It’s been a minute since my last Single Play post. Okay, it’s been years, but I’m rebooting this series I started in…oh, I forget when I started it, but I have 2013 in my head. So, over a decade ago. Now that I’m on the third year of my podcast (Planet LP), and regularly cover new music with fellow Popdose writer, Keith Creighton, I’ve been getting new music to review and/or feature on the pod, but also on Popdose.
We’re in an era where so much music is coming at us for almost free that it makes it challenging to write critically about songs and albums because, well, the social value of a music critic is slightly above gum on one’s shoe. At one point, the gum had value and satisfaction in chewing and blowing bubbles. But now that it’s used, flavorless, and stuck to one’s shoe, it’s kind of annoying. So, this is long-winded way of saying that I’m not reviewing any of these songs. Rather, these are recommendations that I hope go on playlists and (better yet) make you want to purchase them and support the artists who take time, money, and effort to create this music. So, with that, let’s get into it!
Atomic Life, “Hit Me First” (YouTube)
I’m not at all familiar with Atomic Life, billed as a supergroup from the New York hardcore world. Out front is Adea Frances, whose vocal phrasing has flourishes of Karen O from the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Cody Hosaz is on guitar, Michael Sadie on bass, and Billy Ryder on drums. The guys really hold down the heavy bottom end while Adea adds a furious compliment to the band’s sound. Labeling Atomic Life as hardcore evokes a kind of scream-o vibe, but the music on this tune is very melodic. “Hit Me First” is also compact, clocking in at 2 minutes and 50 seconds. This less is more approach means the song does not wear out its welcome.
Jason Myles Goss, “Younger Man” (YouTube)
Jason Myles Goss is a New York City based songwriter whose latest EP, “Misfit” has this gem. “Younger Man” really evokes a mood — and that mood is a blues and rock feel with a noir underbelly. There’s a Black Keys vibe to “Younger Man” with its effective use of guitar and organ in a retro way. Lyrically, Goss is no angel here: “I was bad road that you were on/I was a bad love that done you wrong/I held on too tight/You held on too long/I was a bad love/I was all mind and no heart.” Like many artists, Covid put a long pause on Goss’s career. This, in a way, is Goss’s post-Covid EP where his journey out of that dark time is not lost on the lyrics or the feel.
The Pineapple Thief, “It Leads To This” (YouTube)
The Pineapple Thief shares more than a similarly strange name to another psychedelic prog band with the same initials (Porcupine Tree), they also share the same drummer (Gavin Harrison). This is the band’s 15th studio album, and it’s one that’s far more melodic and hooky than previous releases. The debut single, “The Frost,” is a fantastic song to lead with, and the title track is no slouchy silver medal winner either. One of the strengths of “It Leads to This” is that the song has breathing room and space that allows it to spread out in slow-motion complexity that’s not at all show-offy. The album reportedly took about three years to make, but it doesn’t sound overworked. Instead, the band is in fine from, and the songs are well-crafted and very accessible — as evidenced by single “It Leads to This.”
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