LOS ANGELES BAND CALLING CADENCE DEBUT LUSH, DESERT-TRAVERSING MUSIC VIDEO FOR THEIR BREAKOUT SINGLE “ROSIE”

FROM ACCLAIMED SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM VIA THE ROCKING MAGPIE

CR: Michelle Shiers

“Rosie”: WATCH

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today Los Angeles based band Calling Cadence have released the lushly cinematic music video for their hit single “Rosie,” originally released on the band’s critically-acclaimed 2022 self-titled debut via hi-res records. Premiering on The Rocking Magpie and directed by Aaron Eisenberg of Sound + Video Co, the video finds Calling Cadence’s Oscar Bugarin and Rae Cole traversing the desert countryside in a pickup truck, complete with picturesque shots of Yucca Valley, CA. The song is about trying to stick it out and work through the difficulties of a relationship, as well as a free-spirited woman who can’t be tied down. The group’s harmonies find inspiration from the timeless American Soul and Americana spirit that shined throughout the group’s self-titled debut. 

“Cause all that we got / Is just fight or flight” sings Calling Cadence’s Oscar Bugarin, whose guitar “Rosie” served as the inspiration behind the song’s title. Sleek harmonies and gorgeous keys harken back to the classic heart-on-your sleeve confessionalism of classic American soul and Americana songwriting. “I love my strong-willed, free-spirited ladies. This song goes out to them, may they fly away from whatever doesn’t serve them,” says Calling Cadence’s Rae Cole. Ultimately, free spirits can’t be contained, and the narrator is left to put the pieces together.

“Rosie” has earned early support from numerous radio stations and outlets including  Amazing Radio UK/US and Nashville’s WMOT who featured the band on their Finally Friday  sessions and their Wired In Live Series.  The release of the music video coincides with a special Record Store Day discount on the group’s 2022 self-titled debut album. Through the end of April fans can purchase a 23% discounted vinyl record from the group's website using the CCRSD23 discount code at checkout.

Calling Cadence, the band's self-titled debut album, showcases a group whose songs nod to the past while resolutely pushing forward. It's a classic-sounding record (recorded, mixed and mastered straight to analog tape) for the contemporary world. Computers were only employed for streaming prep and CD replication. Produced by David Swartz and Matt Linesch, the album was released on their own label, hi-res records. The producers and the band thought long and hard about diving into the all-analog domain but came to the conclusion that the final product would benefit in a way that digital would not allow. The 15 songs shine a light on Calling Cadence's strength as a live act, blending Oscar and Rae's entwined voices with vintage keyboards, guitar heroics, and plenty of percussive and low-end stomp. The supporting musicians on this record include Josh Adams (Norah Jones, Beck, Fruit Bats) on drums, Elijah Thomson (Father John Misty, Nathaniel Rateliff) on bass, and Mitchell Yoshida (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) on keyboards.

For Calling Cadence, whose name pays tribute to Oscar's time in the Army (documented in Americana Highways), recording to analog tape wasn't just a production choice; it was a way of maintaining honesty with themselves and their audience. Like the classic albums that inspired Calling Cadence's layered vocal arrangements and warm, guitar-driven sound, the record is a genuine snapshot of a band on the rise. And, once again, it all comes back to harmony.

The band will be performing at Sam's Place in Ojai, CA on April 27th, Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA on May 19th, and Topanga Days Music Festival on May 29th in Topanga, CA. 

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WILD HEART CLUB RELEASES NEW VIDEO “RAINBOW”

WILD HEART CLUB PREMIERES NEW VIDEO “RAINBOW” VIA AUDIOFEMME

DEBUT LP ARCADE BACK IN MANITOU OUT NOW

“Castro continues to walk a path that is deeply honest, living fully in her truth as she works to pass on the core message embedded into her music: it gets better.” - Audiofemme 

Photo: Anna Haas

WATCH: “RAINBOW” 

Today, Nashville-based dream-pop outfit Wild Heart Club has released a video for “Rainbow,” a track from their debut LP, Arcade Back In Manitou, which came out November 12th. 

“In Japanese culture, there’s a special method of repairing a broken object. Known as Kintsugi, the art form uses lacquer mixed with gold to not only mend broken pottery, but celebrate its imperfections, incorporating the broken pieces into the object’s history,” says Audiofemme in the video’s premiere. “The art from continuously revealed itself to Kristen Castro – singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist behind Wild Heart Club – while in the writing process for her new album...But before she could walk the path to her destiny, she had to embrace her own brokenness.”

Castro created Arcade Back In Manitou to help her process the aftermath of a difficult breakup, though she penned the track when she and her ex-girlfriend had just begun dating. “When you’re young and in love, you’re looking for any sign to tell you you’re on the right path. I saw so much magic in that moment and in that person, and looking at myself now, even though I miss her, I feel like all my favorite parts of her are part of me now,” Castro told Audiofemme. “I love when the sky is crying and all of a sudden you get a rainbow. For some reason, I felt like that sky, and I was like, ‘I deserve a rainbow. Is she my rainbow?’ I’ve had a lot of sadness in my life, so it’s just looking for signs.”

In the live acoustic video, Castro stands on a beautiful California beach with just an acoustic guitar and the sound of the waves to accompany her gentle voice, baring her soul as she sings, “Break down like a waterfall/When your tears dry there’s a rainbow/Lost in love, lose yourself/When your tears dry there’s a rainbow.”

LISTEN: ARCADE BACK IN MANITOU 

WATCH: “ARCADE BACK IN MANITOU”

Transforming abstract emotion into compelling music, her early releases feature everything from mandolin to bass, piano to synth, banjo to drum programming, in songs that feel both effortless and complex at the same time. Castro’s latest project, Wild Heart Club, builds off the hybrid style of her solo work, evolving her eclectic foundations into an even more distinct and cohesive sound. The synth-heavy, guitar-driven soundscapes are laced with Castro’s breezy, candied vocals: think Sigur Rós meets Heart. It’s a strange and compelling combination that feels right for the current moment. 

“I’ve always been drawn to people who aren’t in the cool club—the weirdos embracing their weirdness. This is music for them, as always.” Arcade Back in Manitou was written, recorded, and produced primarily by Castro herself. 

She started writing the songs that would become Arcade Back in Manitou while recovering from heartache after a particularly difficult breakup. The album is an ethereal and lush collection of melancholy songs with a brilliant gloss of retro sheen. There’s a genuine and hopeful engagement with the positive, a buoyant, almost-ironic sense of cheer teeming from the instrumentation throughout, and a spirit of experimentation and discovery, despite the themes of loss the lyrics explore. 

Hints of 80s plastic-pop and elements of 90s alternative cool are nestled in the mix, as well as nods to vintage and modern Swedish pop acts like Robyn, Léon, and ABBA. “I want to be the artist who can make you cry on the dance floor. I like songs that pair darker thoughts with happy vibes. Emotions are complex. It feels right to have that kind of complicated juxtaposition play out in music,” she says. “It feels honest.”         

SAD DADDY RELEASES HILARIOUSLY HEARTWARMING VIDEO FOR "CHARLIE PICKLE"

SAD DADDY’S NEW VIDEO “CHARLIE PICKLE” PREMIERES VIA TWANGVILLE

 NEW LP WAY UP IN THE HILLS DUE OUT JANUARY 28TH

Photo: Annemarie Sundell

WATCH: “CHARLIE PICKLE”

 Arkansas/Texas four-piece roots powerhouse Sad Daddy has unveiled their hilariously heartwarming new video for “Charlie Pickle,” the lead single from their forthcoming LP, Way Up In The Hills, due out on January 28th. “It’s about an old-timer who just doesn’t care what other people think and is frequently spurred to dance,” says Twangville in the video’s premiere. “It always reminded the band how friends and fans dance at shows. Fiddler Rebecca Patek came up with the idea of having friends send clips of themselves dancing, and as luck would have it Halloween was upon them. The clips were edited together to create the video for Charlie Pickle...If this doesn’t leave you with a smile, you need some serious therapy.”

LISTEN: “CHARLIE PICKLE”

Since 2010, Sad Daddy has traveled down many a road--together and separately--at times focusing on their solo projects and then reuniting for a band project. The four members, Brian Martin, Joe Sundell, Rebecca Patek, and Melissa Carper, all conspired and united in the sudden spare time of 2020 to create their third album, Way Up in the Hills. 

They all met up at Brian’s cabin in Greers Ferry, Arkansas, and over a couple of bottles of chocolate milk and a few jugs of whiskey they collaborated, writing and arranging songs specifically for the new album. A first for Sad Daddy, they took the brand-new bones of each other’s ideas and worked on them as a band to construct and finish the songs. The collective decided on a down-home, back-to-the-country theme—a reflection on the state of the world and the desire to go back to simpler ways and self-sufficiency, goin’ way up in the hills and letting the chaos settle. 

