Kate Boothman – My Next Mistake

The crowds of the original Lilith Fair festivals may have missed on a cult-hero in Kate Boothman. Her combination of folk-rock, earnest lyrical approach, as well as her powerful personality make her a compelling indie-rock star. 

“My Next Mistake” features  a brilliantly simple guitar riff that leads the tune, while Boothman’s fatigued vocals tell the story of love affair and missteps. The gentle garage rock instrumentation lends itself nicely to the feeling of inevitable repetition. Underneath all the dream-pop polish, there’s a buoyant slacker anthem waiting to get out. 

High Tropics – Caroline

High Tropics aka Josh Stewart sounds like the man that takes tragedy and heartache with a smile on his face. That’s at least if we are to judge the man on the group’s latest single “Caroline“, in which the songwriter casually begs his beloved one for more time on a relationship that looks very likely to fail in the end.

Musically, Stewart is a conservative alt-rocker. There are elements of garage rock, played with ease, as if the singer decided to start a band with his best friends. Singing-wise High Tropics display a good deal of personality, with the lyrics being spit out like a Dylan jamming out with the Band in Woodstock. “Caroline” achieves the rare feat of being both heartbreaking and reassuring.