Reason We’re Cranking It: We live a pretty vanilla lifestyle, so until “Raw Honey” came along, we didn’t have a Drugdealer. Thankfully this musical collective of eclectic collaborators (say that five times fast!), which is the brainchild of Michael Collins, is just as addictive as an illegal narcotic… at least so we’ve heard.
What The Album Tells Us About Them: What’s old is new again. Channeling the vibe and honesty of the singer/songwriter movement of the 1960s and mashing it together with the kinds of guitar riffs you’d hear pouring from the amps of southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, Collins is tapping into something that feels 8-track-organic, but is crisp enough for the digital age. They’re dialed in and we’re answering the call.
Track Stuck On Repeat: The mesmerizing tone of Weyes Blood’s vocals on “Honey” is the curb appeal that brings you into the song, but once inside, you make yourself at home with a track that is a modern day The Mamas and the Papas.
Reason We’re Cranking It: A million light years ahead of their 2016 sophomore effort “Songs For Our Mothers” in both craft and creativeness, “Serfs Up!” is an eclectic mix of tunes that seem to be making sense of our strange world in real time through song. It’s group therapy with a groove.
What The Album Tells Us About Them: In-fighting and personal demons have followed the band since their formation in 2011, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to them come together with such visionary cohesiveness on this album. What they’re saying may not speak to everyone, but how they’re saying it is going to capture an audience that they probably never intended tapping into when they first came together.
Track Stuck On Repeat: If Monty Python formed as a group of glam rockers rather than a comedy troupe, they may have produced something along the lines of “Tastes Good With The Money” as opposed to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” We’re not laughing, but we’re certainly still having a good time.
Reason We’re Cranking It: Some music exists to make us feel good, to boost our moods and bring a smile to our faces. Pratt’s “Quiet Signs” does not deliver on those goods, but it does deliver on an entirely different feel, one that comes off as wholly original to the California-based songwriter. Most albums ignite a reaction that is more surface level, but with “Quiet Signs,” a moody and melancholy journey that we found impossible to be distracted from, the reaction Pratt pulls from you occurs distinctly at the core.
What The Album Tells Us About Them: Pratt comes off comfortable in her own musical skin, satisfied to be herself in every nook and cranny of her songwriting. That self-confidence becomes a collective experience for the listener.
Track Stuck On Repeat: We’ve spun “As the World Turns” too many times to count at this stage. A song that is the perfect musical accompaniment to the worst day of our week, it’s the sound our whiskey will make when it hits the glass just before we settle down for a long winter’s nap. Drink it up!
Coming To A City Near You: Pratt will be hitting the road this spring. Dates can be found here.