no worries is a vibe-drenched lofi slow-burn, floating the empty space that lingers when a lover is gone for good… It delivers a gut-punch of 90s-inspired slowcore introspection, awash with luscious vocals and grainy atmospheric guitars • Inspired by the success of their debut album ‘Get a Life’, Human Barbie spent the following year isolated in a Baltimore warehouse, exploring new sounds and absorbing the gritty darkness of a world in turmoil. The resulting EP, ‘no worries’, channels the bittersweet nostalgia of 90’s-era shoegaze with the heartfelt simplicity of Human Barbie’s signature sound. ’no worries’ is patient and expansive, and paints a shimmering portrait of a restless heart, yearning for something more…

https://www.instagram.com/therealhumanbarbie

Deep bass waves, guitar and synth sampling, eerie and bittersweet chord progressions, and some old-school kick drum beats. That is the essence of ‘Blew It’ – making the best cocktail out of somber melodies and the magical sound of the Rhodes piano. Of course, Savi’s vocal lines are the cherry on top.

The song has a considerable array of sound effects twinkled in various places.

“Blew It” brings a strong message about the past being ever-present in our lives, shaping us into what we are and ultimately what we might become. Tread carefully because the people around you make all the difference during hardships

https://www.instagram.com/savikaboo/

NEW YORK, NY | JULY 12, 2022: Singer-songwriter Tom Moran has dropped the accompanying music video for single “Oh Darling” off his recently released debut album, Roommate of a Friend of Mine. The full length album, released worldwide on September 24, is an introspective testimony to finding yourself amidst the chaos.

The single, “Oh Darling” allows listeners to dive deep and finds themselves in a story of wanting to reunite with a childhood love. Paired with an acoustic ambiance and nostalgic lyrics, you are left reaching your hands out for that chance — knowing you’d never let them walk out again.

“‘Oh Darling’ was written early in my songwriting life. Someone I cared a lot about was sent away and I had no way of contacting them, so I wrote songs to deal with that pain. The song can be misconstrued as a break up song but it’s very far from that.” – Tom Moran

The newly released music video features animations curated by director/creative James Morano. To support the wholesome storytelling of “Oh Darling,” the drawings used in the latest visual were created by none other than Tom Moran himself. From beginning to end, listeners are left in a swirl of emotions as the single’s narration comes to life.

“I always wanted to make an animated video. I originally wanted to be an animator when I was a kid. I chose ‘Oh Darling’ because I thought it was a flagship song from the album, even though it was not one of the original singles. The visual story of the video came together as I went along drawing whatever came to mind while going through the lyrics line by line. I didn’t really know where it was going until I was drawing the last few parts.” – Tom Moran

When singer-songwriter Tom Moran makes reference to scenes like being stuck in traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, he’s not trying to get you to imagine yourself in a romanticized version of the Big Apple. He’s just a person trying to get home. And in the rare instances where famous landmarks appear on his full-length debut Roommate of a Friend of Mine, Moran strips away the glow of coolness that so often enshrouds them, making space for the kind of quiet introspection we rarely associate with the metropolitan grind.

Roommate of a Friend of Mine is an album that very much points you back down to earth with songs that find their way to wherever you happen to be, to hit you where you live in every sense of the term. One can feel out of place—and learn how to find one’s place—anywhere. And it’s between those two poles of experience that a lifetime’s worth of highly relatable, almost beautifully mundane, interactions unfolds across the ten slice-of-life turns of rippling folk-pop the album showcases.

Check out the official premiere for Tom Moran’s new animated music video exclusively via PopMatters. The debut album, Roommate of a Friend of Mine, is available for listening across streaming services everywhere.

https://www.instagram.com/tommorantunes/

Marci – the solo project of TOPS’ Marta Cikojevic – presents “Pass Time,” the latest single/video from her forthcoming debut self-titled album, out August 5th on Arbutus Records. Marci also announces a London headline show at London’s Laylow on 10 August.

