“KHS” by Night Cruise - A Song Feature

 

     “KHS” is both a display of a band’s passion for their craft and a presentation of the willingness to outdistance expectations in composing a single. The intricacies and diversity of the song from Night Cruise argue against any assertion that “KHS” effortlessly fell into place. The first 30 seconds are sufficient to prove that point. The song begins with percussive drive as a foundation for 1980s video game music (“chiptune”-esque electronica). A powerful synth hook soon enters to carry the listener to the vocals. Still within the initial 30 seconds, the vocals and a guitar take a call-and-respond approach.
 
      “KHS” stands on its own, but the respect that Night Cruise holds for Steely Dan is on full display. In particular, the guitar-driven bridge that begins shortly after the 3-minute mark seemingly channels Steely Dan. Yet, there are appealing characteristics of “KHS” that are foreign to any single from the extensive discography of the Walter Becker/Donald Fagen band.
 
     Night Cruise includes a pair of skilled vocalists. In “KHS,” Sariah Mae handles the lead vocals. The voice of guitarist Micah Keren-Zvi primarily provides harmonization, although he temporally takes the reigns as lead. The other contributor to the song are Tyler Cash (keys), Keith Karmen (bass), Mike Greene (aka Mike G.) (drums), and Peter Gonzales (production, engineering, mixing, mastering).
 
      The band is based in the Los Angeles area and is represented by Green Galactic. “KHS” is describes as “a riffy, grooving single from jazz rock outfit Night Cruise. Chunky synthesizers and phasing guitars drip with retro color, conjuring images of driving down Sunset Boulevard with the windows down and the radio up.”
 
     “KHS” is the first of five songs from the upcoming self-titled EP of Night Cruise. The EP will be released via Garden Broom Recordings. Micah Keren-Zvi and Sariah Mae explain that because their band is inspired by late-night “cruises” through Los Angeles, Night Cruise is possessed with a sound that is both modern and antiquated—showcasing meticulous production with complex and harmonically-rich songs that bear a resemblance to the music of Steely Dan and Talking Heads. The lyrical narrative is closely connected to the city itself, and to the beautiful and challenging experiences it cultivates. 
 
     “KHS” by Night Cruise

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnANightCruise
Bandcamp: https://nightcruisemusic.bandcamp.com/

Lyrics of “KHS” by Night Cruise
My murdered out black bess is a KHS
I ride all over the greatest city in the west
I saw a red tailed hawk on a vision quest
I keep it steady
I see no use in hanging around like I was somebody’s guest
 
I’m gathering speed to slow down my mind
As long as I’m going nowhere I’m gonna be making good time
 
So I empathize with the lost and insane
I’ve got the sky in my mouth I’ve got the wind in my chain
And it’s warm blood running baby through her frame
I keep it steady
I see no use in getting too excited or calling it by name
 
It wasn’t the soundest decision I made
I don’t know where to begin
Don’t put out the candle boys
I’m gonna need it to find my way back in
 
Ain’t got no reason or rhyme
I don’t need money to have a real good time
 
And that bottom line gets pretty low
It’s copacetic
Though I see no use in getting too uptight about what I can’t control
 
I’m gathering speed to slow down my mind
As long as I’m going nowhere I‘m gonna be making good time
 
It wasn’t the soundest position I played
I don’t know where to begin
Don’t put out the candle boys
I’m gonna need it to find my way back in

“Oh My Mind” by moderlove. – A Song Feature

 

      modernlove. have mastered the art of wrapping mature, somewhat troubling subject matter within an uplifting melody. “Oh My Mind” is the latest quasi-Trojan Horse from the Irish band; “quasi” because the dark content within the aesthetically intriguing exterior is insightful rather than threatening or deadly. The intro sends the early signal that “Oh My Mind” is a hook-heavy single, and the rest of the song does not disappoint.
 