Engineer Jordan Trotter brought his equipment into the cabin and the band recorded 14 original tunes live and in a circle. The feeling of being at a lakeside "home" studio in the serene Arkansas woods was distilled into sound and a genuine relaxed and good time vibe purveys the recordings. Sad Daddy explored using unique sounds, recording stomps on the cabin’s porch, hamboning, using the natural sounds of insects buzzing and bacon sizzling, mouth didgeridoo, handclaps, double clawhammer banjo, and more, along with the foursome’s strong vocals and harmonies. 

 With a long and dedicated history of making their audiences happy, Sad Daddy is emerging rejuvenated with Way Up in the Hills. With a more down-home and old-timey feel than their previous albums, they all stretched themselves a bit to create a common theme and new songs together. Unique to Sad Daddy, all of the members sing lead and write original tunes--the convergence of influences and interpretation of feeling into sound is a stylistic blend of the very best elements of American Roots Music. From the sounds of early blues, jazz, and jug bands to early country, folk, old-time, bluegrass, soul, and funk, they combine many influences, creating an indefinable genre of their own.  

MATT LOVELL PREMIERES WES ANDERSON-INSPIRED NEW VIDEO “ALLIGATOR LILLY”

PHOTO: JASON LEE DENTON

Nashville-based singer/songwriter Matt Lovell has unleashed “Alligator Lilly,” a sultry juxtaposition of beauty and danger, an allegory of lost innocence, and the newest single and video from his debut album, Nobody Cries Today, out on June 5th. 

WATCH: “ALLIGATOR LILLY”

“Need some escapism? With his magnificent new video, Matt Lovell has you covered,” said PopDust in its premiere. “Inspired by Wes Anderson films and the ominous allure of Florida beaches, it's full of eye-candy visuals and striking, hypnotic imagery,” notes PopDust. “Sonically, the arrangement is soulful and simple but laden with teasing moments of dreamy synths that briefly open up the track to a more psychedelic plane. Thematically, the song explores the dichotomy between innocence and danger that defines so much of youth. The product was a joyful and exuberant single, a celebration of seduction and freedom, both spiritual and physical. In the days of social distancing, it feels like a time capsule of a former era, when we could just touch each other without risk—a time that will certainly come again, but that seems far away.” "Someone once told me that they couldn't tell if this song was really innocent or really risqué. And that's exactly what 'Alligator' has been from the moment we sat down to write it," Lovell said.

LISTEN: “ALLIGATOR LILLY”

Written with friends Mandy Cook and Tim Jackson, the song was inspired by a lake near the Gulf of Mexico in Florida's panhandle. "One day we were driving along the coast and passed a lake covered in lily pads—so many of them that you could hardly see the water," Lovell told PopDust. "When we noticed the lake was called Alligator Lake, we laughed about what a strange juxtaposition of danger and beauty this was. I started singing the opening lines 'Alligator Lilly, twinkle in your eye, tide is rolling in pulled by the moon up in the sky.' Mandy gasped and we were like two kids in that moment." They drove back to Jackson's house and told him they wanted to write a "silly song about lost virginity."

“Alligator Lilly” follows the video for the album’s soulful lead single “90 Proof,” which premiered via American Songwriter, written during attempts to let go of a relationship that had ended. “Just one listen to Lovell’s voice as he delivers assertive but smooth blue eyed-soul during the song’s conflicted refrain (‘I got 90 proof / that I ain’t over you’) and that’s all the authentic connection the song needs,” said American Songwriter. “Lovell knows how to tap into a part of himself that can bring the emotions of ’90 Proof’ to the surface and doing so is all the more honorable, knowing the story he’s trying to tell, isn’t a made up screenplay; it’s one man being willing to revisit challenging parts of his life and do so with performative solemnity and grace.”

WATCH: “90 PROOF”

LISTEN: “90 PROOF”

All but one of the album’s songs were recorded in 2016 - just months before  Lovell nearly lost his life. On January 20, 2017, he was shot in the chest by a sixteen-year-old who attempted to steal his car. Miraculously, he lived. “This moment created a new center of gravity and re-ordered my understanding of everything I’ve experienced in this lifetime,” he explains. “Many people who experience acute trauma go through somewhat of a euphoric period immediately after the incident occurs, and this was definitely my experience. The level of peace I felt was something I had never touched before. I wrote profusely, I gardened, I brought new life and vigor to my musical ventures, and I made peace with complicated friendships. More than anything, I found a level of great self-acceptance and this created space for me to begin to learn how to live this life.”  

