BUZZING DAILY

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CLAIRO - SOFTLY
Bedroom pop
phenom Clairo blossoms into a
refined, yet unflinchingly sincere
songwriter on her debut
album Immunity, released August 2 via
FADER label. With
"Softly," Clairo gives queer girls an
outlet to dance around their bedrooms
full of youthful infatuation. It captures
the subtlety of a soft brush of fingers
and stolen glances in the early stages
of an innocent crush without the
pressure of labels on a relationship or
sexuality. Wistful lyrics over a lax, off-
rhythm guitar melody improvised
by Rostam further the song's
whimsical energy. "I got this feeling /
Telling me girl, I gotta know," she
croons in a way that young queer girls
can look up to, while also tugging at
the heartstrings of older queer girls
who felt confused and repressed. As a
children's choir echos "I don't care
what they say" in the
background, Clairo asserts that she's
exploring her sexuality on her own
terms; she's "doing it differently," and
although some look down upon queer
love, this blissful feeling is the only
thing that matters. — Ysabella Monton
on August 20, 2019

Softly
Clairo
PREVIEW

HALF GRINGA - TEGGSAS

Few artists are on the come up
like Izzy Olive, the indie singer-
songwriter who performs as Half
Gringa from Chicago, IL. She has
slowly yet surely been gaining
attention from indie artists and
publications alike. The artist’s most
recent release, Gruñona, was named
the third best album of 2017 by the
Chicago Magazine and in 2018, Half
Gringa opened for Le Butcherettes
and The Flaming Lips. "Teggsas" is a
song that builds through the intensity
of its instrumentation and lyric,
coming to crescendo in a
heartbreaking chorus of “How could
you?” The opening lines of the tune, “I
can see the end of everything/ You say
that it used to be an open prairie/
When will you say other things that
scare me,” are blunt and poetic, with
melody floating above a simple yet
piercing acoustic guitar line. Layers of
guitar and synth stack on top of one
another, culminating by the end of the
song into a full ethereal orchestra. Half
Gringa is a band that we have been
watching for many years now, and
"Teggsas" only further excites us for
whatever is up next for this budding
artist. Make sure to watch out for
upcoming Half Gringa appearances in
Chicago this spring. — Samantha
Weisenthal on February 14, 2019

JACK SYMES - CITY FOG

Los Angeles singer-songwriter Jack
Symes releases his debut album
tomorrow but today we're giving you a
sneak peak into the record. "City Fog"
is steeped in folk, from Symes's
distinct voice to its simple production.
The title is a familiar concept to any
Angeleno, but Symes's comparison of
the city fog to disappearing memories
is clever and endearing. Musically the
song starts out with Symes’s voice
accompanied by an acoustic guitar
and then introduces us to Brittany
Hanson's vocals, which color the song
with harmonies and
vocalizations. The horns add warmth
to the sound and keeps us from
thinking that this meant to be solely a
"sad song." While the concept of
memories fading and love dying are
definitely melancholy in nature, we
also get the idea that this is just part of
life, and at times good for us.
Sometimes we want to hold onto the
memories, other times it's too painful
when they're still so fresh in our heads.
Symes seems to speak to both sides —
not wanting to let go, but also knowing
that when you do, moving on will be
easier. Though the indie-folk scene is
heavily saturated, with an entrance like
this Jack Symes is sure to stand
out. Take a listen to his debut album
Songs For Mom out tomorrow! — Dara
Bankole on February 14, 2019

WYATT WADDELL - UNTRAIN

MY HEART
On this Valentine's Day we can't help
but bring you some songs about love
— different than love songs. In "Untrain
My Heart" Wyatt Waddell is looking to
let go of some things, specifically the
affection he has for an old lover. "I can't
get over you baby, I'm not even at the
age of 25. / The more you run through
my brain / The more I think that it's
not wiring right." The song starts off
with this lament and Wyatt continues
to voice his sweet and sentimental
frustrations throughout. Growing up
on the South Side of Chicago, it makes
sense that there is such a strong sense
of the past soul and R&B greats in
Wyatt's sound. His rich voice is
dynamic in nature, showing us its full
range in a matter of seconds. This up-
and-comer is a multi-instrumentalist
who has been made a name for
himself in his hometown and has been
referred to as "Chicago's Boy
Wonder" for his undeniable talent.
With the resurrection of soul, we're
adding Waddell's name to the list of
artists to keep on our radar. — Dara
Bankole on February 14, 2019

HAND HABITS - CAN'T CALM

DOWN
Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy has a lot of
questions in their latest release can’t
calm down. Duffy — a longtime
member of Kevin Morby’s touring band
— started releasing music under the
moniker Hand Habits after moving
from Upstate New York to Los
Angeles. The folk-alternative sound
they established in their first release
Wildly Idle (Humble Before the Void)
builds carefully upon itself. The song
starts small with just Duffy’s gentle
voice, rhythmic strumming and the
steady beat of a snare drum. It builds
with the first chorus as Elizabeth
Powell of Land of Talk layers her voice
deftly atop Duffy’s. It reaches a
satisfying peak with a soaring guitar
solo after the second chorus. Their
voice gives a somnambulant quality to
the song as they ask the pressing
question, “what if I can’t calm down/
and I don’t have that in my bloodline?”
can’t calm down is the second single
from Hand Habits’ latest album,
placeholder, which will be released on
Saddle Creek on March 1. — Corey
Bates on February 13, 2019