      The sound of modernlove. has some alignment with The 1975, but more so in “Oh My Mind” than in their earlier releases. Still, the single sometimes diverges from that sound. For example, modernlove. appropriately jump into the Dream Pop/Rock genre during the verse that begins “Can't get to sleep // Think I'll just sell my bed.”  
 
     “Oh My Mind” is the title single of a seven-track EP that dropped today via Akira Records. modernlove. is preparing for a November tour of Ireland and the UK in promotion of the EP. For ticket information, visit CLICK HERE.
 
     As their name suggests, modernlove. explore the complexities of the modern lives of twenty-somethings. While talking about the single and touching upon the EP, they said:
  “Oh My Mind” explores the modern-day neuroses of young people and the mental health challenges brought upon them by pop culture, the internet and, most recently, the coronavirus lockdowns. I think we all went a little mad over lockdown and most of this EP was written in that state of social isolation. Without distraction or release from cycles of negative thought you can begin to spiral to the point of derealization and being in a constant state of panic. But then we kinda juxtaposed that by a brighter and more playful sonic composition. I think as young people, we tend to joke about our mental health as a way of relating to one another and not feeling so alone in all of it. So it felt natural to write a poppy, upbeat song about such dark themes rather than treating them with a forced solemnity and formality."
 
     The band is based in Drogheda, Ireland. The members of modernlove. are Barry Lally (vocals, guitar), Daniel Rooney (bass, synth), Graham Fagan (guitar, synth), and Cian McCluskey (drums).
 
     “Oh My Mind” by moderlove.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modernloveband/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/modernlove_band
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernlove_band/

Lyrics “Oh My Mind” by moderlove.
Just gotta get out of my head
I know I'm not thinking straight
I think something terrible has happened
In some part of my brain
I've always had a nervous disposition
Yeah but not like this
I've always been a bit neurotic
But this is taking the piss
 
Oh, my mind
I overthink too much but I'm not thinking right
Stuck searching for something I can't seem to find
Oh, my mind
 
I think I look kinda weird
Don't feel like I'm even here
I don't recognize my face
Someone's switched bodies with mine
 
And I'm a little possessed
my heads becoming a pest
I've worked myself into a state
And it's getting worse every night
 
Oh, my mind
I overthink too much but I'm not thinking right
Stuck searching for something I can't seem to find
Oh, my mind
 
Can't get to sleep
Think I'll just sell my bed
Because my head
Because my head
Is far too neurotically taut to get any rest
 
Oh my mind
Think I might lose it
Oh my mind
Am I still lucid?
Oh my mind
I think it's time to reboot it
Oh my mind
Aww cause it's just useless now
 
Oh, my mind
I overthink too much but I'm not thinking right
Stuck searching for something I can't seem to find
Oh, my mind
 
Oh, my mind
I overthink too much but I'm not thinking right
Stuck searching for something I can't seem to find
Oh, my mind
 

“White Sheets” by Humble John – A Song Feature

 

      The lead vocals are powerful and passionate. But it’s the cooperation of the choir with the voice of Humble John that creates musical magic. The lyrics describe an unattractive situation – the female love interest has found love with another man, while the male relies upon drink as a medicine. But “White Sheets” possesses a beauty.
 
     The piano enhances the emotional feel of “White Sheets.” The Facebook site identifies Humble John as the solo project of John Zelko, who generates melancholy Folk ballads. Zelko is based in Windsor, Ontario, He was previously with the bands The Wanderlust Club, Better Weather, and The Hood.
 
     “White Sheets” is one of eight songs on the album “The Beginning of the End.” The album is available via the Bandcamp site CLICK HERE.

     “White Sheets” by Humble John

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humblejohnforever/
Bandcamp: https://humblejohnforever.bandcamp.com/releases

“Grief” by Saguru – A Song Feature

 

     For two minutes, “Grief” radiates a vocals-driven steady warmth, then the single from Saguru transforms into a crescendo-driven instrumental intensity riser. The song begins with gentle guitar and the voice of Saguru, with harmonization for references to never being the same. At times, the rhythm section deserves points for originality.

