"Another Year," the latest single from Haint Blue, is a powerful alt-folk song that is going to draw virtually all of our readers in. The song builds painfully slowly, starting off with just a quiet piano and drums. Oh, and then you'll notice this intense noise filling up the background. It's not quite feedback, but it's definitely the folk version of feedback brought in to amp up tension like this is a horror movie. The song slowly adds instruments and just keeps getting bigger and bigger until it just overflows with singer Mike Cohn's absurdly powerful voice exploding into your brain. All of this sounds like a painful, uncomfortable listen, and it is. But it's also incredibly gorgeous and somehow mainstream enough to possibly go huge. And then, just when you need the song to bring you somewhere safe, it just ends. Cohn says of "Another Year": There's a lot of rage/frustration in the song, the kind of frustration any adult feels when they grow up and realize that life's not going to be what they thought it would be (and that it has a habit of getting away from you). But there's also this softer, sadder, almost humorously self-aware part of it, too. That's why I like the song so much, it's a great (accidental) allegory to growing up." We can't recommend this song enough. You can watch the video for "Another Year" below. Haint Blue's new album, Overgrown, will be out on February 15. You can order a copy here. For more on Haint Blue, check out their website. Their current tour dates are below the video.
02/22 – New Deal Cafe – Greenbelt, MD
02/23 – Frozen Harbor Festival – Baltimore MD
03/04 – 49 West – Annapolis, MD
03/08 – Dante’s – Frostburg, MD
03/15 – Metro Gallery – Baltimore, MD (Album Release Show)
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it. “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
Photo by Cecil Sykes Midnight Peg are an Edmonton, AB based band that are referred to as "madhouse punk." Their latest single, "Thirstland," is a just barely under control two minute burst of punk. You have guitar riffs that will make you think of At the Drive In, and somewhat spoken and yelled vocals which create a feeling of chaos throughout. This is a loud and angry track that is completely in your face. But, unlike most tracks this loud and punk based, "Thirstland" still keeps a sense of art in their music. Midnight Peg feel like a higher class of loud, angry punk rock. This one is great, with just enough of an emo undercurrent to make the song kind of melodic and almost palatable to a mainstream audience. You can listen to "Thirstland" below. Skinning is due out in October on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out the artist's website .
