Same Old You

20 BEST BALLADS OF 2024

Posted on by JL

ALL TOGETHER

TRACK BY TRACK

Band: THE MYSTERINES
Who: Impassioned powerhouse pop indies from
Liverpool fronted by ravishing voice Lia Metcalfe.

Track: SO LONG
From their 2nd LP
Afraid Of Tomorrows.

Haunting femme fatale tragedy.

Linktree
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: BILL RYDER-JONES
Who: Singer-songwriter who was co-founder
of Merseyside heroes The Coral.

Track: THIS CAN’T GO ON
Piece from his 6th solo LP
Lechyd Da.

Choral magnificence.

Instagram – Spotify
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS

Track: WILD GOD
Title song from their
18th full length.

Orchestral grandeur.

Linktree
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: T BONE BURNETT
Who: Legendary American songsmith and lauded producer who worked
with many greats (Elvis Costello, Robert Plant, John Mellencamp and many
more) and scored movie soundtracks all through his long career.

Track: WAITING FOR YOU
From his intimate and warm
longplayer The Other Side.

Goosebumps beauty.

Linktree
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: FAT WHITE FAMILY
Who: Notorious UK squad, led by the charismatic
voice/songwriter/author Lias Saoudi.

Track: RELIGION FOR ONE
From their 4th and best LP
Forgiveness Is Yours.

Enigmatic tearjerker.

Instagram – Spotify
________________________________________________________________________________________________


Peter Murphy – photo by Jolene Siana / Boy George – photo by Dean Stockings

Artists: PETER MURPHY and BOY GEORGE
Bauhaus maestro and Culture Club voice/face.

LET THE FLOWERS GROW
The song was originally written by Boy George with its initial message being
“one of
personal acceptance about being gay. As the song developed, it took on a more expansive and universal scope with its lyrics extending beyond sexuality and embracing race, gender, creed and religion.”

Epic.

Boy George – Peter Murphy
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: PETER PERRETT
Who: Former frontman of legendary British new
wavers The Only Ones (1976–1982, 2007–2017)

Track: FOUNTAIN OF YOU
Song from his 3rd solo album
The Cleansing.

Still a romantic at heart.

Instagram

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: HEARSING
Who: Long-time American
musical friends.

Track: SILICON PRAIRIE
Opener of the tandem’s 5-track
debut EP Pastoral.

“The song incorporates themes of longing and desperation I felt in my own
life at the time that found a home in anecdotes of the desert and its characters
experiencing these feelings for reasons far removed from my reality.”

Americana tristesse in motion.

Linktree


Press photo by 📸: Dean Chalkley

Artist: RICHARD HAWLEY
Who: British master of melancholia.

Track: HEAR THAT LONESOME WHISTLE BLOW
Reverie from his 10th LP In This City They Call You Love.

Fanciful idealisation.

Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artists: THE GLASS HOURS
Who: American songwriters Brad Armstrong and Megan Barbera.
Their music blurs between Sunday afternoon country-folk and
the golden age of the 1970s.

Track: SAME OLD YOU
From their heartfelt
self-titled debut LP.

Bittersweet country magic.

Website – Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: KAT KOAN
Who: Entrancing songstress
from Berlin.

Track: DREAM GIRL

Whispering nightclub sensuality.


.
Linktree

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: KIM DEAL

Track: ARE YOU MINE?
Song from her solo debut album
Nobody Loves You More.

Captivating love song for her mother.


.
Linktree
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: THE BLACK KEYS

Track: ON THE GAME
Song from their 12th, bluesy dream pop,
longplayer Ohio Players. Stellar record.

Spellbinding.

Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: OLIVER HOHLBRUGGER
Who: Norwegian songwriter.

Track: BLACK CANVAS.

“It’s about that someone you’ll never be with and that you allow to remain
inside you as a perfect unspoiled thing, yet still you measure and hold your
real relationship up against it. It’s a dream, an illusion, an unfair fantasy.
Nothing and therefore able to be perfect.”

Yearning amorousness.

Linktree
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: THE SMILE
Who: Two radioheads – Thom Yorke and
Jonny Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinner.

Track: Instant Psalm
Highlight from their 3rd and
best full-length Cutouts.

Vintage Thom York blues.

Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: MGMT
Who: Psych-pop star duo
from Connecticut, US.

Track: PHRADIE’S SONG
Composition from their 5th LP
Loss Of Life.

Candlelight sensibility.


.
Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: MONOSCOPES
Who: Italian psych-pop act.

Track: HEY ATLAS
Cut from their notable 2nd full
length Endcyclopedia.

Starry-eyed nostalgia.


