Your New Music Monday Picks for October 17 spotlight a Scandinavian songstress, a soulful new duo and an emerging Dallas singer-songwriter:
The pleasure’s always ours when it comes to introducing you to up-and-coming artists from right here in our own backyard. Joshua Dylan Balis is the Oak Cliff-based singer-songwriter who cut his teeth on Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt, and who’s already busy working on his first full-length. In the meantime, his debut EP Modern Gospel landing this Friday should be enough to tide you over, and “Love In Youth” is a mighty fine introduction to his work.
Fans of Dirty Projectors were on the receiving end of a double delight when the band recently released their latest single “Keep Your Name,” and frontwoman/guitarist Amber Coffman unleashed the first single from her forthcoming solo debut, City Of No Reply. There are rumors afoot about a possible breakup – both for the band and for Amber, who’s romantically linked with her band mate David Longstreth. If her new single “All To Myself” is anything to go by, it’s certainly sounding like she’s ready to branch out on her own.
This L.A. duo’s pedigree is solid, indeed. Steve Rusch has engineered albums for the likes of Cody ChestnuTT, Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq and Solange, while his partner Mischa Mandel has the soulful pipes that flesh out Lo/Hi‘s sound. It’s especially evident in “Tell Me Your Name,” a delicious little number that’ll lift your Monday fog and carry you tunefully into the week.
Soulful and smooth wins the race today, and Stockholm singer-songwriter Leon delivers like a champ. We first fell under her spell a while back when she released her debut single, “Tired Of Talking,” and now there’s a new track to pick up where that left off. “Leon’s Lullaby” has that timeless, smoky feel about it, and you can find it on her EP, Treasure. Here’s to Sweden’s newest export!
Here’s to your happy ears –
XOXO
Gini.
