Into Music Reviews: New Music April 2021
As the seasons change and the days are gradually getting longer, colours and pastel shades returning to our flowers, trees, landscapes and skyline, over at Into Music we’re beginning to get a warm fuzzy feeling. But it’s not just about mother nature, no sirree!
There seems to be a constant stream of new music from artists old and new, providing innovative and exciting tracks in time with the current narrative with sharp lyrics and sound tuneage. As usual we’ve kept the best to save you a bit of effort. So read on…..and of course, do check these songs and artists out, you’ll be glad you did.
Artist: The Clear
Song: Gaslighting
It’s not often I’m stopped in my tracks by a band or artist I don’t know but this song did that in spades, suffice to say it’ll surely be one of the tracks of 2021. Digging a cinematic sound with a clear 60’s vibe, it has strings and hooks aplenty with cello and horns perfectly accompanying a towering, heartfelt vocal.
The subject matter of the lyrics is pertinent, dealing with mental health issues and has already received extensive radio coverage from the likes of Gary Crowley, Tom Robinson and our own George Paterson. The Clear hail from Sheffield which of course has a rich musical history and it’ll be interesting to see what the 3-piece do next. I for one, will be following them with interest.
Check out The Clear via their Bandcamp page here.
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Artist: Jim McCulloch
Song: Chorus Of Lists
It’s probably unlikely that many Scottish artists can better the musical CV of Jim McCulloch. The singer-songwriter can point to being in or playing with the likes of BMX Bandits, Soup Dragons, Superstar, Snowgoose, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan to date, not bad!
McCulloch though is shortly about to release his first ever solo album, When I Mean What I Say via Violette Records. If early single, Chorus Of Lists is a marker for the long player, we are in for a treat.
The track meanders along for the first 20 seconds before an acoustic guitar kicks in providing the backbeat to McCulloch’s wistful vocal. Think 60s Laurel Canyon but crafted and honed in the Campsie Hills (where the video was shot) and you get the drift. The lyrics seem personal yet fall naturally against the melodic tempo of the track.
For details on this release and Jim McCulloch‘s upcoming album release, visit the Violette Records website here.
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Artist: 3.A.M. Again
Album: Come Back From The Sun
A new compilation/best of from Boston’s Michael Telles under the guise 3.A.M.Again sees a number of tracks from earlier releases Forever Ending and Razed In Retreat brought together. 20 tracks in total via the Subjangle label really showcase Telles’s talent and bridge a variety of genres including pop, indie and folk.
Indeed, Telles has written, performed and recorded the full album to great effect. Album opener I Can Always Tell The Difference skips along without a care in the world, guitars keep the sunny outlook going, albeit the vocal does seem quite low in the mix.
Subjects And Objects is a more spaced out, psychedelic folk that doesn’t scream loud but harmonizes lazy musical contentment which is just perfect.
The song of the album (for me) is undoubtedly Hear It Ring which has a summery vision, the jangly guitars help the track swoon then climb.
Elsewhere, Bring Me Out, No One’s Lover and Not Willing are really well crafted, psych influenced indie rock which play into Telles talent as an accomplished singer-songwriter. No Help When You Were Young is a pleasant departure from the rest of the record’s fare, delving into rockabilly roots coupled with an understated vocal which allows the music to take centre stage.
Check out this release and other 3.A.M.Again releases on their Bandcamp page here.
John Welsh
@welshjb
Twitter Links:
@theclearband
@jim_mcculloch
@3_a_m_again