SML - "Taking Out the Trash"

By -

Photo by Charlie Weinmann

Indie jazz supergroup SML (Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregoru Uhlmann) are back with a new single from their upcoming follow up to last year's Small Medium Large. "Taking Out the Trash" is a much bigger scale track than anything off last year's debut. This is experimental music at its absolute finest. This is most likely not going to be for everyone, but it truly should be. It pushes the genre of jazz forward to the point that even if you don't normally appreciate the style of music, you still might end up loving "Taking out the Trash." The song ends up borrowing from virtually every style of music into a new amalgam of sound that ends up being shockingly accessible despite how experimental it all is. You owe it to yourself to give SML a shot, and to pass it on to all music lovers you know.

You can watch the video for "Taking Out the Trash" below. How You Been is due out November 7 on International Anthem, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on SML, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.


Live Oak FL - Friday October 31st - Hulaween 
London UK - Thursday November 20th - Church of Sound
Los Angeles CA - Monday December 1st - Zebulon 
Los Angeles CA - Tuesday December 2nd - Zebulon 
Philadelphia PA - Thursday December 11th - Solar Myth 
Brooklyn NY - Friday December 12th - The Sultan Room 
Brooklyn NY - Saturday December 13th - The Sultan Room 
Chicago IL - Sunday December 14th - Thalia Hall 
San Diego CA - Wednesday February 25th - The Loft @ UCSD 
San Francisco CA - Thursday February 26th - SF JAZZ Joe Henderson Lab 
San Francisco CA - Friday February 27th - SF JAZZ Joe Henderson Lab 
Knoxville TN - Thursday March 26th - Big Ears Festival (3 night residency) 
Knoxville TN - Friday March 27th - Big Ears Festival (3 night residency) 
Knoxville TN - Saturday March 28th - Big Ears Festival (3 night residency)

On Repeat...

The New Limits - "Normal Day"

By -
Image
Photo via Facebook According to their Bandcamp profile, The New Limits are a "Boston ska band with a taste for rocksteady, reggae, soul, and rock n roll." They just released a single that shows off their sound perfectly. "Normal Day" is a laid back ska song dripping with soul. You know that joke that goes around every few months saying that ska is the sound that plays in a twelve year old's head when they get an extra mozzarella stick? The New Limits are the grown up version of that sound. This is ska/rocksteady for adults. It's ultra chilled out music with some of the best horns in the city. Even if you haven't listened to ska since your youth, you need to check out "Normal Day." This might help re-open the entire genre to you. The New Limits say of their latest single: " What is normal, anyway? Some of us just want a nine-to-five. Others cry at the thought. 'Normal Day' has nothing to do with quarantine and lots to do with figuri...
Read more

The Beths - "Mother, Pray for Me"

By -
Image
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....
Read more

Brennen Leigh - "Dumpster Diving"

By -
Image
Photo by Lyza Renee Brennen Leigh has quickly become a favorite of ours, with her take on a classic country sound with a slight sense of humor. Her latest single, "Dumpster Diving," which she describes as a "trashy little tune," is everything we love about the musician. It's a vintage style country song that comes in at a punk like one minute, forty-eight seconds. With a chorus of "Dumpster diving, this ain't gonna last / Dumpster diving, 'cause baby you like trash..." how can you possibly resist. Leigh's latest gives us a decades old sound with modern sensibilities and her fantastic voice that's tailor made for this genre of music. It's almost like a collaboration between Loretta Lynn and Shel Silverstein, and who doesn't want to hear that? You can hear "Dumpster Diving" below. Don't You Ever Give Up On Love  is due out October 3 on Signature Sounds, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Brennen Leigh,...
Read more