Craig John Davidson | Remy Reilly | Mae Krell | Jonah Kagen
Craig John Davidson comes to us from Aberdeen, Scotland, where he’s been working on his upcoming, yet-to-be-named album. Just under a month ago, he sent over a sneak peak of his latest single, “Lesson Learned,” and we couldn’t wait to show it to you. This new cut contains some of the finest finger picking we’ve ever heard and the bounciness of the refrain sets it apart from many of the other offerings in the indie-folk genre. You’ll also find a good number of other sonic ingredients in this track, including some lap steel, piano, and some sweet moments of slide guitar, which always seems to add a coat of polish onto these raw and heartfelt productions. When you top it off with Davidson’s voice, you’ve got the makings for a real winner. About “Lessons Learned,” Davidson adds: “It’s a play on words about how many mistakes you have to make in order to finally learn from them. It’s documenting that I’ve had to make some serious mistakes, to the point of no return, before sorting it out. And it seems like I've finally learned a lesson in life.” This track is available on all DSPs, and if it is any indication of what we’re going to hear on his next record, take our money now.
Dallas-based indie-pop artist Remy Reilly is about to release her debut EP, Avalanche, due out on Friday, December 9th. While you will have to wait to hear it in its entirety, we can confirm that is a collection of tracks that effortlessly cross the boundaries of a handful of genres– one minute, you will be vibing with a soulful number; the next, you will be getting an earful of disco. As of now, the title track, “Avalanche,” is the only one available to the public and if you are not one of the tens of thousands who have already heard it, you are dreadfully missing out. At only nineteen-years-old, Reilly already has a firm grasp on both skill and craft, as demonstrated in the dynamic performance of this single, with its ‘70s instrumentation setting the perfect foundation for her voice to completely shine. Once you press play, you will definitely see what we mean about her ability to hop genres. It’s a poppy number, so don’t be surprised when you find your feet movin’:
Next, we have the amazing talent of New York’s Mae Krell, who has decided to end 2022 with imposter syndrome (b-sides), which consists of two tracks, “tooth fairy” and “(like) spring.” And let’s just say, if these are b-sides, you’re going to want to spin the actual EP, imposter syndrome, as soon as you hear “tooth fairy,” which is bound to amaze you as it simultaneously rips out your freakin’ heart. We absolutely cannot get enough of these modern artists and their throwbacks to the kickass sounds of the ‘70s. And “tooth fairy” has that sweet and thick compression that glues together the rhythm section, the way that only analogue recording can do, along with some vibey keys that fit just beneath Krell’s wonderfully jazzy vocal work, and lyrics that describe how you might be better off without someone you once thought you couldn’t live without:
The other track, “(like) spring,” provides the listener with more of the same sonic experience, only instead of lost love, it describes the feeling of finally finding it. With these two tracks, Krell has successfully encompassed the stories that most songwriters spend their entire careers trying to describe and we believe that this has earned her your ears:
To ensure that your Sunday is filled to its brim with good music, we would be remiss not to inform you of the wonderful indie-folk songs of Jonah Kagen. Freshly released on Arista Records, his new EP, georgia just got colder, contains a collection of songs that each tell a unique story about Kagen’s life. From missing someone to being missed himself, it spans the grand spectrum of emotions in its seven songs, which, by today’s standards, many artists would even consider an LP. Included in this batch of melodies, you will find the single, “Georgia,” which is about as emotionally charged as songs come these days. What we found extremely appealing was the way that Kagen’s vocals are, at times, reminiscent of Conor Oberst’s most passionate work. This is definitely one for those playlists that you play when sifting through the fragments of your soul, so you might as well add it now.
-TM