     It’s around the two-minute mark that the vocals cease, and the crescendo invigorates the song for almost a minute. The energy build is not consistent with the subject matter. Saguru says:
  It's a song that means a lot to me and which I wrote after the sudden death of my grandma. Knowing that death is a part of life, the innocent, naive child inside of me, who always thought that everything would just go on forever, died that day. This world no longer exists: "We will never be the same."
 
     Saguru was started by Chris Rappel in 2016. He is based in Munich. Germany. His website helps explain the inconsistency of “Grief.” The bio states that Saguru “songs are melancholically dark, but also always contain a sense of departure, a view, clarity and lightness. The moment after the rain.”
 
     “Grief” by Saguru

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaguruOfficial/
Website: https://saguruofficial.com/

Modernized 80’s New Wave – Deathsport and Coyle Girelli

     There is a touch of youthful Billy Idol at the start of “Nightdrive.” Yes, but Deathsport is from Germany and is formed of brothers Tom and Mike Zitzelsberger. At the 52 second mark, the song introduces a guitar riff that temporarily transports their single from a dependence upon 1980s New Wave. It’s the guitar that is the draw to “Nightdrive.”

     While talking about the song, Deathsport said:

  “We love poem styled lyrics about very specific topics. ‘Nightdrive’ is a song about a soothing / comforting mindfulness one has while driving in a car at night. Something we learned to love while growing older.”

     “Nightdrive” by Deathsport

Bandcamp: https://deathsportband.bandcamp.com/

Lyrics of “Nightdrive” by Deathsport
There’s nothing that makes me feel bad
No thought as a loop in my head
There’s nothing that sits more in line
Like I sit when I drive through the night
 
And it’s weird
That I like
What I feared
As a child
 
Alright
 
There’s nothing that needs to be said
I think I could sit for hours like that
Without knowing what is left, what’s right
I see ahead when I drive through the night
 
And I guess I’ll be okay if I just drive
And I guess I’d be okay if I would die
 
And it’s weird
That I like
What I feared
As a child:
A night drive
 
There’s something I’m nervous about
Something that needs figuring out
And before I realize what is wrong
I hear birds and I notice the sun
 
And I guess I have been going for too long
And I guess that it is time to drive back home
 
And it’s weird
That I like
What I feared
As a child:
A night drive

     “Do You Wanna Dance?” is a single from Coyle Girelli. The press materials explain:
  The single is emotionally driven by the energy that Girelli needed to release during the solitude we felt during the early days of lockdown. As one of the first songs written during the writing of ‘Funland’, Girelli describes “Do You Wanna Dance” as “a jangly New Order, The Smiths tinged driving Ameri-Britana feeling tunes about happily chasing a girl who’s no good into the glorious dark of a messy night,”. The song creates an escape through shimmering, yet dark, guitar and vocal melodies, and an intimate ambiance.

     “Do You Wanna Dance?” by Coyle Girelli

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coylegirelli
Website: https://www.coyle-girelli.com/

Lyrics of “Do You Wanna Dance?” by Coyle Girelli
You can say it with your eyes
Or say it with your tongue
Watching the weather in the 4 by 4
With the headlights on
 
You look pretty when you cry
And pretty when you don't
Waxing the leather
With the lipstick stains in your cigarette smoke
 
Oh my heartache queen
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
Wanna dance with me
Take off your dress
On the count of three
Oh my heartache queen
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
Wanna dance with me
Come tie me up in your symmetry tonight
 
Cutting paper with a knife
And ripping through the crumbs
Can't find the razor on the bathroom floor
And my mouths gone numb
 
Guess I really should go home
But I cant sleep alone
Testing the water
Till light bulbs burst
And the cows come home
 
Oh my heartache queen
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
Wanna dance with me
Take off your dress
On the count of three
Oh my heartache queen
Oh baby, do you wanna dance?
Wanna dance with me
Come tie me up in your symmetry tonight
 
Do you wanna dance?
Do you wanna dance tonight?
Do you wanna dance?
Do you wanna dance tonight?
Do you wanna dance?
Do you wanna dance tonight
Do you wanna dance?
 

"Snowblind" by Ásgeir – A Song Feature

 

     The production of “Snowblind” is striking. The single from Ásgeir demonstrates the appeal and the power that can be achieved with a heavy emphasis on the role of production, but without rendering the dreaded sound of "over-production." In that respect, the song is aligned with the recently resurfaced “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Perhaps during the initial 8 seconds of “Snowblind,” Ásgeir gives the Kate Bush single a tip of the cap. Then, Ásgeir heads in a completely different direction.
 
     Instrumentally, “Snowblind” is synth driven, both rhythmically and melodically. Particularly while watching the official video, there is a darkness to Ásgeir’s single. Yet, the synth seems playful during the first half of the song. The video was shot at Búrfell hydropower plant in Iceland, the native country of Ásgeir.
 

     Vocally, Ásgeir showcases the purity and the range of his voice during “Snowblind.” He is equally comfortable in multiple octaves. His full name is Ásgeir Trausti Einarsson. He toured with Hozier in 2015, but performed at smaller venues on days that the tour took a day off. For example, the adjacent picture shows him at one of the rare sit-down opportunities hosted by The Independent in San Francisco.

     “Snowblind” is destined for the fourth album of Ásgeir. “Time On My Hands” is scheduled for release on October 28, 2022. The press materials interestingly describe “Snowblind” as “an icy electronic ballad that fuses crisp beats with elated, expressive intensity. Driving synths rise dramatically while drums crack through the layered production beneath them – and amidst it all, Ásgeir’s singular, pure voice weaves a narrative that recalls the sparse and dark roads of his Icelandic hometown.”
 
      "Snowblind" by Ásgeir

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asgeirmusic
Website: http://www.asgeirmusic.com/

Lyrics of "Snowblind" by Ásgeir
Whipping hail on the highway
Worn out wheels skating on the ground
I know this road like the back of my hand
Breathless engine don't fail me now
 
We're driving higher and higher, further up the hill in blinding snow
Higher, higher, static white noise on the radio
I don't know who or what, if anyone, is really in control
Higher, higher, white lights guide me on the icy road
 
Clouds are crawling down the mountain
Can't see where one ends and the other begins
From afar, I see headlights
Burn through the storm and everything within
 
We're driving higher and higher, further up the hill in blinding snow
Higher, higher, static white noise on the radio
I don't know who or what, if anyone, is really in control
Higher, higher, white lights guide me on the icy road
 
Higher and higher, further up the hill in blinding snow
Higher, higher, static white noise on the radio
I don't know who or what, if anyone, is really in control
Higher, higher, white lights guide me on the icy road

“Cannibal” by Marcus Mumford – A Song Feature

 

     Marcus Mumford is set to release a solo album. The announcement came with an endorsement from Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane, follow members of Mumford & Sons. The other founding member, Winston Marshall, left the band in 2021 in order to speak freely about his political positions.
 
     “Cannibal” is the first single from the self-titled album. Because Marcus was the frontman and driving force of Mumford & Sons, it’s not a surprise that “Cannibal” bears resemblances to the sound of the band. It has a solemn acoustic presentation until an intensity explosion around the 3-minute mark. The lyrics are included in this post. The song is about departure from a parasitic relationship; thus, the graphic first verse.
 
     The upcoming album includes guest “appearances” from Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, and Monica Martin. The release date is targeted as September 16, 2022.
 
     “Cannibal” by Marcus Mumford

Website: https://www.marcusmumford.com/

Lyrics of “Cannibal” by Marcus Mumford
I can still taste you and I hate it
That wasn’t a choice in the mind of a child and you knew it
You took the first slice of me and you ate it raw
Ripped at it with your teeth and your lips like a cannibal
You fucking animal
 
I can still taste you and it kills me
That there’s still some sick part of it that thrills me
That my own body keeps betraying me
And there is such power there, it may destroy me
But it compels me
 
Of course I deny it
Can hardly believe it
Dismiss or demean it
Cause I know I can’t speak it
 
But when I began to tell
It became the hardest thing
I ever said out loud
The words got locked in my throat
Man, I choked
And this is what it feels like to be free
Even though it follows back down, stares
Into the dark with me
 
Even then I deny it
Can hardly believe it
Dismiss or demean it
But I know I must speak it
 
If I could forgive you now
Release you from all of the
Blame I know how
If I could forgive you now
As if saying the words
Will help me know how
 
To begin again
 
Help me know how
To begin
 
Help me know how
To begin again
Help me know how
To begin again
Begin again

“Lose It” by Paolo Nutini – A Song Feature

 

      Paolo Nutini exited a hiatus with a 16-song album “Last Night In The Bittersweet.” The single “Lose It” is among the strong offerings. It takes a stepped energy structure with a relatively laid-back start and a high-energy summit in which Nutini takes an AC/DC persona, somewhere between Bon Scott and Brian Johnson (at the 3:39 mark).

     “Lose It” is hook-heavy. A guitar hook standouts, but the bass is deserving of more attention. The bass does gain some recognition during the outro, after the other instruments relax. A live version of the song was recorded at The Bittersweet (embedded below) with the credits:

Guitar, vocals - Gavin Fitzjohn

Bass, vocals - Mick McDaid

Drums - John Blease

Guitar - Jordi Vidal Fuster

Piano, keyboards - Donato Di Trapani Guitar,

keyboards, vocals - Rich Thomas

 

     Paolo Nutini is based in Scotland. His debut album, “These Streets” was released in 2006. “Last Night In The Bittersweet” is his fourth album, but the first in eight years.

 

     “Lose It” by Paolo Nutini

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaoloNutini
Website: https://www.paolonutini.com/

Lyrics of “Losing It” by Paolo Nutini
Take that wild rose thorn
In those steel crosshairs
That big fat bag
That's been sitting over there
 
Take those blue, blue memories
That you carry like a child
Take those heavy, heavy enemies
And just lose it for a little while
 
Lose it, lose it for a little while
Lose it, lose it for a little while
Lose it, lose it for a little while
 
I could not seem to find
A way out of my worried mind
Feeling I'd been left behind
Was bringing me down, down
 
January, made me shiver
Another year here to deliver
Another teardrop in the river
Was bringing me down, down, down
 
Since 1796
Rollin’
 
From you I get such a big, big feel
Such a big, big power
I kiss like ripe grape
Ready to be wine
 
We’ve been reaching out, shakin' hands
Makin' funny, making friends
Put the pie down from the sky
And just lose it for a little while
 
Lose it, lose it for a little while (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Lose it, lose it for a little while (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Lose it, lose it for a little while (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Lose it, lose it for a little while
Lose it for a little while
 
I could not seem to find
A way out of my worried mind
Feeling I'd been left behind
Was bringing me down, down, down
 
January, made me shiver
Another year here to deliver
Another teardrop in the river
Was trickling down, down, down
 
Lose it, lose it for a little while
Lose it, lose it for a little while
Lose it, lose it for a little while
Lose it
 
Lose it for a little while
 
I could not seem to find
A way out of my worried mind
Feeling I'd been left behind
They were bringing me down, down, down
 
January, made me shiver
Another year here to deliver
But this year I'm going to be a forgiver
And I'm getting around, 'round, 'round
 
Lose it for a little while, lose it
Lose it for a little while, lose it
Let's just lose it for a little while (lose it)
Lose it for a little while
Lose it
Lose it (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Lose it for a little while, lose it (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Lose it
Lose it (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Lose it for a little while (yeah, yeah, yeah)
 
(Yeah, yeah, yeah) [Repeating]

“My Skin” and "Even If It's Lonely" by Hazlett – Song Features

 

     Hazlett’s music possesses a calming and comforting tenderness. Perhaps that will never be more tested than while composing “My Skin,” a song that addresses the pain of seeing another person with your former love interest. The warmth of his vocals and a gentleness of the guitar that are featured at the outset of the single are sufficient to carry the song throughout its duration. But the texture of “My Skin” is later enhanced by the introduction of wind instruments and distanced, echoed shouts of “Hey!”.
 
