountmural.bandcamp.com/

Lyrics of “Northbound” by Mount Mural

Pick the way, I won't say

It’s too much

Northbound train, came too late

Just my luck

Friday's here, no one cares

It's no fun

What they say, is okay

For everyone

No more space, it's a race

I'll take my time

What is fair, is how we get there

The eye doesn't lie.

Hide my eyes, blackened skies

Alright

I've arrived, I'm alive

It's time

“Out Of Vogue” by Fever Dolls – A Song Feature

     Fever Dolls have a touch of The B-52’s in their single “Out Of Vogue,” but mostly in the chorus. The song begins by featuring the rhythm section, then turns into a vocals-driven energy. At different times, the vocals might feature the male voice, the female voice, or the group participation. The diversity keeps the song fresh and interesting throughout its four minutes.

    The band is from Burlingame, Vermont, but they are now based in New York City. The founding members of Fever Dolls are songwriter Evan Allis and singer Renn Mulloy. They have been joined by guitarist Erik Benepe, bassist Mitchell Parrish, and drummer Willis Mathewson. “Out Of Vogue” is a single from the band’s debut EP, “The Phantasm at Lake Wallenpaupack.” Generously, the Bandcamp site notes that “100% of proceeds will go to GLITS Inc. & Emergency Release Fund.”

     “Out Of Vogue” by Fever Dolls

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feverdolls

Website: https://feverdolls.com/

Lyrics of “Out Of Vogue” by Fever Dolls

I was lost in the forest and --

Accosted by a chorus of rich kids

With face lifts and cowlicks

And guns in their wallets

And burns upon the tops of their snakeskin

With such beautiful phrasing

Who’s got (who’s got)

The television on at the worst time of the week

My baby’s calling me from the county clink

(My mother drinks, the doctor thinks I’m crazy, says I should blame my father for the life that awaits me)

Out of vogue

Out of code

Out of touch, out of vogue

Out of code

Out of touch, out of vogue

I was drowning in the water

And found there by the daughter of a sea king

A real powerful she-thing

And summer’s turned to fall

And I’ve found I’m getting caught in the real thing

Oh what a beautiful feeling

Who’s got (who’s got)

The television on at the worst time of the week

My baby’s calling me from the county clink

(My mother drinks, the doctor thinks I’m crazy, says I should blame my father for the life that awaits me)

Out of vogue

Out of code

Out of touch, out of vogue

Out of code

Out of touch, out of vogue

Who’s got (who’s got)

The television on at the worst time of the week

My baby’s calling me from the county clink

(My mother drinks, the doctor thinks I’m crazy, says I should blame my father for the life that awaits me)

Out of vogue

Out of code

Out of touch, out of vogue

Out of code

Out of touch, out of vogue

Tip-of-the-hat to the Named and Unnamed

     It’s common for one or more additional vocalists to join a solo artist in recording a song. For various reasons, it is also common to leave the backing vocalists unnamed. This post is a tribute to the lead and backing vocalists. The songs would be strong without the backing vocalists, and are magic with the combination.

     Unknown Neighbour is the performance name of German vocalist/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sascha Zemke. In November 2019, he signed with the Amsterdam-based Indie label Revanche Records. He often includes a female vocalist in his songs.

          “We Have To Discover” by Unknown Neighbour

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unknownneighbour

Website: https://unknownneighbour.com/

     Michael Dunstan is from Perth, Australia. We are fans of his song “Smoulder or Ignite.”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mdunstanmusic/

Website: https://michaeldunstanmusic.com.au/

      Hayden Calnin is another Australian (Melbourne) His music is often a fusion of Folk and Electronic.

     “We Can Take Our Time” by Hayden Calnin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haydencalninmusic

Website: http://haydencalninmusic.com/

     Donovan Woods is based in Toronto, Canada.

     “Clean Slate” by Donovan Woods

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donovanwoodsmusic

Website: https://www.donovanwoods.net/

Sprints - Free Saturday (“FL&R”)

     Finding songs that can be legally downloaded is easy. The difficult task is to find legally downloadable music that we recommend. Our plan is to post at least one Free, Legal and Recommended (FL&R) song each Saturday.

     The Sprints are a Post Punk band from Dublin, Ireland. The members are Karla Chubb (vocals, guitar), Colm O’Reilly (guitar, vocals), Sam McCann (bass, vocals), and Jack Callan (drums). They describe their sound as “combining guitar-driven hooks, motoric rhythm and emotive lyricism, the unique rock sound combines elements from grunge, garage, punk and beyond.”

     “The Cheek” is about tempting-but-“wrong” sexual opportunities in a bar.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sprintsmusic

Website: https://www.sprintsmusic.com/

Lyrics of “The Cheek” by Sprints

He's got too many, too many

Too many, women on the go

He said do you wanna, do you wanna

Do you wanna, do you wanna go home?

He said baby are you straight?

He said baby are you straight?

I said bi, bye, bye

He said baby are you straight?

He said baby are you straight?

I said bi, bye, bye

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

At least he tries

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, god he tries

He's got bad news, bad news,

Bad news, pouring from his skin

And I said maybe I wanna, maybe I wanna

Maybe I wanna, maybe I wanna go sin

He's got an unshakeable confidence and I'll give him that

And a body like a statue sculpted by an aristocrat

I nearly gave him the chance when he gave me the eye but I

Fought the futile feelings, went to smoke outside

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

At least he tries

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, god he tries

And I know that it's bad, and I know that he's bad

And I know that it's bad, and I know that he's bad

And I know that it's bad, and I know that he's bad

And I know that it's bad

But don't you wanna be bad?

