If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Gilles O'Kane I don't think there's a better time to listen to the latest single from Kate Bollinger than on a Friday in the summer. "What's This About (La La La La)" is a breezy and whimsical song that isn't quite folk but at least folk adjacent. It's pop, but more like pop music was in the 60's, without sounding like a throwback song. The song has the perfect vibes of summer, especially at this point as you start to realize the season is winding down. Bollinger has crafted an upbeat, midtempo groove-filled song that my only complaint about is that I wish it was longer than two minutes. Kate Bollinger says of her latest single: “This was one of those songs that arrived in my head fully formed, kind of like it was delivered to me by someone else, and as its conduit I banged around on guitar trying to find where the chords were. It's sort of an ode to Of Montreal's Cherry Peel and Apples in Stereo's Tone Soul Evolution.” You can...

Photo by Juliana and Nicola Giraffe For her upcoming debut album, Kate Bollinger took inspiration from the pop, rock, and folk of the 1960's. That sound is all over her new single, "Any Day Now." The song is a light and breezy track that isn't exactly a throwback. Instead, it's an updated version of those sounds made fresh for 2024. It has roots in pop music, but an artsier version of pop than what you typically hear. If I'm being forced to make comparisons to current artists, "Any Day Now" sounds like a cross between Faye Webster and Kate Nash. Bollinger has crafted a song that is loads of fun without being cheesy or embarrassing, which can be rare. Kate Bollinger says of her new single: " My good friend Matt [E. White] was visiting from Virginia and we got together to play some music. We wrote this song and then drove around Los Angeles together. That same day he helped me realize the kind of record I wanted to make, which I subconsciously kne...

Photo by Andrew Yuyi Truong Much like her previous single "Hammer," Hana Vu's latest sees the Los Angeles artist straddling the genres of indie rock and pop, and leaning a bit more towards the pop side of things. Despite that, "22" is a rock song, especially since pop doesn't typically have this level of angst. This is a very moody song about losing adolescent hope as you get older. Vu is able to keep the pop sounds and the rock sounds kind of separate throughout "22." The two genres never quite seem to merge and are more at odds throughout the song, which works perfectly for this one. Even Vu's vocals have a unique 90's slacker goes pop sound, which I've never heard anyone pull off before. Hana Vu says of her latest single: “Being young, there’s so much that I experience for the first time, all the time. But as I experience more things, I become more desensitized to those things. You get wiser–– I feel quite wiser–– but less fervent, l...

Photo by Andrew Yuyi Truong Hana Vu does a masterful job of bridging the worlds of alt-pop and alt-rock, and her latest single might be the best example of that. "Hammer" is one of those songs that is too pop for rock and too rock for pop. I think it might lean a little more into pop than rock, but just slightly. It starts off more as a singer-songwriter track with an acoustic guitar opening, and then Vu's vocals come in with some of the best slacker rock intonations of this century. Eventually the song fills out with more instruments which give it that pop and/or rock sound. Hana Vu is quickly becoming a favorite here, and we can't wait to hear more in the near future. Hana Vu says of her writing process: “I do plead with the world, or the universe, in writing. My writing of songs is where I feel inclined to ask questions and look for answers within myself. ‘Hammer’ is one of the first songs I wrote for this record. It’s one of those songs you write to yourself amids...

Photo by Andrew Yuyi Truong Hana Vu is back with a new song to follow up 2021's Public Storage. "Care" lives in this great world between the current alt-pop of today and late 90's alt-rock. The song is definitely a pop song, at least by today's standards. But there is a strong rock undercurrent. It's reminding me a little of a more modern version of Letters to Cleo's Go! , but a little less polished and lo-fi adjacent. "Care" is intensely endearing and impossible to resist. Vu just has such a natural charm, and when you match that with some dream pop elements, the result is nearly intoxicating. Hana Vu says of her latest single: “I wrote this song while staring out the window wondering if everyone considered things as much or more or less than I do. Also ruminating on whether or not it mattered. Thoughts and feelings might be an eternally individual experience.” You can watch the video for "Care" below. Romanticism is due out on May 3 v...

Photo by Maria Camacho You're probably familiar with Bobby Vinton's 1962 hit "Mr. Lonely" about a homesick soldier. While Hana Vu's song of the same name isn't a cover, it is a "response of sorts" to Vinton's classic. When you re-listen to the original (which you can find here ), you'll notice that Vu's "Mr. Lonely" is oddly similar. It's not a pure 1960's crooner song by any stretch, but there are some little snippets of that sound in Vu's song. The new song is like a bizarro world modern take on Vinton's. It sounds kind of similar, just... off. If anything, it's like you're listening to the song on a slightly warped record, in the best possible way. Hana Vu explains how Bobby Vinton's song inspired her own: " I thought that the sentiments of the original song were almost pathetic when put into today's context. "  You can listen to "Mr. Lonely" below. Parking Lot is out now on...

Photo by Corinne Shiavone When you hear music described as ethereal, you're not going to picture Hana Vu's latest single. "Gutter" is certainly ethereal. It has that dreamlike and fuzzy quality associated with that musical description. But no ethereal song has ever rocked quite as hard as this one. "Gutter" is filled with crunchy and fuzzy guitars and driving drums. It's like someone put albums from your favorite 90's genres (grunge, shoegaze, power pop, alt-singer/songwriter) into a blender and this is what came out. It's the kind of sound that is instantly familiar and completely fresh.  Hana Vu says of the new single: “ I used to watch these YouTube videos called Tales of Mere Existence   by Levni Yilmaz when I was in middle school and then rediscovered them while writing this record.   I actually wrote him a letter when I was 12 … this song is based on one of his shorts.” You can watch a live performance video of "Gutter" below. Pub...