STRATEGIC ARTIST ADVOCACY SINCE 1997
More praise today for the new album from Milly Raccoon! Holler Country says, "Charming, delightful, heartwarming - find your own adjective to apply after hearing Milly Raccoon’s sweetly scented 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘺𝘳𝘳𝘩."
Click for your life!
"Ivory Fields, made up of musicians Ale Cohen and Mahadev, gift a universe into the listener’s inviting ears at the perfect time. Powered by synth-driven glory, it is pure unusual musical candy.
"One feels comfortably out of place with their sound, but relishes the change of pace. With the release of their debut self-titled album, these musicians are ready to grab a hold of the wave."
Thanks to Myles Hunt at Impose for the kind words!
Debut album out now: https://fanatic.lnk.to/IvoryFields
Here's a thing I would like to proclaim: I love this album and 97.89% of the human population agrees with me (and the rest don't listen to music.) That's pretty good, right?!
Here's what AllMusic is saying about the latest High Water Marks album:
"Catchy, affectionate pop... a skill that's front and center. Even diversions into noise and darker corners charm on a set that never loses its spark."
Out now on Minty Fresh!
“To have two stellar albums appear in such a short period of time is remarkable,” proclaims Aiding & Abetting of Proclaimer of Things, the new album from The High Water Marks, out now via Minty Fresh.
The Norway-based band featuring Hilarie Sidney (co-founder of the Elephant 6 Recording Co. and The Apples In Stereo) has made an album with “enough joy to warm just about anything or anyone.”
It took quite a few months, but Tankboy has finally published a list of favorite 2020 records. Of course, it’s hard to blame anyone for dragging their feet after a year like last year. “The only real mental metric I could apply was that these were albums I could reliably turn to that made me feel during a period of time when I wasn't certain I could feel at all, or ever again,” writes the blogger.
Among these is The High Water Marks, who released Ecstasy Rhymes last year and are slated to return with a new LP in 2022. “The heart of the band is frontperson Hilarie Sidney. You may recognizer that name,” Tankboy notes, “if you're familiar with The Apples In Stereo through her years with that band, but she takes center stage and dishes out a ton of sharp indie rock-n-pop tunes over the duration of Ecstasy Rhymes. A little burst of sunshine that helped me get through the year.”
In a thoughtful review that evokes The Doors, Nick Cave, Gato Loco, and “The Dap Kings at their darkest,” New York Music Daily dives into J Hacha de Zola’s new LP, writing that the just-released East of Eden “really captures the grim uncertainty of the world.”
Many thanks to The Big Takeover for the early review of The Original Plan by The Enigmatic Foe. "It mixes leisurely, The Church-like shoegaze... with more propelling, Kitchens of Distinction / Real Estate dreampop... springy, vivacious, The Go-Betweens / The Smiths indie pop... and even jazzy and disco-fied, horn-flecked soul."
If those words don't get you to check out The Enigmatic Foe, then how about these words from me: check out The Enigmatic Foe! Go here to pick up 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯 (out July 30) on sweet, double 45RPM vinyl.
In a recent review as park of a “best new music” roundup, The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania wrote that Midlife Priceless “suggests Bryan brings more to [Hootie & the Blowfish] than appearances suggest. Bryan’s solo songs have a bit poppier feel than Hootie & the Blowfish, but there’s still a rootsy, unpretentious quality to these songs.”
Thoughtful words from Jim Testa of The Jersey Journal on J Hacha De Zola’s Greatest Hits. “It’s not all fun house mirrors and whoopee cushions. The haunting 'Strange' slows things down for a tortured love song; 'A Fool’s Moon' sweeps you off to romantic pre-revolution Cuba for a slow turn around the dance floor; and 'Syn Illusion' bids for airplay on Spanish pop radio."
Out now (w/ an all-new album 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘥𝘦𝘯 arriving June 11)!
Ghettoblaster writes that “a gypsy jazz vibe swirls around J Hacha De Zola’s style, with swinging elements of a klezmer-like influence filtered in at times.” His new Greatest Hits presages his next full length, East of Eden, coming in June. According to Ghettoblaster’s review, this newly remixed and remastered compilation “can stand on its own merits as we patiently wait.”
Powerpopaholic contends that “years of producing others and his own experimentation have left their mark” on Mike Viola, who is known for myriad accomplishments including his band the Candy Butchers, his production work for artists including Mandy Moore and Panic! At The Disco, and his vocals on the late Adam Schlesinger’s iconic theme song for That Thing You Do!
The site recently recommended Viola’s Godmuffin (out now on Grand Phony), a wholly self-recorded LP on which he applies his “top-notch” songwriting to introspective songs that explore tragedy, loss, and “the stress and isolation of the time.”
“So, there you are, filming your latest music video, made up as a vampire floating around Mandy Moore’s swimming pool in Los Angeles."
The Patriot-Ledger - which has been serving Massachusetts’ South Shore since 1837 and was once Mike Viola’s local paper - recently spoke with Viola about how far he’s come since he was “a Stoughton teenager cutting his musical teeth playing innumerable gigs at the old Scotch and Sounds Lounge at Westgate Lanes in Brockton." Link in bio.
Mike's new album Godmuffin is out now from Grandphony.
MXDWN is positively effusive in its new review of The High Water Marks’ 𝘌𝘤𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘙𝘩𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘴, now available from Minty Fresh. The album, MXDWN writes, “is exactly what it sounds like–pure ecstasy for an indie rock lover.” It’s “the record that will get people through the rest of this grueling year.”
AllMusic just awarded four stars to Ecstasy Rhymes, the newest LP from The High Water Marks, calling it “a stripped down and almost punky take on the Elephant 6 sound that Hilarie Sidney helped invent."
It’s “the band’s best album to date… not only a blast from the past but it also sounds completely fresh while showing just how powerfully enjoyable simple indie pop can be when played with this much energy and joy.”
"There are a couple of songs that should be considered indie pop classics... near-perfect combinations of Beatles-y hooks, Byrds-ian guitar jangle, and the innocent excitement of C-86 bands." AllMusic with its rave review of the Square reissue aka Square Cubed by The Orange Peels, out now on Minty Fresh.