Blue Cove – Soothe
Genre: Lo-fi Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: Slowdive, The Beths, Beach Bunny, Phoebe Bridgers, Mazzy Star, Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, Slow Pulp
Nowadays, when people worry that they may be coming down with something, they go on the web and search for exotic diseases that have symptoms resembling their own. It’s just a way to make oneself feel connected. Even in the face of terrible things, it is comforting to know that there are others that are dealing with similar problems.
Similarly, the voice coming out of the speaker can have the effect of letting one know that the challenges one might be going through are felt by another person as well. It’s the proverbial shout that echoes through the hillside or the nightlamp that lets others know that there are other souls about. The best songs are the ones that feel like a letter addressed directly and exclusively to you.
Blue Cove’s Soothe possesses that rare quality. It sounds like music that was intended for you and you alone. It’s indie-pop that is focused on intimacy, gentleness, on singing the lines as if quoting lines directly from a diary. And, because of all of this, it’s not music to take lightly. These are tunes that you either embrace wholeheartedly or have nothing to do with it. Blue Cove deserves no less.
Norwind – Home(?)
Similar artists: Hail the Sun, Tricot, Closure in Moscow, The Fall of Troy, Dance Gavin Dance, Pmtoday
Genre: Post-Punk, Math Rock
There were entire musical genres whose one claim to fame was the musicians’ ability to play really fast. Bets on how much these musicians had practiced, whether they were tortured into doing it, and what else they’ll be able to achieve with another decade of practice under their belt were the most frequent subjects of conversations around them.
While they are still walking the world and touring it with backing tracks in hand, the internet and modern musical education has made these musicians practically irrelevant. Anyone has access to a tremendous amount of musical information. Anybody can listen to any records that they want. The musical gear has improved. And, the internet acts as the record company giving you unending hours of virtuoso enjoyment.
Some bands possess all of these musical chops but are also clever enough to know that the world expects more. Norwind’s Home(?) is an example of how good young musicians can get and the great things that can happen when they ignore this. Instead of a riff salad, or demonstration in BPM-mastery, this modern Math-rock tune opts to invest in mood and dynamics. It should be enough to get them in the guitar mags as well as on posters plastered across bedroom walls.
