“I was the youngest guy in the stroke wing. Doctors asked, ‘Why are you here?’” After rehabilitating himself, Dani Meza adapts sound to new reality.

Following-up 2022’s trio of Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Prince-influenced EPs as the crushedvelvets, Meza to release “Live In Studio” EP, arriving Dec. 15.

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Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets as photographed by Cristopher Cichocki

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“Dreamy and soulful shuffles that have all the night-kissed grace of Julee Cruise and the poetic finesse of The Jazz Butcher.” — Stereo Embers

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

the crushedvelvets | “Intertwined”

[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UzyrG2vp-Q
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“I was the youngest guy in the stroke wing next to people who were 80 and 90, and the doctors kept passing by asking ‘Why are you here?’”
Last year, Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets spoke to his local newspaper The Desert Sun in Indio, California (he is a native, and still a resident, of the town now best-known for Coachella) about his treatment after suffering an aneurysm and two strokes.
In the interview, writer Bryan Blueskye writes that Meza “described his recovery as ‘experimental’ because it required observation, and there was a great deal of uncertainty. Depending on which part of the brain is affected, rehabilitation includes regaining lost skills such as movement, speech, strength and everyday tasks.”
As a musician, one of those tasks is music-making, and so, following a long road back to a normal life, Meza embarked on a new way of creating that allowed him to make art and keep his health intact.
Meza is now wrapping up a full-length debut album with veteran producer Chris Schlarb (Mike Watt, Nels Cline, Sufjan Stevens) at the helm. While working in Schlarb’s Big Ego Studios, Meza decided to cap his 2022 series of EPs as the crushedvelvets with one more.
“Live In Studio” will be released on Dec. 15, 2023 and is a unique companion to Meza’s previous releases in that it was recorded live on the Big Ego studio floor accompanied by a professional multi-camera video shoot.
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the crushedvelvets | In The Press

The Desert Sun features Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets discussing his recovery.

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Trio of three-song EPs by the crushedvelvets is streaming everywhere now.

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the crushedvelvets | About

“I was the youngest guy in the stroke wing next to people who were 80 and 90, and the doctors kept passing by asking ‘Why are you here?’”

Last year, Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets spoke to his local newspaper The Desert Sun in Indio, California (he is a native, and still a resident, of the town now best-known for Coachella) about his treatment after suffering an aneurysm and two strokes.

In the interview, writer Bryan Blueskye writes that Meza “described his recovery as ‘experimental’ because it required observation, and there was a great deal of uncertainty. Depending on which part of the brain is affected, rehabilitation includes regaining lost skills such as movement, speech, strength and everyday tasks.”

As a musician, one of those tasks is music-making, and so, following a long road back to a normal life, Meza embarked on a new way of creating that allowed him to make art and keep his health intact.

Throughout 2022, Meza released a series of three-song EPs under the dark and sexy name the crushedvelvets.

Described by Stereo Embers as “dreamy and soulful shuffles that have all the night-kissed grace of Julee Cruise and the poetic finesse of The Jazz Butcher,” Ghettoblaster proclaimed that “the vibe is reaching levels of ultimate leisure.”

It was as if Meza’s physical need to approach music from a more relaxed perspective had allowed him to relax his listeners as well.

“These songs are all about the groove,” Meza said at the time, citing Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and Prince as primary influences.

Meza is now wrapping up a full-length debut album with veteran producer Chris Schlarb (Mike Watt, Nels Cline, Sufjan Stevens) at the helm. While working in Schlarb’s Big Ego Studios, Meza decided to cap his 2022 series of EPs as the crushedvelvets with one more.

“Live In Studio” will be released on Dec. 15, 2023 and is a unique companion to Meza’s previous releases in that it was recorded live on the Big Ego studio floor accompanied by a professional multi-camera video shoot.

“We perform two of the song taken from two of the earlier EPs that people liked the most,” Meza says of “Intertwined” and “A Hero’s Sin.” The band also lends its signature sound to a cover of the T. Rex classic “Mambo Sun.”

“‘Mambo Sun’ was just for our pleasure, and to show the diversity of influences on the music I write,” Meza explains. “This song kept coming up in conversation when I would share some of the new music we were recording for the album. I couldn’t ignore the sign when more than a handful of people took it up.”

