When it comes to song recommendations, most of the music press tends to focus on the A-list artists since, well, that’s their bread and butter. Here at Popdose, it’s not always about chasing clicks or featuring what’s popular when it comes to what we write about. Single Play is a feature where we (that’s the royal we) shine a light on music we think is worth your time. That’s it in a nutshell.
Speaking of music we think is worth your time, this installment features four acts from different corners of the map, each doing something distinctive and, at times, moving. There’s folk-tinged defiance from Portland, a slice-of-life pop gem from the New York area, an emotional tribute that spans continents and generations, and some neo-vintage instrumental cool.
The Builders and the Butchers, “World’s On Fire”
We’re living in a time of great change, and during times like these, artists are often at the forefront, expressing what it feels like to live through it. Case in point: Portland, Oregon-based The Builders and the Butchers. Their latest album, No Tomorrow, is out now. It has an organic feel — banjo-forward, with a Decemberists-and-Mumford-and-Sons vibe — but “World’s On Fire,” despite its rather bleak title, reflects what lyricist and guitarist Ryan Sollee calls an “overarching message…that we can find hope in each other and still lead lives full of joy and creativity even when systems and leaders fail us.” That sentiment is evident in the opening lyrics:
Sitting around here waiting for my Lord
Sitting around here waiting for my Lord
And if he don’t show, I’ll have another cigarette and beer
’Cause only a fool thought that the good Lord would end up here
There’s no shame in loving someone you don’t understand
Only wasted time in keeping heads down in the sand
I shot my bullets at my feet, I cut your name into my hand
There’s no shame in living life in full light while you can
Amen, brother.
Allie Sandt, “Amanda Antiques”
This New York/New Jersey-based singer-songwriter has been featured in Single Play before and on my podcast, Planet LP. She’s currently working on a new album and has completed a studio version of “Amanda Antiques” with some of her former bandmates from Seeing Double. The song opens with busy guitar work before leaping into an almost samba-like feel anchored in a pop-rock structure. Allie noted that the song is about a woman she met in upstate New York who — yes — runs an antique store, and the lyrics clearly reflect that slice of life:
I’m knocking on her place of business
I ring her doorbell to the dogs
They run up biting on my ankles
She jingles over when she walks
In with the old, out with the new
She’s selling your old clothes back to you
Just like her mother and her mother’s mother too
Coco Bans, “Pray (Daughter’s Version)”
Fans of Grey’s Anatomy might remember this song from episode 20 of season 16, “Sing It Again.” Performed by Coco Bans and written by Allyson Ezell, Jo Pereira, Olivia Slania, and Matthew Ker, “Pray” is an emotional rollercoaster that hits all the right notes for the feels. Now, Liv Slania has taken this 2019 song and expanded it into a tribute to her father, Czesław Słania. Liv notes that her dad was “the world’s most esteemed and prolific stamp engraver” and that she began writing the song after his death to find some closure. “When Coco Bans heard me quietly playing it on the piano and humming along,” she continues, “and having recently experienced a loss herself, she was inspired to help bring it to completion.”
Trebants, “Purple Panther”
The name of this band is Trebants — pronounced Truh-bonts. They are a Portland, Oregon-based instrumental project whose latest single, “Purple Panther,” is inspired by composer Henry Mancini. If, on first listen, you think, “Hey, this could be the theme of a TV show from the 1960s,” you wouldn’t be far off — that’s very much the intention: to carry on the crime-thriller and spy-film style that Mancini brought to shows like Mission: Impossible, Get Smart, and Peter Gunn. Saxophonist Ron Dziubla (who has played with Duane Eddy and Los Straitjackets) supplies plenty of soul and character, making this a real neo-nostalgia treat.
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