If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Brendan Nakahara Tanukichan may be the project of Bay Area musician Hannah van Loon, it is also a collaboration between van Loon and Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi. The project's newest single, "Don't Give Up," is this odd mixture of chillwave, shoegaze, and nu metal. (I honestly didn't pick up the nu metal until I saw it mentioned in the press release, but now I can't unhear it...) "Don't Give Up" has the unmistakable electronic chill of bands like Massive Attack and Stereolab, the fuzz of shoegaze, and the oddly aggressive riffs of nu metal. This song should not work at all, but Tanukichan pull off this unique sound masterfully. It's one of the more unique and familiar sounding songs we've brought you in a while. Hannah van Loon says of the new single: "This song is about feeling I haven’t done anything with my life, but also knowing that I’ve accomplished a lot and it’s only getting better. I started writing the lyrics when I wa...

Photo by Nate Lemuel of Darklisted Photography It's been three years since we last heard from Black Belt Eagle Scout, the musical project of Katherine Paul. Previously I've described her music as a folk version of shoegaze, and that sound is all over her latest single. "Don't Give Up" has all the beauty and organic feel of folk with only having the bare elements of folk music. "Don't Give Up" is more of an indie rock song. It's noisy and dissonant, but it's oddly not abrasive in its noise. Instead, the noise is where the beauty of the song lies. There's an unexpected softness to the edge of Black Belt Eagle Scout's music that keeps it having such a unique feel that is going to suck a lot of people in. Katherine Paul says of her new single: “Spending time with the land and on the water are ways that strengthen my connection to my ancestors and to my culture. It helps heal my spirit and is the form of self-care that helps me the most. T...