This era ended with the abrupt onset of PTSD, causing the most difficult time Lovell had ever faced. He began to question everything and struggled to find a way to articulate the horrors he was experiencing.  Now, on the other side of recovery, Lovell is excited to sing these songs again for anyone who will listen. “In these years of writing and recording, I have gathered quite a wild palette of paints,” he says. “In a way, Nobody Cries Today has actually been my teacher.  As I have written these songs, each of them has been like a tiny rowboat to get me from one day to the next. They have witnessed me in the years that I was in the throes of trying to find acceptance for myself and for the world I’m living in.  As a gay man of Southern origin, this proved to be a tall order. These songs have also helped me to explore things like zest for life, discontent, hunger, truth, and hope,” he continues. “Nobody Cries Today contains every bit of earnestness, desire, and love that I have to give. 

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MICHELLE MANDICO OFFERS HOPE WITH PICTURESQUE NEW VIDEO "PTARMIGAN"

Nashville-based Colorado-bred singer/songwriter Michelle Mandico has unveiled a beautiful new video for “Ptarmigan,” the title track of her widely-praised LP released in 2018. "Ptarmigan" was filmed on the ski slopes at Loveland Pass in Colorado; Mandico, who grew up on these same slopes, wrote the song on Christmas Day in 2015, after she skied the silent, empty slopes alone, contemplating a challenging time she was going through personally and within her family. She spent most of her time using a lift called Ptarmigan - a ptarmigan is a cold climate-dwelling bird that changes color (from dark to light) with the seasons for survival. She wrote the song that night and began to identify with the ptarmigan's symbology, thinking of it as a metaphor for that season of her life, an artist passing through darkness into the light. "The stripped-down acoustic-guitar based song features Mandico’s delicate vocals as she contemplates her place in the world," said Billboard in its premiere. “My hope is that this video as a visual story conveys the metaphor that this album has become for me. The courage and awareness to speak up about the blind spots that depression can cause and in contrast to the bright, wide ideas that artists flow through, oftentimes quietly riding the ups and downs of life, purpose, and existence," Mandico told Billboard of the video. The song features Scott Mulvahill and Luther Dickinson on guitars, and Ryan Joseph (Alan Jackson, Kacey Musgraves) on fiddle. The song (and album) was co-produced by Mandico and Kevin Houston and was executively produced by Dickinson.

WATCH: "PTARMIGAN" 

Mandico traded in the snowy Colorado slopes for the warm sounds of Nashville to deepen her career as a writer and musician. Encouraged by a musical family, she grew up singing with her sisters before learning to play piano at age five and began songwriting shortly after. Her debut full-length album, PTARMIGAN, is a colorful tribute to her crossing from the Rocky Mountains to Music City. Venturing into Americana, Western-folk, and roots, Mandico began recording with Kevin Houston in Coldwater, Mississippi at Zebra Ranch, the legendary studio of Jim Dickinson. Stripped down to live takes with no click and a handful of esteemed collaborators, the songs of PTARMIGAN lead with vocal intimacy and devoted lyrical imagery. Besides pursuing her music career, Mandico teaches yoga and encourages others to practice emotional wellness by holding space for honest conversation around mental wellness, openly sharing her struggle with anxiety and depression, and how she’s directed these dark times towards artistic inspiration, like the ptarmigan. 

On April 10th, Mandico will release Something New, a three-song piano and vocal collaboration with jazz pianist Eunha So. Be sure to follow her for the latest updates.

MISS TESS RELEASES DREAMY NEW VIDEO “THE MOON IS AN ASHTRAY”

“A voice that recalls artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Patsy Cline and Lindi Ortega” - The Boot  

“Rooted in a retro groove that’s equal parts blues, mid-century rock & roll and Booker T-worthy R&B” - Rolling Stone  

“Soulful “- Wide Open Country

Nashville’s Miss Tess released the dreamy new video for “The Moon Is An Ashtray,” the title track to her forthcoming album due out February 7th. “Miss Tess blends country, jazz, blues and folk on the captivating ‘The Moon is an Ashtray,’” Billboard said in its premiere of the video. “With a distinct old timey flair, the singer transports the listener to another time period with the throwback number.” "Things are not always what they seem,” Miss Tess told Billboard. “Reality can be a harsh mistress when we find ourselves trapped in an idea of childlike romanticism that doesn't quite measure up to our hopes and dreams.” The video was directed by Tom Krueger, who has directed videos for Bruce Springsteen, U2, David Bowie, and more. For the video’s concept, Miss Tess was inspired by a 1930s-era photo of a woman on a paper moon. “I had been inspired by an old picture I came across…where the woman sitting on the moon looked pissed off. I loved that attitude captured as a juxtaposition against the classic romanticized 'woman on moon' image, and wanted to recreate that sentiment,” she explained. “Tom…really took the idea and ran with it, expanding the idea to involve a whole meta plot where an evil villain is luring in souls for his wonderland vignettes.”