The musicians joining Meza for this live session comprise the same band that accompanies him on the album he tracked the week after the “Live In Studio” shoot and session went down.

These include Ben Lumsdaine on Drums (Durand Jones), Danny Frankel on Percussion (Lou Reed, Fiona Apple, She and Him), Heather Sommerhauser on Synth (Junatime), and Max Diaz on Bass (scarypoolparty, W I R E S, Broken Baby.)

“This live EP is the closing of a book in order to move on to the next one,” Meza states.

We are fortunate that Meza is here to continue providing us with these soulful sounds of survival.

“Live In Studio,” arriving Dec. 15 with visually stunning performance videos to accompany each of its three tracks, is the fourth and final EP in the crushedvelvets series by Dani Meza.

The debut album by the crushedvelvets is scheduled for release in 2024.

Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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the crushedvelvets | Links

ASSETS : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SPOTIFY : APPLE

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Latest from Loose Wing is “a poppy reckoning with mortality.” Seattle foursome’s new single taken from “Miracle Baby,” arriving Nov. 10.

“Unnatural” single drops as band announces trio of east coast dates in support of new album recorded at Bear Creek Studios (Big Thief’s U.F.O.F.)

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Loose Wing (L-R):  Bill Patton, Claire Tucker, Aimee Zoe, Jack Peters. Photo credit: Joshua Simons.

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Loose Wing | East Coast Dates

11/08/2023: Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s (w/ Sean Danger Smith, Broke Brothers) (8PM, $10)

11/09/2023: Jersey City, NJ @ The Pet Shop (w/ Commons 2, Desert Sharks) (8PM, Free)

11/10/2023: Queens, NY @ The Windjammer (w/ Girls on Grass, Laughing Stock) (Info)

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Loose Wing | In The Press

“Gritty and defiant.” — Various Small Flames

“Highly accomplished.” — When You Motor Away

“Poignant grace.” — Atwood

“Authenticity that shines.” — The Wild Is Calling

“Soulful melodies and raw emotions.” — Last Day Deaf

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Loose Wing | “Unnatural”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/LooseWing-Unnatural
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Listen to “Unnatural” by Loose Wing at The Big Takeover or at the link above!

“‘Unnatural’ is about a few things, but mainly about how so many aspects of being alive — even including death — are so weird. Just being human is weird! This song is about reckoning with mortality... a poppy reckoning with mortality.” — Claire Tucker, Loose Wing

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Loose Wing

Miracle Baby

(Drums & Wires Recordings)

Nov. 10, 2023

Track Listing:

01. Capital Alphabet (STREAM)

02. Skirts

03. Bleeding My Arms

04. Unnatural (STREAM)

05. Country Numbers (STREAM)

06. Kneeling Angelica

07. Dragging Days

08. Distant Lawns

09. Saucer Eyes

10. Elements

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Loose Wing | “Capital Alphabet”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/LooseWing-CapitalAlphabet

+++

“She sings it with such beauty and gusto, it’s hard not to believe for the duration of a three-minute pop song that anything is possible.” — For The Rabbits

“It’s a gritty and defiant indie pop song that rallies against the soul-sucking drudgery enforced on many by the capitalist overlords.” — Various Small Flames

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Loose Wing | “Country Numbers”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/LooseWing-CountryNumbers
+++
“Loose Wing land classic with their nostalgic breakthrough single ‘Country Numbers.’ Vintage vibes that trend elusive… recalls a vibe known to The Band and Joni Mitchell with an authenticity that shines like a long lost musical reel treasure.” — The Wild Is Calling
“Stripping away the previous single’s momentum in favour of a richer croon, the song plays like a long-lost anti-Vietnam War number, made all the more poignant for its continued resonance.” — Various Small Flames
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Loose Wing | About

Legendary journalist Greil Marcus stays true to his reputation as a scholar of modern rock’s intersection with rock history when noting in a 2019 Rolling Stone column that “some of the same dirt rubbed off” in regard to how Seattle foursome Loose Wing picked up mess from fellow Emerald City singer Merilee Rush, best-known for her 1968 hit “Angel of the Morning.”

Loose Wing hasn’t cleaned up completely since its critically praised debut album — “Loose Wing are serving as an example that the area’s still got it,” says UPROXX. Instead the band, led by songwriter Claire Tucker, has further focused its pounding and present sound via the upcoming Miracle Baby (Nov. 10, Drums & Wires Recordings.)

