Any song with fuzz bass guitar is invariably better than a song without fuzz bass. Let’s get that cosmic truth front and center. The new single from Gainesville-by-way-of-Jax garage rockers bed bug guru features some guttural fuzz bass—heard prominently in the song’s apparent bridge—yet “Hazy” offers up more than just sadistic 30Hz frequency. A dreamy pummel of lock-and-hammer electric guitars, …
On “Backseat,” Jacksonville Singer-Songwriter Sun Child Untangles their Radiant Charms
Somewhere between the prescriptive freedom-with-an-asterisk atmosphere of indie and the predictable wash-and-wear weather of Adult Album Alternative exists the music of Sun Child. Led by beaches native Brooke Garwood (Girl Pluto), the debut EP Everything features six cuts that lean predominately on acoustic guitar and piano arrangements with a production that is polished to a mellow, decorous sheen. “Backseat” is …
Watch Jacksonville Artists’ Tiny Desk Contest Submissions
The Tiny Desk Contest is back for 2023, with a new panel of judges and another opportunity for unsigned artists to earn an invite to perform on the revered, improvised stage in front of Bob Boilen’s desk at NPR Music HQ. Tens of thousands of musicians submitted their videos before the March 13 deadline — including nearly two-dozen artists from …
The Unexpected Essentials that Helped Jax Experimental Act golfer two Create ‘bl00db4th6000’
With partner Casey Vandyke, Tyler Fleming is half of golfer two, an experimental noise outfit based here in Jacksonville. So far this year, the pair has released two EPs—dead mouse and, most recently, bl00db4th6000, which Fleming describes as a grouping of tracks that “encapsulates the sound we like to play live.” Each track you hear on the EP was recorded …
On “True,” Tidal Daze Offers their Own Brand of Post-Punk Sentimentality
A recent NPR story addressed the proliferation of “therapy talk,” an increasing form of vulnerability in contemporary conversation that is, by default a design, tantamount to a carny talk of the heart. In the sense that in lieu of a direct transmission of what one is actually feeling, those very same emotions are tied up a little too tightly in …
Jax Rock Band Racewall Mosquitoes Share New Video for “Vagabond”
Last autumn, locals Racewall Mosquitoes gave us the concept album The Recital of Annie Lytle, which was a tribute to the rumored-to-be-haunted Public School Number Four. The real strength in that release was main-Mosquito singer-songwriter Matt Morgan’s ability to put melodicism and vulnerability square in the spotlight. The band are still incrementally doling out transmissions from Annie Lytle: the latest …
Duval Hip-Hop Artist Mecca thA Marvelous gets Contemplative on “Relapse”
Jacksonville-based hip-hop artist Mecca thA Marvelous faces his audience, and more so himself, on “Relapse,” a reflective song from his new full-length album Jane Doe. Finnish producer SBLMNL’s beat extends Mecca the opportunity to be vulnerable, as the young rapper uses the soundscape as a canvas for painting reminders to himself of the perils of falling victim to the jones. …
On “lookin’,” Duval’s Broadway Louie Soundtracks the Perennial Search for Connection
Duval artist Broadway Louie’s new song “lookin’’ foreshadows spring and summer car rides, nightlife explorations and the perennial search for connection; either in the moment, or forever. Producer Cheap Limosuine lends the track its enjoyably retro feel, with an active rhythm, that makes it easy for Louie to interject with his melodies. Louie’s lyrics, meanwhile, give “lookin’” a cheerful energy, …
On the Sunny, Textured “Surrender,” Jax Band Ducats Resists and Combats Emotional and Artistic Stasis
Since relocating to Jacksonville from Chicago, musician Trent Holton has seamlessly embedded himself in the local scene – while also arguably doing as much as an interloper could to invigorate that same scene. After introducing his Ducats (pronounced duh-kits) project with a collection of primal, DIY garage tunes, Glob, in 2022, Holton’s band has, in short order, become one of …
On Eureka Springs’ “Nothing Quite Like,” Jax Singer-Songwriter Cory Driscoll Balances the Light and Dark
The latest from Duval singer-songwriter Cory Driscoll is an impressive mix of what could be described as cheery morosity—no small feat when one considers the “ship in a bottle” delicacy of penning a tune, about love no less, that is neither grinningly hypomanic nor headed for the psych ward. “Nothing Quite Like” is the first song of Driscoll’s new full-band …
