1. theMIND – Gina
Source:theMIND
theMIND has crafted a lively track featuring angelic vocals layered in the intro, light percussion, and rich chord strums, creating a quirky melody in collaboration with Mamii and prodxvzn. Delving into the complexities of love, theMIND shares, “When writing this song, I aimed to encapsulate a profoundly universal experience – the dynamics of ‘mean girls.’ The world imposes these labels, leading women to develop defense mechanisms as a response. Through “GINA,” I wanted to convey that I refuse to be swayed by societal judgments. I acknowledge those external influences and how they shaped your demeanor, but they don’t diminish your worth in my eyes. It’s a testament to your resilience, and I wanna meet you where you are. I want to embrace you. I choose to love you regardless, honoring the hardships of your essence.”
Filmed by Noah Keckler, the video for ‘GINA’ offers a unique glimpse into theMIND’s world. It begins with an excerpt from the artist and transitions into documenting the vocalist in a behind-the-scenes environment, with candid moments captured in outdoor and indoor spaces. Accompanied by a woman seemingly nonchalant about being in the company of theMIND, the video aims to create hyperrealism and reflect the track’s deeper meaning. Up-close shots add a personal touch, enhancing the immersive experience of theMIND’s music. WATCH HERE.
Dancing While Crying in The Middle of Nowhere, theMIND’s forthcoming album, is a culmination of a unique and expansive creative journey over the past few years. This musically textured project, built on limitless genre-bending techniques, promises a raw and unfiltered exploration of unique interpretations of love songs, steering away from conventional paths. By doing so, the album aims to elevate the listening experience, offering fans an unexpected and refreshing perspective on the multifaceted themes of love and inviting listeners on a musical journey that challenges norms and delves into the intricacies of emotion.
From the likes of the Chicago Reader, The Tribe, Pitchfork, and VIBE, theMIND returns with a fresh sound that offers concise, sharp, and potent musical experiences, solidifying his position as an artist poised for a commanding 2024
2. Wayne Graham – A Silent Prayer
Source:Wayne Graham
Today, Kentucky-based band Wayne Graham announce their new album Bastion, set for release September 6 via Hickman Holler Records / Thirty Tigers. Bastion – their ninth studio album – is a sonic shift embracing their Appalachian roots, but bursting forward into indie rock sounds, from wall of sound guitars to listless shuffled rhythms, and sprinkled with avant garde and jazz influences. The album explores themes of the meaning of home, and the feeling of no longer belonging to a place you grew up in.
Pre-order Bastion HERE.
Listen to “A Silent Prayer” HERE.
Watch “A Silent Prayer” Live from First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, KY HERE.
Released today, “A Silent Prayer” is the first song the band – consisting of brothers Kenny and Hayden Miles, as well as José Oreta and Germany-based instrumentalist Ludwig Bauer – wrote for this project. Opening with a sophisticated touch of atonality and a sprinkle of psychedelia throughout courtesy of Moog, organs and squalling guitars, it blossoms into a refined, ethereal rocker full of lush harmonies that only brothers can conjure.
Says the band, “The verses are the internal monologue of someone with doubts about their standing in relationships with others. The chorus is a memory of a real set of events where we and our bandmates shot bottle rockets from a glass coke bottle out the passenger side window of the band van while waiting at red lights. We were not drunk, just less aware of negative outcomes back then.”
On their ninth studio album, the band welcome a sense of looseness, unraveling and a touch of the avant-garde as they continue to shift the New Appalachian movement forward with this seminal work, shaped by tradition (hymns, high and lonesome) but intent on breaking boundaries in the sonic landscape by experimenting with synths, production work and unexpected instruments like clarinets. Their songs crackle with energy, using folk and country as a foundation for fearless explorations of jazz, punk, soul, noise, classic rock, and modern classical.
Opener “We Coulda Been Friends” crawls along with the thrust of dance music—“we were trying to write an LCD Soundsystem song,” says Kenny—but they punctuate it with psychedelic guitars and violent percussion, as though soundtracking a nightmare of disconnection. It’s immediately followed by “The Patsy,” a jazz instrumental that sounds like Brubeck taking five deep in Appalachia. “Shoot Me,” a slow meditation opened with a discordant piano riff, is a weary-yet-tense examinations of racial attitudes in small town America, and “Swingin’ Round” – which has the humble melody of a Protestant hymn – was inspired by the drag ban.
“That song comes from a place of frustration,” he says. “I started writing it around the time the drag ban was being talked about in Kentucky and Tennessee, and as I worked on it, it morphed into a song about trying to find a way to communicate with people you disagree with, even if it’s family.”
“Our music is the way it is because we’re from here,” says Hayden Miles “It’s very specifically Kentucky.” As adults, however, they find themselves increasingly alienated from the culture and values of the place, a small town not unlike so many other small towns in America. “I feel very fortunate to be able to say we’re from here, and it’s inspiring to watch other people from this region find success,” says Kenny, who lives two hours away in Lexington, Kentucky. “At the same time it can be very isolating. It feels strange to play our hometown, because our music isn’t what people are looking for here. Sometimes Wayne Graham feels like a square peg in a round hole.”
Wayne Graham, named after brothers Kenny and Hayden Miles’ two grandfathers, each coal-miners with storied histories, has long been at the forefront of the new movement of artists shaping the New Appalachian Sound – shaped by tradition, but intentionally set on forging a new sonic landscape. Bastion was produced by brothers Hayden and Kenny Miles, the latter of whom has done production work with Tyler Childers, 49 Winchester, Vincent Neil Emerson, Senora May, Laid Back Country Picker, Luna and the Mountain Jets, Sean Whiting, Tenure, Slut Pill, Grayson Jenkins, Pierceton Hobbs, Appalachiatari, Paul Handelman, Dennis & the Ponies, and many more.
3. Daniel Nunnelee – June, Baby
Source:이경리스포츠분석가
June, Baby, Daniel Nunnelee’s debut album is body of work filled with ideologies of opposing desires drenched in sun-bleached folk and wind-breeze indie rock. Produced by Gabe Goodman (Maggie Rogers / Del Water Gap), it showcases Nunnelee’s nuanced self-reflection and homespun charm. With a steady abundance of unexpected details, June, Baby brings an undeniably playful spirit to his existential questioning and, in turn, gently leads the listener toward their own resolutions, or the lack thereof.
The album’s focus track is a reimagination of the Memphis-born, Nashville based singer-songwriter’s 2022 viral hit single, “Pick and Choose,” which Nunnelee tracked and recorded in mere 4 hours after he mentioned the song during a business meeting–without actually having a demo of the song. The new version included in his debut album will feature fellow Nashville-based musicians, Katie Pruitt as well as Noah Pope (on drum), with a refined, string-filled, harmonized & melancholic sound
4. Kiely Connell – Restless Bones
Source:Kiely Connell
Kiely Connell’s third single “Restless Bones” – from her sophomore album My Own Company comes Friday. The Nashville-based, Rustbelt born and raised singer-songwriter takes on an intense topic – content warning regarding the death of one of her friends by suicide. It is a solemn, emotional story.
“Restless Bones” is the beating heart of Kiely’s upcoming album – aheavy, pulsing song about the suicide of a high school friend back in northwest Indiana. Her lyrics are vivid, heartbreaking, her powerful voice trembles with emotion as she remembers her friend. “Restless Bones” sounds immediate in its concern and regret. Connell’s soulful performance adds new depths to the story, especially on the chorus: “So we made a place where restless bones can lie forever sleeping,” she sings, sounding like someone fighting to maintain her composure and make it to the end of the song.
My Own Company, due out July 19 via Thirty Tigers.
5. Gunna – back in the a
Source:Gunna
Today, four-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated, multi-platinum Atlanta rap superstar Gunna dropped the official music video for his new track “back in the a,” directed by Leff and shot in Atlanta. Watch HERE.
The “back in the a” video arrives off the heels of his Spotify “Day In The Life” series. Gunna’s fifth studio album One of Wun notably marks his first full-length release since his 2023 chart topping album a Gift & a Curse. The 20-track album boasts superstar collaborations with Offset, Normani, Leon Bridges and Roddy Ricch – get it HERE. Along with his album rollout, Gunna dominated venues across North America in his 16-city sold out ‘BITTERSWEET’ Tour.
The One of Wun artwork was created by Calvin Clausell Jr., featuring creative direction by Spike Jordan of The Genius Club, as well as art direction and design by Tal Midyan.