The music keeps coming! Here’s another round-up of Lockdown releases!
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Eunice Keitan – ‘Come Home’
Canadian singer-songwriter Eunice Keitan is cool, measured, but determined on latest single ‘Come Home’. ‘The song was written during a time when I was juggling multiple jobs in order to pay bills, rent and the costs that come with making music. I felt that I had lost my way in the daily grind and instead of getting closer to my artistic goals I was getting further away from my dreams (aka. walking in the wrong direction) and that is costly for an artist as your art is your purpose and the light in you dims when you are not fulfilling what you feel is your calling,’ she says. A tight three minutes of acoustic neo-soul – lifted by Ernie Toller’s saxophone – Keitan communicates a quiet sense of resolve. ‘Walking in the wrong direction / I thought it would be / Better than gold / But I’m far away / And so all alone / And I need to find home‘
Siobhan Brown & Manukahunney Blue – ‘Watershed’
Siobhan Brown sang in various gospel groups before joining forces with 4-piece Northern Irish band Munukahunney Blue. Their latest release ‘Watershed’ matches Brown’s thick, soulful vocal with a driving, Celtic-flecked arrangement. It’s an interesting, unusual combination and one which the band would do well to explore further. “This is a song of hope that encourages us to do the right thing when we come to our crossroads and to have strength to do it! It’s soul, but not like you’d expect – sculpted from solid blocks of soul, jazz and gospel ‘Watershed’ is a monumental tune. I call it “free soul”, created by letting the music that comes from within me be what it wants to be,” Brown explains. Indeed, as the instrumentals get headier, Brown opens up her vocal.
Kleopetrol – ‘When This Sh*t Is Done’
‘2020 is a tough year for everyone. But we used the time and emotion to send out a message of power and love,’ says German band Kleopetrol. After the Bjorkish intro, vocalist Tiana Kruškić begins listing the things she intends to do once the Coronavirus pandemic is over (when the titular ‘shit is done’). These include going to gym, reducing the amount of screen time she has, and binging on alcohol with her friends. The piece is grounded by the soulful horn work. A whimsical release, perhaps capturing a lot of post-COVID anticipation, and undeniably lots of fun.
Gideon King & City Blog – ‘Go Along To Get Along’
Gideon King & City Blog hooked me with the gorgeous slink of their latest release ‘Go Along To Get Along’. Then I read their accompanying statement. ‘”Go Along To Get Along” is a song about a florist and a contract killer that fall in love. It is set against the backdrop of New York City and certain frightening country roads in the southern parts of the Unites States. There is so much madness in the world that sometimes you just got to go along to get along.‘ Huh? I had another listen to the lyrics of the first verse. ‘There’s a motherfucker follow me with a whiskey on his breath / Back off step away city boy if you don’t want to feel by trigger slam.‘ The dissonance between the gritty life of a contract killer and the layered arrangement with its jazzy nuances and Billy Joel soft-rock overtones is quite bizarre. But the jazz collective make it work. It is very nicely put together. I guess contract killers have to find work/life balance too?
Image copyright:
Eunice Keitan, ‘Come Home’ – Eunice Keitan
Siobhan Brown & Munukahunney Blue, ‘Watershed’ – Siobhan Brown & Munukahunney Blue
Kleopatrol, ‘Get This Sh*t Done’ – Feixelmusic
Gideon King & City Blog, ‘Go Along To Get Along’ – Gideon King & City Blog