ADAM MELCHOR - 3 HOURS

AHEAD
Both earnest and cinematic, Adam
Melchor's new single "3 Hours Ahead"
is the second song to come from the
blooming singer-songwriter. While
now residing in sunny LA, Melchor is a
New Jersey native, and though he has
left the Garden State, there are still
remnants of him there. Time and
distance keeps him away from the
ones he loves, but it's not a matter of
out of mind, out of sight. Instead there
is a longing for letting these people
know that they're on his mind. The
sound of his mother's laugh is still
audible in his ears and the memories
of a past life in Arizona have not been
forgotten. There is a warm haziness in
the musical landscape of the song.
Melchor's vocals wax emotion while
the backing vocals punctuate and echo
the sweet sentiments. Though the time
difference from the East Coast to
the West Coast coast may seem like a
mere three hours, many of us know
just how much of a difference those
few hours can make. We'll be looking
to hear more from this precocious new
artist! — Dara Bankole on February 12,
2019

HEAVY HEART - BED BUG

With their latest single “Bed Bug,”
HEAVY HEART has taken a break
from their signature hazy sound.
Instead, they opt for a sharper fuller
take on alt-rock with heavy dream-pop
and shoegaze influence. The song is
the first of three new tracks that were
co-produced and mixed by Grammy
Award-winning producer Gabe Wax
(The War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes,
Soccer Mommy). The step up in
production value allows the London
based alt-rock group’s skills to really
shine through.

The jangly guitar mixes with well-

placed synths creating a lush sound
that fills in and around Anna Vincent’s
soft almost lilting vocals. This lush and
heavy sound just adds to the restless
lethargy of the song as Vincent sings,
“time after time it feels the same to
me.” It begs to be listened to over and
over as it creates its own world in just
over four minutes, beckoning you to
stay in bed with it just a little longer. —
Corey Bates on February 12, 2019

PHOTO OPS - JULY

Photo Ops’ “July” basks in its own
simplicity. From the simple chug of the
drums to the unambiguous
declarations of singer Terry Price, this
dreamy new single from Photo Ops’
forthcoming 2019 album attempts to
find sense in the most complicated
matters. “Sometimes the only thing /
The only thing to say / Is the most
obvious,” sings Price, opting to offer
comforting platitudes because they are
universally understood. November
2016 saw massive change for many
across the country, and Price found
himself moving from his home of
Nashville to Los Angeles, spurred on
by the larger scale national changes. A
resident of two of the American cities
most steeped in music industry
tradition, Price’s sound is one of
timelessness, a fading photograph of
an aging phonograph record. Price’s
musicianship shines in the chorus,
when his vocals soar, “I did you right /
You just won’t know it for a while.” It
all makes sense to him now, and that
will have to do. He offers us his own
comforting advice in the form of a
song, says what it is he needs to say,
and then fades out. — Daniel Shanker
on February 12, 2019

RUNNNER - EGGSHELL
“Eggshell” is a look into the quiet pain
of everyday life, cleverly assembled
from parts found in the dustiest
corners of the house. The drum loop
might as well be leaking through the
walls from a boombox in the next
room, and anxieties once swept under
the rug erupt left and right in the
forms of various household chores.
Singer Noah Weinman performs an
earnest sort of verbal gymnastics
through unexpected but charmingly
effective rhymes to convey his
constant state of malaise: “Nothing to
do but keep texting my therapist / So
many half-assed attempts to get over
this.”

Los Angeles’s Runnner have dubbed

themselves “Ableton folk” for the
electronic production sounds of the
Ableton audio software and the raw,
heartfelt, stripped-down sincerity of
acoustic confessionals. Weinman
writes “Bandcamp songs for
SoundCloud kids,” shouting his codas
to the rafters with his indie rock
friends, but secretly scribbling his
angst down in garage solitude like the
heroes of Internet bedroom hip-hop.
The wide array of influences in
Runnner’s music meld to structure a
sound so endearingly original it has to
be believed, while the lyrics steer clear
of melodrama by portraying a familiar
mundanity that permeates every
second of every day. Even at the height
of the song’s most cathartic moment,
the melancholy is inescapable, as
Weinman admits, “I hate the part of
the song where the chorus hits /
‘Cause I don’t like sticking flags on my
nervousness.” — Daniel Shanker on
February 11, 2019

SAMIA - LASTING FRIEND

On her newest single, "Lasting Friend,"
Brooklyn based artist SAMIA raises
her voice in defiant confrontation with
the kind of unsettling memories that
are not so easily leveled by time. A
punchy, scowling guitar and intensely
metallic percussion drive the tune
while SAMIA details a troubling
anecdote from her school years, nearly
dismissing the story as one might tell
to an likely ambivalent, quietly amused
crowd at a party. The chorus is a kind
of hypnotic confession as SAMIA tries
time and time again to assert that “I’m
not ashamed of my past, ” though
never seeming entirely assured.
Through this repetition,
SAMIA grapples with the uncertainty
of early adulthood as she processes
memories that left unaddressed can
become “monstrous” and debilitating.
"Lasting Friend" easily falls in line with
SAMIA's other releases, which often
seek to reckon with a wide array of
generational anxieties through
her wrenchingly eloquent, emotional
and referential lyricism. — Emma
Bowers on February 11, 2019