Come Wind – “Upright”: Ah, man. Come Wind has a long and storied history with Tuned Up. So of course we’re going to tell you this song rules no matter what, right? Well, we’re gonna be honest… yeah it does rule. You thought we were going to be a blind suck-up weren’t you? Nope. I’m loving the – I daresay – funk vibe I get from this track. Yet, the moody effect that seems to wrap its arms around you in each Come Wind song is still very much present. This song coincides with hype surrounding the band’s vinyl release of Move in Place, which will be distributed through our good friends at Delayed Gratification Records based in Pataskala, Ohio.

Pluto Revolts – “Tidal Wave”: I’ll take whatever I can get in terms of bands influenced by MUTEMATH in my home state, and Pluto Revolts out of Cincinnati is one of those acts. A band that made our Ohio Bands to Watch list at the start of the year, they are fulfilling our prediction with the release of “Tidal Wave” – which has a bit of autotune and some thundering drums to go alongside. I sense a reinvention of this band underway, and hopefully some touring will follow. I’m begging the band in this review to come up with a cheap yet creative light show to complement their music, because this music begs to be fleshed out in a very immersive way live.

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KUDOS – “Don’t Love” featuring Georgia Rose: A spoken word meets hip hop artist from Melbourne, Australia? Color me interested. This song has all the elements of an innovative hip hop track – authenticity, raw social commentary, consistent flow, a vaguely ethereal tone, and a well-placed guest vocalist to carry that hook home. KUDOS seems content to tour Oz for now, but once his EP drops next year hopefully some momentum will push him to the States.

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Erin McCarley – “Good”: I’m a little confused listening to this song, because the singer from Nashville seems to be going for an eerie feel in a song titled “Good.” Irony? Sarcasm? Whatever the case, McCarley is the latest to smash a song into the wild in a big way in a post-Lorde world (prove me wrong, Lorde, and release new music soon). I think my favorite things about this track are Erin’s “no holds barred” approach to singing and the gnarly, distorted guitars. I feel like this would go well with Stranger Things, but that might just be because I jammed the new S U R V I V E record last night. Also, I vaguely remember seeing this name pop up in high school because I used to follow an Ohio based music video director who went by Endeavor Media…

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