Miracle Baby delivers an even more potent version of Loose Wing’s ability to capture themes of “isolation, intimacy, and teen angst that has yet to be outgrown” (The Big Takeover), recalling Neko Case or Low — Tucker recently organized a benefit concert to benefit Low’s surviving member Alan Sparhawk following the untimely passing of Mimi Parker — set loose through the lens of Throwing Muses.

Fans of PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, and Guided By Voices will also understand.

Much of Miracle Baby was recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, WA where another sonic touchstone — U.F.O.F. by Big Thief — was produced. Being at Bear Creek made an impression on Tucker, and on the record.

“It felt like a great place to immerse ourselves in the recording process and to find inspiration,” Tucker members. “It was a bit of a rock and roll vacation. The studio has a little apartment area, where we would work on overdub ideas on the grand piano, vintage pump organ, and other instruments. Or we would soak in the hot tub by the creek.”

Things are looking up for the company

They’re gonna buy the moon

Things are looking up for the company

We’ve got a flash sale on single use plastics 

These lyrics are taken from “Capital Alphabet,” the lead track and first single taken from Miracle Baby. “I had a web development job I hated,” Tucker explains. “I was in way over my head and having panic attacks while driving to work.”

“Capital Alphabet” is a perfect example of Tucker’s ability to make plain complex feelings of anxiety about consumerism, and the rest of Miracle Baby repeats that tension, albeit around more personal reflections on Tucker’s sense of “contemporary humanity.”

While Tucker claims that Miracle Baby is “sort of a grab-bag,” thematically, the album holds together quite well, even with its divergent styles that shouldn’t work on one album, but do.

“We like to keep things interesting,” Tucker (Guitar, Vocals, Keys) says of her bandmates, Jack Peters (Bass), Aimee Zoe (Drums, Percussion,) and Bill Patton (Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals, Keys.) “I think we influence each other, and maybe that explains why no two songs on this album sound alike.”

Maybe Greil Marcus’ “dirt rubbed off” reference subconsciously makes Miracle Baby what it is.

Miracle Baby, the second album by Seattle foursome Loose Wing arrives Nov. 10 via Drums & Wires Recordings.

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Loose Wing | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE : LABEL

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Young, Black, and Queer: Sibling duo Charlie Belle made music for mutuals since childhood. Now they make most personal music of their lives.

Sexy new video for “What Is This” single captures “the beauty that is blackness, queerness, and the intersection of the two.” Watch via FLOOD.

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Charlie Belle (L-R): Jendayi Bonds, Gyasi Bonds. Photo by Nehemiah Brent.

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[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B13UX2DIXGs
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“The smooth neo-soul track features shuffling programmed percussion and atmospheric synths that provide the perfect backdrop for Jendayi’s vocals. During the chorus, Gyasi lends a voice to round out the harmonies, offering a rich and textured performance.” — FLOOD
See “What Is This” now via FLOOD or at the link above!
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About | What Is This
“‘What Is This’ is a song about anxiety, the things that keep you up at night, and the guilt you have over feelings you can’t control. The most important thing we wanted to accomplish with the ‘What Is This’ video is capturing the beauty that is blackness, queerness, and the intersection of the two. I always say things like ‘I love Insecure, but I wish it were queer!’ and ‘I love Broad City, but I wish it were black!’ because I deeply crave representation.” — Jendayi Bonds of Charlie Belle
“This music video is a love letter to Brooklyn and the queer community that we’re proud to be a part of here. The club scene is all Brooklynite friends filmed at the queer-owned venue C’mon Everybody in Bed-Stuy. We feature the ‘Dank Dykes’ which is a Brooklyn-based, lesbian-owned cannabis brand, and street scenes shot in Cobble Hill. Our black and white shots are an ode to iconic Brooklyn filmmaker, Spike Lee.” — Director Madeleine Richardson of Solis Films
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“Backed by a cool, breezy arrangement, the melody flows effortlessly.” — Lost In The Manor
“An endlessly interesting release to dissect and pick apart, both thanks to the intoxicating allure of the sound and its sobering lyrics.” — CLOUT
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Charlie Belle

“What Is This”

Out Now

(S/R)

Streaming Link:

STREAM VIDEO + SINGLE

“Helicopters flying... filming people dying. Got a roof and it’s downtown. I can hear the sirens.”