Cikojevic’s velvety vocals are a focal point throughout Marci, a compassionate companion whether she’s having a laugh or relating tough truths sympathetically, as is the case on today’s “Pass Time.” In Cikojevic’s words, “Pass Time” is a song about “recognizing the same cycles you’ve put yourself in, and finding a way out. Trying to snap out of a bad habit, even when it feels so good.” “Pass Time” follows last month’s “Terminal,” “another timeless, immaculate groove” (Gorilla vs. Bear), and the previously shared “Immaterial Girl” and “Entertainment,” and is presented alongside a video directed by Marci herself.

Produced by Cikojevic’s TOPS bandmate David Carriere, the songs comprising Marci are thoughtfully arranged, with plenty of space allowing each element to shine independently. Carrierre and Cikojevic approached Marci with the idea that they wanted to craft hits—songs that were catchy and danceable while still being emotionally honest and down-to-earth. The result is a guileless collection of synth pop songs that brim with unabashed sincerity. Marci is about finding catharsis in all its forms, whether it be through a crying session behind closed doors or the euphoria that hits when you hear your favorite song on the radio.

Marci was put together over the course of a year in a Montreal apartment reminiscent of a 1993 pawnshop, full of synthesizers and obscure instruments dating back to the 1980s. The songs were written on Rhodes and bass and then fleshed out with harmonies, guitars, samplers, and FM and analogue synthesizers—and a little help from their friends. Rounding out the band on Marci are Mitch Davis, Rene Wilson, Austin Tufts (Braids) on drums, and Chloé Soldevila (Anemone), Adam Byczkowski (Better Person) and Jane Penny (TOPS) on backing vocals.

This fall, Marci will kick off her debut solo North American tour, starting in Montreal on Sat. Oct. 8th. She’ll play Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto before wrapping up the tour in Los Angeles on Fri. Oct. 28th. A full list of dates are below.

https://www.instagram.com/marciii

Acclaimed singer-songwriter John Calvin Abney has released his new single “Watch Me Go (Back In Time)” today (July 8), the final pre-release single from his highly-anticipated new album Tourist, due out on Aug. 5. Filmed and edited by Rahul Chakraborty, the engaging, colorful clip also marks Abney’s first directing credit. Watch the full music video via YouTube.

Anchored by Abney’s trademark lyrical candor, “Watch Me Go (Back In Time)” was born from an especially notable period of reflection during his solo travels across the country during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Written after I made my way to Austin, Texas and took up residence in a small room near city limits, the song speaks of our ubiquitous desire to go back in time and change events instead of accepting how the cards fell and moving forward,” Abney says. “Information technology has made nostalgia a currency that puts many folks in an emotional debt for a time that no longer exists anywhere except memory. This song is about acceptance, and communicating through the cold lights of tech.”

“I could call me a cab / Run up another tab / But I think I’ll stay,” Abney quietly declares, choosing a different path — at least for the night. “Work and sleep have been thin / And high street line seems so far away.”

“Watch Me Go (Back In Time)” is the fifth and final pre-release single from Abney’s upcoming record Tourist, due out Aug. 5 via Black Mesa Records. In June, Abney shared the reflective track “Call Me Achilles,” which explores that intensive urge to make a fresh start and leave your past behind. The song earned acclaim from Americana UK, calling it “a song that has life in it – not so much a toe-tapper as a hip-shaker with an irresistible groove, as Abney sings like one slinking effortlessly from location to location.”

Penned on Christmas Day of 2020 in Tulsa, “Call Me Achilles” finds Abney reflecting on past weaknesses while making plans for a fresh start. “I’m a cloud of dust / I’m out of this town,” he proclaims. “I got hung up / I know better now.”

Previously, Abney shared the captivating tracks “Sleepwalkers,” “Full Moon Friend” and lead single “Holy Golden West.” Each song gives listeners a glimpse into the whole of Tourist, a project born amidst a journey Abney first started shortly after the pandemic began, taking him from San Francisco to Austin. At each town and pit stop along the way, Abney paused to take in his surroundings and all the characters who weaved in and out of those new backdrops. The songs on Tourist paint those scenes onto a new canvas, poetically examining the passage of time, the places we call home and how even the smallest of moments can leave a lasting mark.

Instead of hunkering down in a studio, Abney recorded the tracks on Tourist remotely from the hotel rooms and spare rooms of friends’ homes that he stopped in during his long, explorative journey. He found inspiration from the soundtrack that eminated from his car speakers along the way, with a wide-ranging playlist that included Elton John, The War On Drugs and Harumoi Hosono. Longtime friend and creative collaborator John Moreland added his own contributions to the tracks from afar, using modern technology to shorten the distance between them.

