Monophonics: Last One Standing California-based band Monophonics makes music that sounds plucked from another era, with tinges of Curtis Mayfield and Al Green. There’s a timelessness to their releases and their newest single, “Last One Standing,” is no exception. The seven-minute song ebbs and flows: there are groovy, cinematic cuts carried by drums, a bass guitar and horns, and crescendoing choruses built around vocalist Kelly …
Dan Deacon’s “Become a Mountain” combines classical and airy indie, and references Deacon’s time spent creating music of both genres. (Deacon’s upcoming album Mystic Familiar will mark his return from four years of film scoring.) The sprawling song—beginning with keys and whispered vocals—builds over its four minutes, eventually turning into an ethereal piece that’s laden with strings. Deacon explains in an accompanying announcement that meditation …
Andy Shauf: Try Again Joyful and a tad flirtatious, Toronto-based Andy Shauf’s “Try Again” depicts an awkward run in with an ex. But it’s far more than a note about loneliness: Shauf does an excellent job at developing the cast of characters, an impressive feat for the just-under-four-minute track. “Somewhere between drunkenness and jealousy / I watch her talking to some old friend / What …