“This lyric is about the George Floyd protests,” Gyasi Bonds of Charlie Belle explains of his sister Jendayi’s lyric, before continuing with an insight that only a sibling could truly have: “The ‘roof’ isn’t just a physical place. It symbolizes Jendayi’s mind and her anxious, scary, stressful thoughts too.

“What Is This,” the new single by Charlie Belle, is out now.

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Charlie Belle | About

 Sibling duo Jendayi and Gyasi Bonds have been the band Charlie Belle for most of their lives. Talented, outspoken, Black, and queer, the sister and brother are perhaps most of all, more experienced at music making than their peers.

 International acclaim arrived when Jendayi and Gyasi were just sixteen and fourteen-years-old. NPR, Nylon, MTV, Vice, and Wired profiled the pair, and Jendayi and Gyasi appeared together on the cover of the Austin Chronicle, their hometown paper at the time.

 Two new singles and videos in 2020 continued the forward motion.

 “We’ve been a band for over a decade and we’ve been Black our whole lives. Now more than ever there’s a spotlight on what Black artists bring to the table in all genres,” Jendayi explained at the time.

 Now, in a 2023 world, as adults living in Brooklyn, Jendayi and Gyasi are products of a time that continually challenges them to be exactly who they are. The maturity that comes with life experience sounds great alongside their musical history on the new Charlie Belle single “What Is This,” out now.

 The new song is a deeper groove than Charlie Belle has ever offered before, and lyrically, it reflects exactly who Jendayi is today.

 “Helicopters flying... filming people dying. Got a roof and it’s downtown. I can hear the sirens.”

The ‘roof’ isn’t just a physical place,” Gyasi says, going on to give an insight that only a sibling could have. “It symbolizes Jendayi’s mind and her anxious, scary, stressful thoughts.”

“It’s bittersweet watching him grow up,” Jendayi says of her thoughtful brother. “We’re so close in age, but just far enough away where I can see what Gyasi is going through from being on the other side of it. What a gift it has been to be on this journey together.”

Jendayi and Gyasi’s journey is not solitary. They speak to us, too:

 “Scared of something that doesn’t exist. Yeah I’m scared of something that doesn’t exist,” they solemnly sing on the “What Is This” chorus. This isn’t just Jendayi’s mind now. It’s everyone at one time or another.

 “Do you feel it too?” Jendayi wonders. “Because the first time Gyasi played this track for me, it gave me chills and I immediately knew we would release it. I was bumping along to it, scrolling through my notes app — where my old lyrics go to die — and I knew in my soul that this song was what these words had been waiting for.”

“With more life behind me, I can express myself with more intention,” Jendayi concludes, referencing the music that Charlie Belle made when they were so much younger. “It is so bizarre gaining recognition for shit you did as a kid, but I don’t want to replace the image people have of us, I want to add to it.”

 “What Is This,” the latest video and single by sister-brother duo Charlie Belle is out now.

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 Charlie Belle | Links

 ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : TIKTOK : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Disillusioned with “sad bastard” singer-songwriter mode of his previous records, Chris J Norwood genre shifts on upcoming “The Knockdown Dragout.”

Commanding Stax-inspired horns, band, vocalists where Willie Nelson worked, hear Norwood’s Otis Redding classic cover now; Album arrives Feb. 9.

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Chris J Norwood as photographed by Joseph Brewster

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If the photographic evidence accompanying The Knockdown Dragout (Gastonwood Music, Feb. 9, 2024) is any indication, then Chris J Norwood is a beaten man.

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Chris J Norwood & The Knockdown Dragout | “Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)” (Otis Redding Cover)

[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/TheKnockdownDragout-FaFaFaFaFa
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Listen via Broadway World or at the link above!
“Otis Redding is one of my favorite singers of all time,” Chris J Norwood explains about his cover of Redding’s classic “Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song).” “If you were to come over on a Saturday afternoon, Otis is what is playing on the stereo. I knew that I had to include an Otis cover on this album. I love the line, ‘Sad songs is all I know…’ in the way that Otis sings it. He sings with such passion and soul that you can’t help but feel good. That’s what I love about Soul music. Even the sad songs make you dance. That’s what propelled this whole album.”
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Chris J Norwood | In The Press

