Welcome to the very first ever Quicke’s Picks. Yes, a cheeky play on my last name, in a concept you might have heard before.
New Music Faster is all about new music, and telling you about it faster than anyone else. If college radio has a reputation for just one thing; it is telling the world about new artists and new music before anyone else does. This section of our newly-launched collegeradio.org website, maintains that tradition.
First up is Hazel English. Fix is a damn good song. Accomplished in its smooth-beat production, and looping reverb-laden guitars that provide, with added synths, the perfect bed for Hazel’s soft vocals to sit upon. In short, a perfect slice of assured indie-pop. Harmonies fade into echoing guitar bliss. Hailing from Oakland, California, in a short period of time, Hazel is attracting the right kind of attention. It’s easy to understand why:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/225314452″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]
Next up, a Dead-flavored song that flows nicely after listening to Hazel English. The Kona Brothers Band, is fronted by two songwriters, Jim Dobens and Jeff Diggins. There is something to be said for the Garcia-inspired guitar flicks and accompanying scruffy vocals. There’s even the occasional bum guitar note, which I find endearingly authentic. Perfect for Sunday evenings as the sun draws down:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/226802144″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]
Finally, the rippled electric guitar, dripping in chorus, and the Birdman-esque drums (firmly up in the mix) of Kyle De La Streetcat. Who the hell is this? Before we have made sense of what is going on, and as we absorb the transition from strummed dappled guitar chords into distorted freeform noodling over thumping bass, it’s over. As inexplicable as it is enjoyable:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/226475280″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]
That’s it for this week, but I’ll be back soon with more music you’ve probably never heard. But really should.
– Rob Quicke
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/151601729″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
