Track of the Week

TRACK OF THE WEEKGirl Gaze "Suddenly"

It’s time to accept this summer's end with the autumn equinox quickly approaching this Sunday. New Paltz five-piece Girl Gaze, formed out of a childhood friendship between Izzy Deranieri and Michaela Passero in Izzy's basement during the winter of 2017, captures the seasons' shift with their first...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKEcstatic Union "Neurons"

Neurons are specialized electrically excitable cells that receive, process and transmit nerve impulses. “The neurons that you’re born with are the neurons that you die with,” says the late Terence McKenna sampled in the title track of Ecstatic Union’s new record. Lyrically, the track explores the...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKBig Bliss "Surface"

Earlier this week, Brooklyn’s hardest working post-punk band Big Bliss released "Surface," the first single from their upcoming record At Middle Distance. Its melodic bass line and swirling jangly guitars create an anxiety-ridden nostalgic fog for the first two minutes until the release its chorus...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKBus “Bug Eyed Freak”

Is the summer heat making you go buggy? I don’t know how the weather has been in L.A., but in New York in the past few weeks have been hot enough to turn us all into bug eyed freaks. Hopefully with Bus’ new fast-paced and in your face track, we’ll be inspired to squash our end of summer slump and...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKSmokescreens "The Lost Song"

Today LA's Smokescreens release their debut record Used to Yesterday via Slumberland Records. They released this single "The Lost Song," which was actually a lost demo from the band's beginnings, earlier this week. Its galloping rhythm, melodic bass, and jangling guitars perfectly combine to create...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKLost Boy ? "96"

Davey Jones, the prolific mastermind behind experimental bedroom pop project Lost Boy ?, put out my favorite new summer jam this week! Listening to "96" after scrolling through too many friends' family vacation photos and recovering from an ice cream binge stomach ache succeeded in making me feel...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEK + INTERVIEWElli Perry "Without You"

I saw Elli Perry for the first time in 2010 or 2011 (back when Brooklyn seemed to be at the height of its chillwave/synth-pop '80s revival), wailing her lungs out with an acoustic guitar. I was too insecure and intimated to start a band, feeling surrounded by pretentious dudes who only listened to...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKWhy Bonnie "Made of Paper"

You can’t escape your past or the skin you’re born into. Blair Howerton of Austin, TX bedroom pop outfit Why Bonnie delivers this harsh reality in an unexpectedly uplifting package on "Made of Paper," the latest single from the band's upcoming debut EP In Water. It’s a bright, catchy earworm that...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKThe Royal They "Say Less"

Photo cred. Seth Applebaum Happy 2018! Out first track of the week in the new year also happens to be an exclusive premiere of "Say Less," from The Royal They's new record Foreign Being, which comes out next week on King Pizza Records. Although the Josie and The Pussycats comparison seems so overused...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKTristen "Crying on Christmas Day"

Every year I'm frustrated by the lack of new Christmas songs and wonder why we always have to listen to the same classics on repeat. I obviously haven't been paying enough attention all these years, because this week's playlist is dominated by new holiday jams. My favorite of these is definitely...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKWendy Rae Fowler "Svengali"

This week, just when I was craving a Christmas album written by David Lynch, former We Fell to Earth member Wendy Rae Fowler premiered "Svengali," the first single from her solo album Warped. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I've always felt that the repetitive holiday music we are subjected to...

Tarra Thiessen

TRACK OF THE WEEKBizarre Sharks "Tremendous"

In middle school, soon after I started to play guitar, I would go to my friend’s house who was learning to play drums. We would invite a couple people over, order Dominos and proceed to attempt songwriting for about half an hour and then spend the next two hours arguing about what our band name...

Tarra Thiessen