WATCH: “THE MOON IS AN ASHTRAY”

To help capture and shape her own unique sound, Miss Tess enlisted not only her trusty 1930s Weymann archtop, but also heavy input from co-producers Andrija Tokic (Margo Price, Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) and Thomas Bryan Eaton, her full-time bandmate and musical partner. Combining Eaton's' arranging ideas and skilled instrumental work with Tokic's studio full of vintage mics, tube amps, keyboards, and tape machines, the resulting record has a rich, buttery warmth well-suited to Miss Tess' voice and authentic, retro-contemporary songwriting style.

LISTEN: “GAMBLIN’ MAN”

LISTEN: "IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOVE ME"

LISTEN: "THE MOON IS AN ASHTRAY"

LISTEN: "TRUE FLOOD (ft. Rachael Price)"

When most people think of defiant music, they think of punk rock or outlaw country. But defying genres while transcending eras and resisting clichés is hard to pin down when it comes to artistry unless you're talking about Miss Tess, who does all of that and more on The Moon Is An Ashtray. Swinging for the fences and from the branches of jazz, country, blues and old school rock and roll, she has employed all of her influences and talents on a tour-de-force, while cleverly taking standard perspectives and ideas - like the definition of a love song - to task.

From soulful swagger to jazz, blues, a little old school country, and even a touch of psychedelia, Miss Tess shows both the pluck and poise to fold a multitude of styles into her own. 

COOPER & GATLIN RELEASE A STUNNING MUSIC VIDEO FOR “FRAGILE”

FEATURING NBC WORLD OF DANCE STARS KAYCEE RICE AND SEAN LEW

WATCH “FRAGILE”: HERE

Cooper & Gatlin have released a beautiful music video directed by Light Layer Productions for their new single “Fragile” featuring NBC’s World of Dance stars Kaycee Rice and Sean Lew. The raw and vulnerable nature of the track is perfectly complemented by the stunning choreography done solely by Lew. “As soon as I heard this song, I imagined a barrier where it represented the reality of what it’s like when two people aren’t ever on the same page in a relationship...we’re just really glad that we were able to share another story given by two incredibly talented artists,” Lew said.

“The world is loud [and] sometimes you need an excuse to slow down. ‘Fragile’ gives you a peaceful moment alone–so go ahead, hit repeat a few times.” –Idobi Radio

The LA brother-sister duo said “I think, to a certain extent, everyone is afraid of bringing another person in close, or telling them how they really feel, because the closer someone is, the more they can hurt you. Even with all that, in the end, it’s still worth the risk.” “Fragile” is only the pair’s third single and is hot off the success of their debut “Break” and follow up “Like You.” Their music delicately draws listeners into serious subject matters using the power of a danceable beat. The band’s prior offering “Like You” (now at over 107K views on YouTube) was described by Atwood Magazine as an “unnervingly memorable release, soaked in sunshine while also mired in emotional turmoil.” Upon its release, “Break” was featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday U.S. playlist (now with over 521K plays) and the video has now amassed over 616K views. Ultra Records artist Tep No also produced a remix of the track that he called “one of the best remixes I've made.”

The two have the brilliant ability to blend elements of both acoustic and electronic elements so seamlessly into their music. They invite you into their cleverly crafted world with lush harmonies, tight melodies and playful brother-sister dynamic. They fine-tuned their sound when the pair’s family relocated to Los Angeles in 2014 from their hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. They’ve spent the past several years honing their craft as songwriters and musicians by forging their wide array of influences together to create a sound uniquely their own. They recently wrote a batch of new left-of-center pop songs that are fun and uplifting in delivery, but still deeply personal and relatable.

“Cooper & Gatlin's latest video is simple but doesn't hold back on aesthetics. The all-too relatable lyrics and intricate acoustic guitar shine.”  – Popdust (on “Break”)

“FRAGILE”: WATCH

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