If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Felix Walworth Kate Bush is all the rage right now thanks to Stranger Things . Instead of covering that song, Deer Scout has decided to expand our knowledge of the art pop legend by covering "Suspended in Gaffa." Confession time: I'm not all that familiar with the work of Kate Bush, and I most likely know Deer Scout more at this point. Deer Scout's version is much less odd and more straightforward, dropping the artsy New Wave/theatrical sound of the original for a more stripped down alt-folk version. Deer Scout's could possibly be considered quirky or bizarro folk if this wasn't a Kate Bush cover. This is a great way to get to know both artists a little better. Deer Scout says of the original version of "Suspended in Gaffa": "'Suspended in Gaffa' is my favorite Kate Bush song. I love the drama and the playfulness of the lyrics, they feel absurd and sincere at the same time. 'I don’t know why I’m crying' has always really...

Photo by Felix Walworth While Deer Scout's previous two singles were folk adjacent without being true folk, Dena Miller's latest is decidedly more folk. "Cowboy" was more bedroom pop, "Peace with the Damage" was more singer/songwriter, but this "Synesthesia" is pure Americana. Miller's vocals have a little more twang to them than we've heard before. It's a much more simple song sounding like it's just Miller's vocals, a gently strummed guitar, and fiddle. Despite its simplicity, or maybe because of it, "Synesthesia" is a captivating song that ends at the two minute mark, which is just as you're starting to truly enjoy it. Dena Miller says of the new song: "'Synesthesia' is about associative memory and inexplicable connections between sounds, places, and experiences.  It was written on the train ride home from a show that absolutely captivated me and jogged a bunch of memories. It’s about different poin...

Photo by Felix Walworth Last month we sung the praises of Deer Scout, the musical project of New York City native Dena Miller. I described her previous single as folk meets bedroom pop. On "Peace with the Damage," Miller leans a little more heavily onto the folk side of things while still not quite landing in folk. This one is more of a folk adjacent singer/songwriter track. It also has one of the more interesting back stories you've heard in a while. Seriously. As Miller says: "'Peace With The Damage' is a song by my father, Mark Miller, originally recorded by my parents’ band, Spuyten Duyvil.  My dad is one of my favorite songwriters and this is a song I always wanted to record even though it’s a little bit of an outlier on the album. It’s a retrospective song about the past and regret. We recorded it together as a duet with me singing both parts, 4 years apart, so it feels like a conversation between a past and present self. My dad played guitar and was ge...

Photo by Felix Walworth Deer Scout is the musical project of New York native Dena Miller. She was raised by two folk musicians in Yonkers, and started working on songs that would become her debut album while a freshman in college in Philadelphia. She started playing DIY shows and putting out singles on Bandcamp and cassette, and now has her debut album coming out soon. "Cowboy" has some roots in folk music, but it's not folk in any traditional sense. This is a pure bedroom, DIY style of bedroom pop meets folk. It has such a unique vibe that really sets it apart from similar artists, and has an odd unique beauty to it. If you like most of the music we bring you here, you're going to adore this. Dena Miller says of her new song: "'Cowboy' is based on the movie Midnight Cowboy  It was written in a house in Ohio where the driveway was off a sharp bend on the highway, so if you were approaching it from the opposite side, you had to make a blind left turn into ...