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

At least he tries

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, the cheek

Oh, god he tries

“Place Like This” by Wingtip

     Wingtip is LA-based artist Nick Perloff-Gile. He is working toward the August 14 release of his album “All Your Friends Are Here.” Indie Obsessive is among the many fans of the single “Place Like This,” which will be the seventh of the eight songs of the album. Nick explains:

  “I've always loved the ‘American Gothic’ style of storytelling that folk and country songs do so well - songs about forgotten people stuck in a bad situation or trying to get out of one. A lot of my writing is fairly conversational and small-scale, but on this one I wanted to try to zoom out - to tell a story about hope and escape that felt really big.”

     While he is currently working in the LA area, Nick Perloff-Gile was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

     “Place Like This” by Wingtip

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wingtipmusicpage

Website: https://www.wingtipmusic.com/

Lyrics of “Place Like This” by Wingtip

You should quit that job that you never liked

Tell your friends you're tired of going out every night

Come and meet me at dark

Don't tell anyone

We could keep on driving till we found somewhere

With so many new faces and love in the air

We won't have to go far

To find what we want

I spend all of my time

Staring at ceilings

Watching ‘em peeling

Never wondering why

I feel so defeated

Whether i need this

I'll be the driver

You'll be the getaway car

I'll be the lighter

You'll be the burns on my arm

I know it's hard in a place like this

Growing up somewhere that can't fit ya in

I'll be the pavement

You'll be the foot off the ground

I'll be the basement

You'll be the kids moving out

Running around like our parents did

I know it's hard in a place like this

I know it's hard in a place like this

I know it's hard

I know it's hard

You could fix that smile with some salt in your hair

New clothes and friends with some money to spare

We could go tonight

If that's what you want

When we run out of patience we'll go somewhere new

Find a town somewhere we can't pronounce the food

Watch the fading lights

From the restaurant

I spend all of my time

Staring at ceilings

Watching ‘em peeling

Never wondering why

I feel so defeated

Whether i need this

I'll be the driver

You'll be the getaway car

I'll be the lighter

You'll be the burns on my arm

I know it's hard in a place like this

Growing up somewhere that can't fit ya in

I'll be the pavement

You'll be the foot off the ground

I'll be the basement

You'll be the kids moving out

Running around like our parents did

I know it's hard in a place like this

I know it's hard in a place like this

I know it's hard

I know it's hard

I know it's hard in a place like this

I know it's hard

I know it's hard

You should quit that job that you never liked

Tell your friends you're tired of going out every night

Come and meet me at dark

Don't tell anyone

“AEIOU” by Wye Oak – A Song Feature

     Pour one out for yet another venue visit that passed away as a casualty of coronavirus. It’s July 22nd and Wye Oak will not be at The Independent in San Francisco. As a eulogy to the opportunity, we post “AEIOU.”

     Wye Oak explains:

      Our song “AEIOU” is about the inadequacy of language. It was written around the time that those currently in power took it upon themselves to think that they could minimize the existence of certain people by removing the words that we currently use to define them—like transgender—from use. Language is bigger than the powers that try to control it, but we are so much bigger than language. We are so much more than anything that can be suggested with words.

     The song is a single from the EP “Now Horizon,” which is out July 31st via Merge Records. Wye Oak is the duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack in Baltimore, Maryland. The EP also features the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

     “AEIOU” by Wye Oak 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wyeoak/

Website: https://www.wyeoakmusic.com/

Lyrics of “AEIOU” by Wye Oak

If you speak my name

Use my real name

The one I gave myself

A word can suggest my likeness

As a painting

Suggests distance

But mountains are not pictures of mountains

Or the letters that spell the word

In the language we are speaking

The foundation and its meaning

Does not crumble underfoot

For those who do not have the word

They stand, stand

Regardless

They stand, stand

Regardless

“Florence” by Subshine - A Song Feature

     Subshine self-identifies with the  Neo-Synthpop genre, but it’s the guitar in “Florence” that urged the song onto a pair of our playlists. Still, the song’s strong bridge is controlled by the synth. Lyrically, “Florence“ is a song about loose ends in our love lives, relations that never quite start but are impossible to finish. It is described as “a sound that draws comparison to War on drugs, flanked with 80s synths.”

     “Florence” is a single from Subshine’s debut album “Easy Window.” Subshine is based in Norge, Norway, and is fronted by Ole Gunnar Gundersen. He’s the former singer and songwriter in Lorraine (a major Sony BMG UK signing) who had a global cult following in the early 00's, top ten singles, and heavy international touring with artists such as Mew and Pet Shop Boys.

     “Florence” by Subshine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamSubshine/

Website: https://www.subshinemusic.com/

Lyrics of “Florence” by Subshine

Here it comes again

That bad old debt

That I thought I’d paid

But it still shakes up my days

And you’re a riot

That never cools down

Something’s calling out your name

To the other

Side of nothing

I had your kiss on my lips

But you never were mine

You belong to the others

I still see it in your eyes

I know your love is still mine

You give it away

Or you set it free

It always comes back to me

Now you move again

That same old way

Trying to make me dance

To that slo-mo rain

And you’re a riot

That never cools down

Something’s calling out your name

From the other

Side of nothing

I had your kiss on my lips

But you never were mine

You belong to the others

I still see it in your eyes

I know your love is still mine

But you give it away

Or you set it free

I still see it in your eyes

I know your love is still mine

But you give it away

Or you set it free

It always comes back to me

You belong to the others

I still see it in your eyes

I know your love is still mine

You give it away

Or you set it free

I still see it in your eyes

I know your love is still mine

You give it away

Or you set it free

It always comes back to me