Monthly Archives: August 2015

“Never Be Apart” by The Pinstripe Pigeon Band
15
Aug

Modest yet ambitious studio project, The Pinstripe Pigeon Band, is a seven-strong pop force credited with the release of five well-received EPs throughout 2013 and 2014.

The band’s latest material showcases intelligent sophisti-pop, electronica, funkadelia and anthemic rock. The lyrics lovingly articulate personal experiences. The vocals hark back to Aretha at her most bombastic and Dusty at her most delicate. Collectively, the band soak up songcraft and live influences from Fleetwood Mac, The Band, The Beatles, Ryan Adams, Motown, Chic, John Coltrane, The E Street Band and Ben Harper.

The band has the benefit of two keyboardists, one melodically inventive Stevie Wonder, Oscar Peterson-esqe pianist and another more classical, akin to Ludvico Einaudi. They compliment each other perfectly.

2015 will see the pop collective spreading its wings and headlining Manchester’s The Castle and Liverpool’s Lomax.

Have a listen to the track “Never Be Apart” from the EP titled Sound Asleep, released on August 3. Watch the video for the track via Youtube.

“Never Be Apart” by The Pinstripe Pigeon Band

PPB Promo

Image and mp3 courtesy of Andrea Lynch of Blue Soap Music PR and Plugging

“The Depths” by Mark Kraus
10
Aug

New York City-based singer-songwriter, Mark Kraus, grew up in the kind of old Massachusetts town that had long past its day. Abandoned factories and turned to strip malls drove him and his friends to seek music as a way out.

Kraus and friends escaped to Boston where they formed the indie folk band Jr. Corduroy. 2002’s I Don’t Want To Be Around When You’re Gone For Good got some solid acclaim, such as a critic’s pick for The Boston Globe’s 10 best records of the year. Kraus moved to New York City shortly after and for close to the next decade began experimenting with different ideas, bands and projects. After the break up of his second band Tsui, Kraus abandoned music for close to five years.

His new album The Story of Everything is a reawakening. It is an immediate, cinematic, and at times heartbreaking solo debut that is both deeply personal and universal. The album was recorded by Kraus in Brooklyn, mixed by David Westner, and mastered at Peerless Mastering by Jeff Lipton. Musically it draws from influences like Wilco, Elliott Smith, Bill Callahan, Leonard Cohen, and Bruce Springsteen.

“The Depths” by Mark Kraus

Download the track via bandcamp.

Mark Kraus Album Cover

Image and mp3 courtesy of Jennifer Thorington & Samuel Markus of Working Brilliantly

“Yello Hazy” by Kiravell
7
Aug

San Diego-based, Meniyka Kiravell, is not your typical musician. She dabbles in quantum mechanics and energy medicine and considers herself a “vibrational scientist.” She is currently focusing her intentions on creating ecstatic music that pleases ones ears and uplifts the soul sonically and energetically.

Soaking up influences from around the world, Kiravell poured out 9 individual musical pieces of art into an eclectic collection entitled Vaudevellia. The songs embody the serene exploration of jazz mixed with world music and indie rock. The cover art for each single is a sketched self-portrait set atop a variable palette of mixed colors and backdrops. Kiravell chose the album title Vaudevellia because the acoustic versions of the songs sound a bit circus-y and have a vaudeville like quality to them.

Kiravell grew up in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She moved to Ann Arbor for University and fell in love with music and the guitar. Playing in various indie rock bands and DJing at the college radio station, her musical world exploded. These days, Kiravell calls San Diego home. It is where she connects with friends, new and old around the world, through her musical creations.

Watch the music video for “Wash” via Youtube and stream the album on Soundcloud.

“Yello Hazy” by Kiravell

1 Kiravell Piano Color resized

Image and mp3 courtesy of Matt Bacon, Artist Liaison at Independent Music Promotions

“Out of the Dark” by Shane Tutmarc
1
Aug

Some may know Shane Tutmarc as the front man for the Seattle-based indie-pop band Dolour, which featured Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes). After packing up Dolour in 2010, Tutmarc moved to Nashville, where he refined his sound, blending garage-rock, folk, blues, country, gospel and pop to create an Americana flavor that pays homage to its predecessors.

Having recorded a full-length in Nashville, Borrowed Trouble, which has since been placed on the back burner due to an investor in the album pulling out at the eleventh hour, Tutmarc has kept busy playing around Nashville and the Northwest, as well as producing other artists. However, he recently decided to release a single a month throughout 2015, with plans to compile the songs and release a full-length in 2016. The singles will be released by Portland, Oregon-based indie label In Music We Trust Records.

Tutmarc’s June single is called “Out of the Dark.” It is a late-night, subdued song that contrasts the darkness of his reserved voice. It is soothing and slow with an undertow melody. Tutmarc’s ability to vacillate between styles, and also merge them effortlessly when he wants, has made him a go-to man for co-writing in Nashville, as well as a producer.

“Out of the Dark” by Shane Tutmarc

Shane Tutmarc

Image and mp3 courtesy of Alex Steininger of In Music We Trust PR