Rachel Baiman & Kris Drever Cover Eliza Gilkyson

By -


We loved Rachel Baiman's 2021 album Cycles. This spring Baiman and Scottish folksinger Kris Drever will be touring across the UK together and they've released a new single as a duo. They're taking on Eliza Gilkyson's "Hard Times in Babylon," which was written about the suicide of a friend. The original is a standard (and fantastic) folk/singer-songwritter track. Baiman and Drever expand on that a bit. It's kept as a folk song, but the new version is a much more lush take on the song that leans a tiny bit into the realm of folk/pop. It's a great reworking of the song that is making me wish Baiman and Drever bring their co-tour to this side of the Atlantic. 

Rachel Baiman says of the song:

“I first heard this song at the beginning of a long solo drive. And I must have listened to it twenty more times before I reached my destination. I think what grabs me about it is the sense of community that Gilkyson is referencing. The descriptions of musicians and creatives living together under one roof, trying to make it through the hard times together. Seeing the ghost of a lost friend at a venue they used to haunt,  and mourning in community with one another."

You can listen to Rachel Baiman & Kris Dever's version of "Hard Times in Babylon" below. The song is available as a single via Signature Sounds and can be downloaded at Bandcamp. For more on Rachel Baiman, check out the artist's website. For more on Kris Drever, check out his.

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

By -
Image
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. ...
Read more

The Freqs - "Witch"

By -
Image
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
Read more

Live Shows: Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, Eight Foot Manchild, and Lovina Falls, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 7/12/25

By -
Image
One of my favorite things is going to see a diverse live bill. Anyone can put together a show with three pop punk bands on it, but it's a challenge (and far more interesting) to put three unique bands on the same show and have it work out perfectly. Saturday night at The Sinclair saw the steamcrunk of Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, doombrass heroes Eight Foot Manchild, and the baroque pop of Lovina Falls, and it was perfect. Opening the show was Lovina Falls, the current musical project of Valerie Forgione of Mistle Thrush. This was my third or fourth time seeing them in just a few months, and I'm still entertained every time. It's been interesting to watch Lovina Falls adjust and discover their sound over the past two or so years, and I think they've nailed their current sound down. It's an engaging blend of the baroque pop they started out with mixed with a more rock based sound. Songs like "Ellery Way" and "Vaulted" continue to ...
Read more