Owen FitzGerald - "Don't Give Me a Pet"

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Durham's outsider poet/country singer Owen FitzGerald is back with a new single. "Don't Give Me a Pet" starts off as a relatively straightforward modern country song, despite the noise loop at the beginning. It's a little bit off from mainstream, but that's hardly a bad thing. And then the bizarro rock burst kicks in that just leads the song into strange territory. It ushers in an indie rock fuzz that never quite leaves the song even as it tries to head back into a more traditional sound. Instead, the song wildly veers around with changing tempos and styles with little to no warning. In other words, it's exactly what we love around here.

In a press release, Owen FitzGerald says of the new song:

"My family attended the 10am Mass at St. Raphael's every Sunday while I was a child. 'Our' seats were on the left, and towards the front, if you were looking at the altar. I always held the aisle. After taking communion, a Catholic is supposed to kneel in prayerful contemplation until everyone has had their turn. Each week, dozens of congregants filed past me to and from the Eucharist. I kneeled and clasped my hands. I bowed my head low so no one would notice my open eyes. I stared at their shoes and pretended to pray. At a rate of about one second per pair, I logged style, brand, color, material, and condition and rendered judgement. My entire brain focused on sorting the shoes into 'cool' and 'not cool' while I tried to keep my posture devout. Honest to God, I've never told anyone about this game of mine until now.

"Tiny details can sweep me off my feet and take me to other planets, if I let them. As I got older, my tendency to be mentally elsewhere strained my relationships. I didn't like disappointing people that cared about me, but the thought of not being swept away felt claustrophobic and dismal. I wrote 'Don't Give Me A Pet' in 2013 when I felt unbalanced, chaotic, and liable to end up on another planet in the blink of an eye.”

You can listen to "Don't Give Me a Pet" below. A deep clean you can count on! is due out February 4 on Sleepy Cat Records. For more on Owen FitzGerald, check out the artist on Bandcamp.

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

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Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
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The Freqs - "Witch"

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Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
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Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

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How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
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