The Black Chevys, “Come On Baby”
Congrats, Seattle music scene, you’ve done it again: The Black Chevys look to be the real deal. Evidence is the two new songs the upstart quartet recently posted to SoundCloud (bringing the total to three!), including this heaping portion of meat-and-potatoes rock ‘n’ soul, driven by dueling guitars and Maya Marie’s big, swaggery vocals. More, please!
HYWAYS, “Go”
Veteran singer-songwriter Mike Giacolino has committed to the on-trend transition from the rustic Americana of his previous project, Ole Tinder, to the shimmering, reverb-heavy cosmic country of HYWAYS. Taken from the quartet’s debut LP, “Go” launches Giacolino’s vocal twang and barroom blues harp into deep, dark space.
Samurai Del feat. Parisalexa, “Fake Love (Nile Waters Remix)”
Right now Seattle’s modern-soul scene is operating at an impossibly high standard and multi-instrumentalist-producer-engineers Nima Skeemz and Elan Wright, aka funk-pop duo Nile Waters, are some of its prime movers. Here they pair with producer/DJ Samurai Del and singer Parisalexa, themselves of all-star status, for an irresistible underground banger.
BlackWater HolyLight, “Sunrise”
Allison Faris launched this four-women juggernaut specifically to disrupt gendered expectations around “heavy” music, and the result is alchemical. On this standout from BWHL’s eponymous LP, Faris’ woozy voice dissolves into slithery synths and torrential, dreadful riffage—the most immersive, transportive guitar-music experience to come from Portland so far this year.
Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, “Siglo Nuevo”
Stakes are high when you bring cumbia, a musical style beloved by much of the world’s Spanish-speaking population, to the distant Pacific Northwest and infuse it with mainstage guitars and after-hours warehouse-party energy. This 11-member Portland-based ensemble embraces the drama inherent in their ambitious endeavor and ascends to the musical mountaintop.
