MMYYKK – Better [For The Love]
Mychal Fisher (aka MMYYKK) is a Minneapolis-based synth wizard who operates both solo and as a member of the Astralblak collective; his ElectroSoul EP is due out tomorrow. “Better [For The Love],” a single from the album, is a breakbeat-led I’m Sorry ballad; reflecting quietly atop a bed of pillowy keyboards and using his most soothing croon, Fisher admits to a romantic partner, “I should know better/I could do better,” and promises to improve himself “for the love of us.” A warm and slightly futuristic slow jam, “Better” could bridge even the deepest of interpersonal divides. We could use more people, like MMYYKK, doin’ it for the love.
Sally Haze – Waiting
For an artist whose muscularly nebulous (oxymoron? maybe) brand of shoegaze buries airy vocals under echoing waves of guitar arpeggios, Chicago’s Sally Haze sure does sing with some swagger. “Waiting,” the opener from her new EP Dining Room (Maximum Pelt), plays out like Soundpool covering Oasis in a towering cathedral, guitar riffs swirling and echoing through cavernous empty space while Haze uses a feathery lilt to guide semi-comprehensible lyrics through a reverbed mic and into the ether. For those who like their dreamy music with a bit of attitude, “Waiting” is the perfect find.
Tonye Aganaba – Rain
“Rain,” a track from Vancouver artist Tonye Aganaba‘s new album Something Comfortable, comes in the form of a quiet storm. The track takes its sweet time, conjuring a luxuriant atmosphere complete with gliding harps, wind chimes, and a drumbeat that taps with the quiet insistence of raindrops on a tin roof. The keyboard and guitar licks that drip down around Aganaba’s soulful vocals are the water droplets that slide down your windowpane on a wet day in April. There’s even a smooth jazz sax solo thrown in for good measure, the necessary finishing touch on any sensuous slow jam. When it rains, it storms (quietly, of course).
Bored In Pittsburgh 