Jesus the Dinosaur - "Empty Space"

By -

Photo by Miryam Weiss and J Kimball

Boston's Jesus the Dinosaur has a new single out that meshes folk, pop, and rock into their own sound. "Empty Space" is a laid back track that is probably closest to folk pop. It's endlessly engaging, with just enough flourishes to keep it from being too pop, while still working for both a more mainstream audience and the music snobs. It's reminding me of a mix of Dawes and Cuddle Magic. "Empty Space" could be considered power pop, but with the power part scaled back. What's truly telling for this new single is that it feels much shorter than its two minute length. Each time I've listened I've been surprised that it's already over. Jesus the Dinosaur have made something special with this one.

Tommy Ng says of his band's latest single:

“The lyrics are about spending time alone, and doing your own thing. This is something I’ve always had to do to maintain my capacity for dealing with the world, and to manage being overstimulated by it. When I was a kid, this desire manifested itself as a fantasy about a special place that was somehow completely separate from the world, where time didn’t exist, and that only I could access, which I found incredibly soothing to think about.”

You can watch the video for "Empty Space" below. Nothing to the Branches is due out May 15. For more on Jesus the Dinosaur, check out the band on Instagram. They'll be performing live April 24 at The Lilypad in Cambridge and May 8 at Warehouse XI in Somerville.

On Repeat...

Rocket - "Wide Awake"

By -
Image
Photo by Tanner Deutsch Rocket have been making 90's inspired alt-rock, but their latest single ups the ante on that sound. "Wide Awake" is a mixture of shoegaze fuzz and the more jagged style of guitars that made me love Sonic Youth. Singer/bassist Alithea Tuttle's vocals have a dreamlike quality suited to dream pop or shoegaze, which contrasts delightfully with the more aggressive parts of the song. Despite not truly sounding like a song made in the 90's, "Wide Awake" has so many elements of that decade to give you little bursts of nostalgia. Plus, the video for the song is like a cross between Blur's "Charmless Man" and Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)," in case you need a little more nostalgia thrown in. Rocket say of their new single: “R is for Rocket is about relationships, the most important part of life; relationships with your friends, your parents, your girlfriend or boyfriend, and most impo...
Read more

Yawn Mower - "Rascal"

By -
Image
Photo by Mary Dorsi Asbury Park's Yawn Mower had two goals for their upcoming album. First, after playing their hometown's Sea.Hear.Now festival, they wanted to write songs that worked on a larger stage. Second, they wanted the album to be their Pinkerton , "A raw, rough around the edges, noisier follow up to [their] debut album." The first song from that album is "Rascal," a song partly about the kids of their friends and family. It's a fun track that includes lines like "Here he comes now what a little asshole." It's a quirky and noisy indie rock track that reminds me of an edgier Fountains of Wayne. As anti-kid as the song may seem, you can tell it's not done seriously and there is a ton of love behind the track. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Chick says of the band's upcoming album: “While Dana Yurcisin (bass), Rudy Meier (guitar),  and Nicole Scorsone (violin) have certainly helped fill out past releases, this was the first time that ...
Read more

Ken's Best of 2023 - #6: Lydia Loveless - Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again

By -
Image
Continuing 2023's theme of bands leveling up with new albums is Lydia Loveless' Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again. Somewhere else was my favorite album of 2014, and while I've enjoyed her releases in between, nothing Loveless has released has quite connected with me that way since. This new album comes pretty close, though. Loveless has all but abandoned her early alt-country sound and has recently picked up a more pop friendly sound. Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again  finds this great middle ground. A song like "Sex and Money" is nearly pure pop, but with more of an indie rock edge to it. What makes this album so great is how it's a purely unique blend of pop, indie rock, punk, and alt-country. "Feel" is a song that is as beautiful as it is discordant. Loveless' vocals have never sounded better, but musically the song is more art and noise rock than anything they've done previously. "Toothache" is power pop, and ...
Read more