Toadies Cover Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy

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Photo by Steve Visneau
Well... here's something I never thought I'd write: 90's hard rockers Toadies have recorded a cover of "You Are Not Alone," Mavis Staples's 2010 song with Jeff Tweedy. I've long felt that Toadies were unfortunately lumped in with a lot of the post-Nirvana alt-garbage that came out in the mid-90's, and 1994's Rubberneck has some seriously great songs on it. That being said, a partially acoustic cover of a song from an eighty year old gospel singer and the lead singer of Wilco? Recorded in quarantine, Toadies give us a shockingly faithful version of the original, except Vaden Todd Lewis isn't quite the singer Mavis Staples is, and I doubt he'd take that as an insult. 

 Lewis explains the choice of the cover: “I first heard this Jeff Tweedy song about 2 weeks ago. It was a live performance of Tweedy with Mavis Staples, and it felt like it had been written for this very moment, when we can’t hug our friends or even some of our family. I immediately wanted to cover this song so I could help deliver the message that ‘you are not alone.'"

 You can watch the video for the Toadies's cover of "You Are Not Alone" below. For more on the Toadies, check out their website.

On Repeat...

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. ...
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The Freqs - "Witch"

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Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
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Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

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How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
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