.
Instagram – Spotify
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: JOHNNY CASH
The immortal country icon.

Track: HELLO OUT THERE
One of the 11 self-penned songs from 1993 that weren’t
released until now, on the new longplayer Songwriter.

Affecting as ever.

Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist: RINGO STARR
No pension for 85-year beatle.

Track: TIME ON MY HANDS
Starr goes country again. New LP
Look Up out early next year.

Little drummer boy.

Instagram
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Band: THE VEILS
Who: New Zealand‘s guitar-pop veterans
centered around singer/songwriter Finn Andrews .

Track: THE LADDER
From new, upcoming 6th LP Asphodels
that will arrive on January 24th.

Endearing moments.

Linktree – Spotify

THE GLASS HOURS – Wholehearted Country Folk Duo Touch Heart And Soul With Their Self-Titled Debut Album

Posted on by JL

1 March 2024


Album cover

Artists: THE GLASS HOURS

Who: Seasoned American songwriters Brad Armstrong and Megan Barbera.
Their music blurs between Sunday afternoon country-folk and the golden age
of the 1970s. Combining influences from Megan’s mountain roots and Brad’s southern roots, The Glass Hours is currently based in New York’s Hudson Valley. Prior to start the project, they have written, performed and recorded for various independent projects.

Debut album: THE GLASS HOURS

Press info: “The songs go where they want to go; Brad and Megan simply try to stay
out of the way. Although it is nearly impossible, in this new world of niche artistry, not
to pick a genre camp and pitch a tent, The Glass Hours seem intent on trying.

Yet, there is a thread that ties the whole thing together, and that is the constant tension and tapestry of their voices harmonizing. Every song on The Glass Hours was written with the idea of this harmony and interaction, point and counterpoint, between two voices trying to come together as one.”


Photo: Braden Chattman

TUTV: This is the kind of record I love to play at the end of a busy day and after
listening to too much, noisy stuff. The soothing mix of melancholic country, musing
folk, sepia-colored blues, some bluegrass, roots, and pop/rock influences can work magically to slow down your stressed mind, as happens here.

The heroes of the sensitive songs here are the duo’s wholehearted voices, solo or harmonizing together. Armstrong and Barbera are both blessed with a characteristically warm, tender and yearning Americana voice. Of course, you need the right, affective tunes that can entertain people’s ears. There are 9 of them here. All enchanting and heart-and-soul touching. References? Young and old(er) artists such as Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, Lana Del Rey, Willie Nelson, Crystal Gayle, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. Impressive, right? You betcha.

Add romanticized stories about all things good and sad, bright and dark in life, and you get a lasting record and sonic companion for quiet moments, away from this world’s rat race.

Get a drink of your choice, dim the lights, sit down,
relax, let the music come to you, and start dreaming.

SINGLES: Hurricane / Scarlet Tongues / Same Old You

– HURRICANE –

– SCARLET TONGUES –

– SAME OLD YOU –

STREAM ALBUM


.
BUY ALBUM


.
THE GLASS HOURS: Instagram – Website

THE GLASS HOURS – Americana Duo Entice With Melancholic Country Pearl ‘SAME OLD YOU’

Posted on by JL

Daily electricity to load your batteries

21 January 2024

Artists: THE GLASS HOURS
Who: American songwriters Brad Armstrong and Megan Barbera.
Their music blurs between Sunday afternoon country-folk and
the golden age of the 1970s.

New single: SAME OLD YOU
Track from their self-titled nine-song debut album,
out on March 1st via Cornelius Chapel Records.

Barbera: “‘Same Old You’ started out as a straightforward observation of how hard it can be to change, even when we keep hitting the same proverbial wall. It then evolved into a diary of sorts about life on the road as a musician. As is often the case, the monetary yield of creativity turns out to be much slimmer than the soul yield. But in the end, we make art because we’re called to the process, and that’s really the spirit of the album.”

Amstrong: “Touring has always been pretty rough. Surprise. We used to stay at campgrounds to keep the money in the gas tank. There was always something so beautiful and romantic about that and about the lies we tell ourselves to justify keeping on with it. Reminds me of
a line by Oberst about some sad singers playing tragic. But that doesn’t make it any less true.”

TUTV: Goosebumps all the way. Same Old You is a crystalline lullaby with a melancholic country aroma. Tender, moony, and enticing. The endearing duet vocals and melancholic guitar sparks augment the soul-stirring effect of this bittersweet humdinger.

It’s a candlelight pearl, a heart-warming companion on these freezing winter nights. Romanticism in motion. Think of the quietest moments of Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten and Willie Nelson. Beautiful. Just beautiful.


.
TGH: Website – Instagram
TUTV: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter