Missed 2025 Releases - Buffalo Traffic Jam, The Vanns, Cassandra Coleman

      This post is dedicated to three missed opportunities in 2025. The songs were released last year, but we weren’t introduced until this year. Next month, Buffalo Traffic Jam will be at the BottleRock Music Festival in Napa, California.

      The core of Buffalo Traffic Jam comprises Frankie Cassidy (vocals, guitar, lyrics), Nathan Ross (mandolin, lyrics). Their sound is more richly textured by musicians on other instruments, including bass, drums, and cello. They are based in Bozeman, Montana.

     “Fool’s Gold” by Buffalo Traffic Jam

Website: https://www.buffalotrafficjam.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buffalotrafficjam
 
Lyrics of “Fool’s Gold” by Buffalo Traffic Jam
What do you say we leave tonight
We could leave it all behind
22 and wasting time
No, the silence ain't so kind
Hate being left alone
It reminds me no one's home
Rain is dancing on the roof
With these sober thoughts of you
 
Lovers talk late at night
Doing drugs to ease my mind
I'm not alright
You were there, now you're gone
Never thought you were wrong
We don't have much time
 
And they said, "Oh, no, don't go
I've been here before"
And she said, "Boy, won't you think twice?
You can't do no more"
But I know how this stories told
Bottled up my fear
And they said, "It's fool's gold it's got a hold"
I'm dying here
 
Lovers talk late at night
Doing drugs to ease my mind
I'm not alright
You were there, now you're gone
Never thought you were wrong
We don't have much time
 
Love is kind, love's not fair
Not your choice if you care
I'm down on hope
I can't do nothing right
Thought that I could make you mine
I tried and tried
 
Lovers talk late at night
Doing drugs to ease my mind
Well I'm not alright
You were there, now you're gone
Never thought you were wrong
We don't have much time
 
Love is kind, love's not fair
Not your choice if you care
I'm down on hope
I can't do nothing right
Thought that I could make you mine
I tried and tried
 
Lovers talk late at night
Doing drugs to ease my mind
I'm not alright
You were there, now you're gone
Never thought you were wrong
We don't have much time
We don't have much time

     The Vanns are an Australian Indie Rock band formed of Jimmy Vann (vocals, guitar), Tom Switlek (bass), Cameron Little (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, and Andrew Banovich (drums).
 
     “Accomplice” by The Vanns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevanns/
Website: https://www.thevannsband.com/
 
Lyrics of “Accomplice” by The Vanns
Took a few years but we got there
Must've had the time for it
Nobody said you can't park here
And you bet I got fined for it
If all my anger could split in two
I'd give half to you
You'd never know
You just might see me on the news
Talking on the street to a stranger with a TV crew
Honey, how 'bout you
 
And I got it dead right
And I study the streets at night
You know, there ain't no use in sleeping
If you're dreaming in black and white
I justify all the time
Such a crime to walk a fine line
 
Hey, who knows
With you as my accomplice
We might accomplish something
I've waited all my life to want this
You're my accomplice
You're my accomplice
 
Now you're riding in the side car
I'm heading somewhere we shouldn't go
But if those bastards think they can take from us
Well it's up to us to let 'em know
Ergo, it's fair go
Go on and hit 'em with a counterblow
 
Hey, who knows
With you as my accomplice
We might accomplish something
I've waited all my life to want this
You're my accomplice
You're my accomplice
 
If all my anger could split in two
I'd give half to you
You'd never know
You just might see me on the news
Talking on the street to a stranger with a TV crew
Yeah honey, how 'bout you
Honey, how bout you

     Cassandra Coleman is an Indie artist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee. She leans more Pop than we prefer, but her voice commands attention.
 
     “Bite My Tongue” by Cassandra Coleman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassandraColemanMusic/
Website: https://www.cassandracoleman.com/
 
Lyrics of “Bite My Tongue” by Cassandra Coleman
Up and leave it on the line
See you cuttin' down all the things you like
Smilin' like you're not spittin' out spite
I could hardly recognize you
No one's makin' you stay
No, I hate it when you look at me that way
Eyes shot
With your edges frayed
And you're holding your breath
Too scared of where it's gonna take ya
 
Feels like you're lookin' for a sign
Like a green light, green eyes
Everybody has what you want
Their body, somebody, nobody holding them back
 
Oh, I bite my tongue
Can you swallow your pride?
Do you really even want it?
Is it ruining your life?
When you gonna make up your mind?
Oh, you lose your grip
When you hold too tight
See you swingin' your fists but you're losin' your fight
It's not a crime to change your mind
 
Stalled out on the startin' line
Wonderin' at the reasons why
No one's comin' to make you try
Cut your teeth and grow a spine
Oh, it's too late
Can't be givin' all your life away
If time's the price you gotta pay
Are you gonna shell it out?
Are you gonna shell it out?
 
Oh, I bite my tongue
Can you swallow your pride?
Do you really even want it?
Is it ruining your life?
Talk it up
Play it down
When you gonna make up your mind?
Oh, you'll lose your grip
When you hold too tight
See you swingin' your fists but you're losin' your fight
It's not a crime to change your mind
 
Would you want it?
Don't you want it?
If you want it
If you want it
Would you want it?
Don't you want it?
No one's coming (would you want it? Don't you want it?)
To change your mind (would you want it? Don't you want it?)
No one's coming (would you want it? Don't you want it?)
To change your mind
 
Oh, I bite my tongue
Can you swallow your pride?
Do you really even want it?
Is it ruining your life?
Talk it up
Play it down
When you gonna make up your mind?
Oh, you'll lose your grip
When you hold too tight
See you swingin' your fists but you're losin' your fight
It's not a crime to change your mind
 
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh
No one's coming (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh)
To change your mind (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh)
No one's coming (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh)
To change your mind (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh)

“Follow The Money” by Theo Black

 

     It’s not surprising that a song about the control money has over society owes its origin to Las Vegas, Nevada. “Follow The Money” was released in early 2026 by Theo Black, a Indie musician based in Miami, Florida. While talking about the song, Black explained:
   "Last summer I took a solo cross-country road trip to get my creativity flowing and try to write some tunes along the way. This song began in a Vegas hotel room, the one shaped like a pyramid, with my first-floor window staring directly at the backside of a replica sphinx. And as I continued my trip listening to the demo, the lyrics fittingly turned toward money.
  How much of modern life and culture has been subsumed by labor and the constant hamster wheel required for most people to stay on their feet? This song is about the imbalance between the majority of the world that has to work every day to survive and those at the top that disproportionately benefit from our labor.
  Definitely something that weighs heavy on the minds of small musicians as we try and get our ART heard in a world that treats music like CONTENT."
 
     Theo Black is a man with a sense of humor, which is apparent from content on his website and Bandcamp pages. Our personal favorite from him: “No man is an island unto himself, but Theo Black is from a peninsula,” which makes more sense when you remember that he is from southern Florida.
 
      “Follow The Money” by Theo Black

Website: https://theoblack.net/
Bandcamp: https://theoblack.bandcamp.com/

Lyrics of “Follow The Money” by Theo Black
all my life they been draggin’ me down
it’s the same damn demons in a different town
you wanna know why you’re kicked around?
you’ve gotta follow the money
 
all my life it’s been easy to see
that no one really cares until there’s something they need
so where does that leave you and me?
we’ve gotta follow the- the- the-
 
the money gives, the money provides
the money takes and the money lies
they’ve got a secret that they don’t try to hide
you know that nothing can be wrong if the numbers are right
 
cornered in the ring for another round
they’ve got you dollar for dollar
beat you pound for pound
that’s what you get for sticking around
you’ve gotta follow the money
 
gathered ‘round the room wearing family ties
they say “we’ve gotta invest, gotta capitalize
rinse and repeat until one-of-us dies
always follow the the the—“
 
the money gives, the money provides
the money takes and the money lies
they’ve got a secret that they don’t try to hide
you know that nothing can be wrong if the numbers are right
 
the money rips, the money divides
the money shakes and the money binds
they’ve got a secret that they don’t try to hide
always follow the money
 
throwing precious stones from stained glass homes
thinkin’ you’re alright
but we’ve got bigger rocks here on the ground
 
the money gives, the money provides
the money takes and the money lies
they’ve got a secret that they don’t try to hide
always follow the money
 
the money rips, the money divides
the money shakes and the money binds
they’ve got a secret that they don’t try to hide
always follow the money

“Quite Like Me” by Jerry Arlen – A Song Feature

 

     The texturing is diverse and often rich. At the start of “Quite Like Me,” it’s the percussion that stands out. But Jerry Arlen shifts the kaleidoscope often. Just beyond the two-minute mark, vocal skills command the spotlight. Both before and afterward, distinctive instrumentation drives the song.
 
     Still, Arlen says that “Quite Like Me” is the closest track on the recently released album “Luna I” to traditional, acoustic-forward Rock. He adds, “It's got a nice hook that eventually gives way to a pretty slamming sonic space, then the track kind of collapses in on itself like a dying star.”
 
     Jerry Arlen is a songwriter & producer based out of Ann Arbor, MI. Jerry was a full-time touring musician until his 20's, when he settled down and opened Studio Arlen to produce albums and collaborate with other creatives. His scores have won numerous film festivals and he wrote the 2019 feature length musical hit “Groove.” With a Master's degree from Berklee College of Music, Arlen's music marries his midwestern folk roots with modern pop production to create some new ideas.
 
      “Quite Like Me” by Jerry Arlen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerryArlenMusic/
Bandcamp: https://jerryarlen.bandcamp.com/album/luna-i-collectors-edition