"Nowhere Sounds Lovely"
Christina Vane
Blue Tip Records
Unlike most of her contemporaries, Cristina Vane has a taste for pre-war American blues from the likes of Skip James, Robert Johnson and Blind Willie Johnson. Add a splash of slow western waltzes and haunting Appalachian melodies for good measure and she's tapped in to the very well from which rock and roll sprung. Born in Italy to a Sicilian-American father and a Guatemalan mother, Vane grew up between England, France and Italy, and was fluent in four languages by the time she moved to her fathers' native United States to attend university at 18 years old. Vane's debut full-length album, "Nowhere Sounds Lovely," released April 2 and explores the depths of her new home's musical history from her unique perspective.
Americana Highways called "Nowhere Sounds Lovely" the "best guitar record" they've heard this year. Vane's perspective on American music is a decidedly unique one, but absolutely an authentic one; pieced together through sights, sounds and experiences just like the pioneers of the music she so dearly loves. If "Nowhere Sounds Lovely" is any indication, Vane's ability to carry the torch of her forebears is strong -- and she's just getting started.
"Losers Weepers"
Babygirl
Sandlot Records
Fast-rising pop rock band Babygirl released their highly anticipated EP "Losers Weepers" April 16. Making music for the underdogs and those that cheer for the losing team, "Losers Weepers'" singles are quickly adding to Babygirl's more than 6 million streams and have received acclaim from NPR, Noisey, Paper Magazine, Stereogum and more. Recently teaming up with Spotify Canada to be featured as one of their RADAR Canada artists, Babygirl have solidified their position as a one to watch for this year. Accomplished songwriters who also recently co-produced Lauv's "Canada ft. Alessia Cara," Babygirl Trojan horse clever lyrics and vast musicality into airy pop songs -- anchoring them in palpable emotion to provide a release that can soothe listeners by expressing feelings that they may not have been able to express on their own.
Sharing admiration for Alvvays, blink-182, John Mayer, Death Cab For Cutie, and Taylor Swift, Babygirl is made up of Kiki Frances, who also counts Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson and Hilary Duff as some of her formative influences and began penning songs at 9 years old; and Cameron "Bright" Breithaupt, who grew up surrounded by music as the child of two full-time professional musicians.
"Some Days"
JayWood
Captured Tracks
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada indie-alternative songwriter JayWood (aka Jeremy Haywood-Smith), released his debut EP, "Some Days," April 23. "It's been really nice reconnecting with a younger version of myself through this EP, I hope he's stoked," JayWood said at the project's release. What started as a bedroom recording project of sad jangle-pop songs, evolved into the psych-funk approach present on his debut release.
Written and originally recorded in 2015, "Some Days" was born of a time of compounding transitions in Haywood-Smith's life that found him grappling with self-identity. It also presented the rare moment of a fresh start. Taking cues from his favorite DIY artists, he channeled his anxieties into songwriting, trying his hand at self-recording using just a guitar, a midi-controller and a borrowed MacBook. Ultimately deciding to re-record the tracks years later, Haywood-Smith had the opportunity to reminisce on the past, while staying firmly rooted in the present. It was a process of life imitating art, as "Some Days" is "about feeling that push/pull of moving forward versus staying comfortable" and "What You Do To Me" confronts the familiar, seemingly endless cycle of depression.
"Voyager"
Current Joys
Secretly Canadian
Current Joys -- the project of Nick Rattigan -- is preparing for the release of its upcoming album, "Voyager," out May 14. The album rattles with the live-wire feeling that's thrummed through all of Rattigan's previous releases: quavering, scream-itself-hoarse vocals and self-interrogation via song. But here, that bristling, sentimental rock 'n' roll cacophony is overlaid with a soundtrack orchestra guiding it along. On "Voyager," Rattigan eschews lo-fi home recordings for a full band and recording sessions at Stinson Beach Studios. While the audiences and songwriting/recording approaches changed and continue to evolve for Current Joys, the inspiration Rattigan draws from cinema remains a guiding force. Frequently he uses film as a jumping off point for songwriting.
Rattigan believes in the premonitory power of music, and he latches onto the song ideas that strike him in the moment, propelled by an abstract existentialism or burst of feeling more than anything else. It imbues "Voyager" with an intensity and intimacy, with the sense that you're getting to hear, all at once, the disparate parts that make a project -- or person -- into a sprawling, cinematic whole.
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This spot will continue to be filled by news and reviews of new albums, both local and national. Send information about your new releases to Jocelyn Murphy at jmurphy@nwadg.com.
