Photo credit: Alaina Latona

Jeffrey James – “Hand Grenade”: I’m stoked that this artist is a part of the SouthxSea movement as they haven’t proven me wrong yet. This song is the first time I’ve heard a song from the alternative R&B/indie pop movement with blues rock elements, and it’s very infectious. The song is like the ginger ale I’m drinking right now. Sweet and palatable, but with a kick. This song is made for arenas.

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KNGDAVD – “Medicine”: As the song starts to play the first word that comes to mind is “bombastic.” I chose the title of this write up out of the air, but didn’t anticipate it to be prophetic as the submission email for this song literally showed up in my inbox while I was writing about the Jeffrey James single. Like a hand grenade indeed. I also had no idea this song was doing so well on Spotify – I need to play closer attention obviously because the masses don’t lie.

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VOWWS – “Heartbreaker”: If you’re into dark new wave you shouldn’t skip “Heartbreaker” from VOWWS. The press release for this song includes a quote that describes the song as a “flash grenade” – I swear this is a coincidence. I did not search my emails for the word “grenade” before I posted this! Haha. This song was co-produced by Rhys Fulber of Youth Code and Fear Factory, so it has that going for it too. If you like to party and feel a little uneasy at the same time this is for you.

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Holy Sheboygan – “Hecate”: I had to check this out in part because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a folk-punk group or a band from a related genre (trash folk, in this instance) use a publicist before. That said, this is a fun track – I get a sense of both camaraderie and urgency listening to this track that builds and builds until we hit a sort of musical resolution in the back end of the song. “Hecate” is the first single from the groups forthcoming record “Four.”

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Salina Solomon – “Nightmare”: One of the most prolific songwriters you’ve never heard of is probably Salina Solomon. Despite the song falling under the indie pop genre umbrella, it isn’t as overproduced as many Solomon’s counterparts. This song pursues a raw sounding bass line instead of an abundance of synths. Solomon’s vocals themselves are also a departure from the norm for the genre, being richer and mixed in a bit of a lo-fi manner.

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