“Wants you to know the truth.” — The Boot

“Unpretentious and genuine.” — Americana Highways

“Great lyrical hooks.” — Americana UK

“Talk about making a statement.” — Twangville

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Chris J Norwood & The Knockdown DragoutThe Knockdown DragoutFeb. 9, 2024(Gastonwood Music)

Track Listing:

01. Introducing...

02. The Knockdown Dragout

03. The Cheap Seats

04. Dancing In The Kitchen

05. Run Rosie Run

06. I Want It All

07. Love Me Back To Life

08. Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song) (STREAM)

09. The GOAT

10. Got To Get Back To Texas

11. Darling Don’t Leave

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Chris J Norwood & The Knockdown Dragout | About

If the photographic evidence accompanying The Knockdown Dragout (Gastonwood Music, Feb. 9, 2024) is any indication, then Chris J Norwood is a beaten man.

Beaten, maybe… But not out!

As Norwood sings on “The Knockdown Dragout” — the ensemble, album, and first single all share the same name — he is a fighter:

I know it don’t look good

They got me up against the ropes

I ain’t no light weight kid

I got the fight, the will, the hope

The “will” and “hope” part comes in as the Dallas-based songwriter — and now bandleader, commanding a Stax-inspired ensemble cutting tracks live on the studio floor in the same building where Willie Nelson made Red Headed Stranger — leaves behind his acoustic guitar to make the album of his dreams.

“I have wanted to make this record for a long time,” Norwood says about a passion so strong, he parted ways with his record label to be able to see his vision through. “If you were to come over on a Saturday afternoon, Otis Redding is what is playing on the stereo.”

The Knockdown Dragout cover the Redding classic “Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)” in a joyous rendition that sits perfectly alongside Norwood’s originals.

“I had to include an Otis cover,” Norwood explains. You can’t help but feel good, and that’s what I love about soul music. Even the sad songs make you dance.”

Norwood had become tired of sadness.

“I’m disillusioned with the ‘sad bastard’ scene of singer-songwriters that I found myself a part of,” he admits. After releasing two records that reckoned with darkness and personal tragedy, Norwood wanted to make an album that was “just fun.”

A “knockdown dragout” is a phrase I used to hear my mother use,” he explains of the album’s statement of purpose, which also addresses his relationship with the music industry. “It’s essentially a fight between two people that is particularly bad.” Norwood’s decision to leave his label to make this album was actually amicable, but even civil closure smarts.

The same goes for Norwood’s surprise genre switch-up.

“I wanted to write some songs that I could actually sing to Carrie and dance in the kitchen to,” he says,  alluding to one of the album’s standout tracks, “Dancing In The Kitchen,” a love song to Norwood’s wife.

“Finally! Songs that are about me!” Carrie Norwood, who also appears on the record as one-half of the background vocal duo, The Knockouts, jokes.

“Being a Knockout comes with attitude and sass,” she says. “The world is pretty crazy right now, but there is still love and goodness to sing about.”

After listening to the celebratory songs on The Knockdown Dragout,  Norwood’s “will” and “hope” win this bout by unanimous decision.

The Knockdown Dragout by Chris J Norwood & The Knockdown Dragout arrives Feb. 9, 2024 via Gastonwood Music.

Chris J Norwood is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Chris J Norwood | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : 
BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

“Vintage vibes… recalls a vibe known to The Band and Joni Mitchell with an authenticity that shines like a long lost musical reel treasure.”

Hear “Country Numbers” from upcoming Loose Wing album Miracle Baby (Nov. 10), “made all the more poignant for its continued resonance.”

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Loose Wing (L-R):  Bill Patton, Claire Tucker, Aimee Zoe, Jack Peters. Photo credit: Joshua Simons.

