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. You can find that here.

On Repeat...

Yawn Mower - "Rascal"

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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 ...
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First Listen: New Releases for 11 June

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Artist : COWBOY BOY Album : GOOD GIRL Quick Thoughts : While I don't know how I tripped up on COWBOY BOY, but it takes a lot for me not to be into a power pop band, and thus they charmed me from the very start. This is a quick hit album without any real negatives to point out - the vocals are great, the songs are fun while still being somewhat serious, and the whole package is a really solid listen from beginning to end. Songs of Note : "DREAM DREAM DREAM," "PET," "SHRINK," "INCONVENIENT" Artist : St. Lenox Album : Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times Quick Thoughts : St. Lenox does some earnest folk rock/indie pop, and this album does what it says on the tin: it's music about religion, but it's not religious music, if that makes any sense. St. Lenox lays it all out on the table, though - grappling with faith, belief (and the lack thereof), family... it's a heavy record in spite of its light presentatio...
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Rocket - "Wide Awake"

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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...
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