     Hazlett has connections to a number of continents. He is a native of Brisbane, Australia. His career flourished with the move to Stockholm, Sweden, and the decision to sign with Nettwerk Music Group. Nettwerk was founded in Canada and has become one of the most influential independent record labels.
 
      While talking about the pain of witnessing an “ex” with another person and the meaning of “My Skin,” Hazlett said:
  “You know in your head that eventually people are bound to move on. Of course, they are going to go on the same date nights, road trips and restaurants they did with you, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.”
 
      The tenderness of “My Skin” masks the hurt during the verses. That is not the case for the chorus. The first two lines of the chorus state, “I’ve seen the way you look at him / It’s crawling underneath my skin.”
 
     “My Skin” by Hazlett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisishazlett/
Website: https://www.thisishazlett.com/

Lyrics of “My Skin” by Hazlett

Run runaways

Don’t make a scene or rub it in my face

Like you're dancing on the grave

Of hunches that I had and smoked away

 

It’s too slow, like novocaine

Take me back to when I felt okay

The feeling changed

We’re not the same

Build a bridge or burn what’s in your way

 

I’ve seen the way you look at him

It’s crawling underneath my skin

If moving on is the medicine

Then you’re all out and I’m all in

Go everywhere we used to be

I’ve seen the way you look at him

You’re all out and I’m all in

 

Hold, hold the phone

Months of pacing living rooms alone

Magnifying the tone

Let go of the reigns and hope they’re wrong

 

It sounds like velvet, this old excuse

Is one I thought we’d never have to use

I know I’m not who you’ll choose

Two can win then one is bound to lose

 

I’ve seen the way you look at him

It’s crawling underneath my skin

If moving on is the medicine

Then you’re all out and I’m all in

Go everywhere we used to be

I’ve seen the way you look at him

You’re all out and I’m all in

     “My Skin” is Hazlett’s third release under Nettwerk, his new label home. It follows “Even If It’s Lonely,” which is described as an ode to platonic love, or as Hazlett calls it “warm love.” He explains: “Not the kind with fireworks or the one bestselling novels are written about, but the kind you have with your closest friends. The kind that often guys don’t give to each other. Drifting along to the undertone of how much I miss that feeling from moving around so much.”

    “Even If It’s Lonely” by Hazlett

Lyrics of “Even If It’s Lonely” by Hazlett

How do you dance to Bossa nova

Hold hands but like a friend

Like girls do to one another

The sentimental things that boys forget

Sweet lows and barely ready

Life’s short I’m heading north

 

I wanted to be

A little bit more

Someone you see who you adore

But happy sleeping on your floor

 

Even if it’s lonely

Even if it’s lonely

Warm love, we need warm love

 

I fell in love with making bad decisions

I left a mess and made a cleaner living

Warm love, we need warm love

Even if it’s lonely

 

Even if it’s lonely

Even if it’s lonely

Warm love, we need warm love

 

It tastes like thinking out loud

No sign of souvenirs

The gold on your teeth will fall out

If you only say the thing they wanna hear

 

I wanted to be

More than a phase

Part of it all a reason to stay

If better is far I’m on my way

 

I fell in love with making bad decisions

I left a mess and made a cleaner living

Warm love, we need warm love

Even if it’s lonely

 

Even if it’s lonely

Even if it’s lonely

Warm love, we need warm love