Tourist continues a thread first sewn with his 2020 release Familiar Ground, again evolving his sound with the addition of layered synthesizers and drum machines. Through his engaging lyrics, Abney transports the listener into his passenger seat, allowing us to experience and savor every blurred, fleeting second as we pass through.

https://www.instagram.com/johncalvinabney

In a musical landscape with fewer boundaries than ever before, THE MOSS’s exuberant brand of alternative rock spans genres, eras, and even oceans.

The Utah-via-Hawaii group was born on the shores of Oahu in 2015, as teenage buddies Tyke James (vocals/guitar) and Addison Sharp (guitar) picked up a gig serenading diners at local taco trucks in between surf sessions. Naturally, their songs took shape in the spirit of the island, imbued with the joyfulness and breeziness of reggae culture yet cut with the introspection and communal spirit of mainland indie acts like Pinegrove and Cage the Elephant.

By 2018, the duo had grown, enlisting Willie Fowler on drums and Addison’s brother Brierton on bass, and traded in beaches for the Great Salt Lake. They hit the stage at spots like local cornerstone Kilby Court, live-testing their modern-indie-meets-’60s-blues with a wide-eyed exuberance that translated effortlessly into their 2019 self-released debut, Bryology.

Colored by the sound of Stratocasters jamming through reverb-cranked Fender amps, all backed by bouncy rhythms, Bryology marked a big step for the still-young quartet – but, true to The Moss’s nature, was still hard-coded with a DIY ethos. “We basically had no budget,” James remembers fondly. “We bought some nice mics and an interface and I ended up learning how to mix while we were recording.”

The follow-up, 2021’s Kentucky Derby, brought a more aspirational, blue-sky tilt to the foundation they’d laid on Bryology, expanding the group’s sonic arsenal while keeping the relatable lyrical style and sun-soaked sentiment at the forefront. “I’m really proud of how we’ve evolved as a band over time,” Addison Sharp says. “It feels like we’ve taken every different influence and mashed them all together to create something that feels really special.”

“Bryology seemed like a collection of separate songs we put together to make an album, whereas Kentucky Derby is a similar thought and story coming together to collectively make a more cohesive album,” adds Brierton Sharp says, noting the album’s tracks are sneakily arranged in pairs of two that seamlessly flow into one another. “Each song could be listened to on its own, or you could listen to them all and get a broader sense of our intention.”

No matter how listeners choose to interact with The Moss’s music, the band just hopes they feel something. It’s that kinetic relationship between band and audience that makes their live performances – including a pitch-perfect recent set for Audiotree – so compelling. “No matter what we do, we want to make sure the songs are fun to play live,” says Fowler. “We pride ourselves on being a band people want to see live.”

“There’s something special that happens when you get an immediate reaction to a song,” says James. “Whether it’s during a live show or even just a songwriting session, if there’s a reaction from people in the room, you know you’re on the right track.”

Upcoming shows:

July 15th – Denver, CO – Lost Lake

July 16th – Colorado Springs, CO – Lulu’s

July 23rd – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party

July 30th – Sandpoint ID w/ Mt. Joy

Sept 10th – Hurricane UT – Superbloom fest

https://www.themossband.com/shows

https://www.instagram.com/themossband

“Both light and shadow are the dance of Love.” Rumi

“Dancing With Shadow” illustrates the interplay between shadow and light in their antagonistic unity. The listener is free to either dive into emotional rupture or enjoy this divine dance of Love. The MUSIC is eloquent (think cinematic works by Ryuichi Sakamoto or “Sacred Hymns” by Keith Jarrett). Dancing With Shadow is from the Marynka’s upcoming album “Dimension 5”.

https://marynka.bandcamp.com

https://linktr.ee/avalonskies

Sista is the first release from the German girl duo Pinkksoul and the highly talented producer team daash.club. The song is kind of a hymn for power women, power girls and anybody who loves energetic pop with some soul elements. The main topics are empowerment, happiness & female friendship. A great tune for summer ’22!

https://www.instagram.com/pinkksoulofficial/