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Loose Wing | In The Press

“Gritty and defiant.” — Various Small Flames

“Highly accomplished.” — When You Motor Away

“Poignant grace.” — Atwood

“Authenticity that shines.” — The Wild Is Calling

“Soulful melodies and raw emotions.” — Last Day Deaf

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Loose Wing | “Country Numbers”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/LooseWing-CountryNumbers
+++
“Loose Wing land classic with their nostalgic breakthrough single ‘Country Numbers.’ Vintage vibes that trend elusive… recalls a vibe known to The Band and Joni Mitchell with an authenticity that shines like a long lost musical reel treasure.” — The Wild Is Calling
“Stripping away the previous single’s momentum in favour of a richer croon, the song plays like a long-lost anti-Vietnam War number, made all the more poignant for its continued resonance.” — Various Small Flames
“The title of the album, Miracle Baby, is taken from a lyric in ‘Country Numbers.’ It's a lyrically abstract song, and one of my favorites on the album. It’s also about life being weird. It’s weird that we put so much pressure on ourselves and others, and weird that we as societies are willing to sacrifice people’s lives for things like global dominance and financial gain.” — Claire Tucker, Loose Wing
+++

Loose Wing

Miracle Baby

(Drums & Wires Recordings)

Nov. 10, 2023

Track Listing:

01. Capital Alphabet (STREAM)

02. Skirts

03. Bleeding My Arms

04. Unnatural

05. Country Numbers (STREAM)

06. Kneeling Angelica

07. Dragging Days

08. Distant Lawns

09. Saucer Eyes

10. Elements

+++

PLAY, POST & SHARE

Loose Wing | “Capital Alphabet”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/LooseWing-CapitalAlphabet

+++

“She sings it with such beauty and gusto, it’s hard not to believe for the duration of a three-minute pop song that anything is possible.” — For The Rabbits

“It’s a gritty and defiant indie pop song that rallies against the soul-sucking drudgery enforced on many by the capitalist overlords.” — Various Small Flames

+++

Loose Wing | About

Legendary journalist Greil Marcus stays true to his reputation as a scholar of modern rock’s intersection with rock history when noting in a 2019 Rolling Stone column that “some of the same dirt rubbed off” in regard to how Seattle foursome Loose Wing picked up mess from fellow Emerald City singer Merilee Rush, best-known for her 1968 hit “Angel of the Morning.” 

Loose Wing hasn’t cleaned up completely since its critically praised debut album — “Loose Wing are serving as an example that the area’s still got it,” says UPROXX. Instead the band, led by songwriter Claire Tucker, has further focused its pounding and present sound via the upcoming Miracle Baby (Nov. 10, Drums & Wires Recordings.)

Miracle Baby delivers an even more potent version of Loose Wing’s ability to capture themes of “isolation, intimacy, and teen angst that has yet to be outgrown” (The Big Takeover), recalling Neko Case or Low — Tucker recently organized a benefit concert to benefit Low’s surviving member Alan Sparhawk following the untimely passing of Mimi Parker — set loose through the lens of Throwing Muses.

Fans of PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, and Guided By Voices will also understand.

Much of Miracle Baby was recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, WA where another sonic touchstone — U.F.O.F. by Big Thief — was produced. Being at Bear Creek made an impression on Tucker, and on the record.

“It felt like a great place to immerse ourselves in the recording process and to find inspiration,” Tucker members. “It was a bit of a rock and roll vacation. The studio has a little apartment area, where we would work on overdub ideas on the grand piano, vintage pump organ, and other instruments. Or we would soak in the hot tub by the creek.”

Things are looking up for the company

They’re gonna buy the moon

Things are looking up for the company

We’ve got a flash sale on single use plastics 

These lyrics are taken from “Capital Alphabet,” the lead track and first single taken from Miracle Baby. “I had a web development job I hated,” Tucker explains. “I was in way over my head and having panic attacks while driving to work.”

“Capital Alphabet” is a perfect example of Tucker’s ability to make plain complex feelings of anxiety about consumerism, and the rest of Miracle Baby repeats that tension, albeit around more personal reflections on Tucker’s sense of “contemporary humanity.”

While Tucker claims that Miracle Baby is “sort of a grab-bag,” thematically, the album holds together quite well, even with its divergent styles that shouldn’t work on one album, but do.

“We like to keep things interesting,” Tucker (Guitar, Vocals, Keys) says of her bandmates, Jack Peters (Bass), Aimee Zoe (Drums, Percussion,) and Bill Patton (Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals, Keys.) “I think we influence each other, and maybe that explains why no two songs on this album sound alike.”

Maybe Greil Marcus’ “dirt rubbed off” reference subconsciously makes Miracle Baby what it is.

Miracle Baby, the second album by Seattle foursome Loose Wing arrives Nov. 10 via Drums & Wires Recordings preceded by the single “Capital Alphabet,” out now.

+++

Loose Wing | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE : LABEL

+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL