New Finds March 12th

Follow the New Finds playlist on Spotify and Apple Music to listen to these and more!

Today’s New Finds feature “Take My Hand” by BARDO, “Wake Up, You’re Stuck” by Eden Rain, and "Moon Phase" by Bowerbirds.

‍

“Take My Hand” - BARDO

BARDO is the most recent project of Bardo Martinez, lead singer/keyboardist/guitarist of Chicano Batman. After touring with the band for the last five years and releasing a new album shortly after the pandemic began, Martinez rode life's slower-pace to focus on his artistry and create his first, full-length album. Martinez's music is inspired by the 60's, 70's, and 80's psych, soul, and funk records his parents listened to when he was young, as well as 70's kung-fu movies. With his recent single, “Take My Hand,” it was specifically inspired by the eccentricity of Childish Gambino’s song “California.” After hearing it in a thrift store, Martinez created his own quirky beat and set it to electric guitar riffs he already had written. Every sound you'll hear in the song is playful, and when combined with a VHS analog music video, "Take My Hand" serves true old school Nintendo-meets-Won’t You Be My Neighbor vibes. We can sense that Martinez has an old soul with a unique worldview, one he welcomes listeners to share in with this track. Listen to"Take My Hand" here.

‍

“Wake Up, You’re Stuck” - Eden Rain

Eden Rain has already established herself as a visual artist and a poet through her Instagram, but she recently made a powerful musical debut with her first single “Wake Up, You’re Stuck.” The song is ethereal, haunting, and beautiful with just a few piano keys, swelling violins, a low, heartbeat rhythmic drum, and (of course) her poetic lyricism. In the music video that Rain also directed, she layers her sketches over up-close, intimate shots. There’s something comforting in her vulnerability, even though the subject is melancholy and the imagery she provokes is dark. Rain describes the track as "being eaten alive from the inside out." My favorite line in the song is, "Couldn’t lie through my teeth so I took them all out. Got so much more room for my foot in my mouth." There's definitely a poetic, dark irony present. Towards the end of the song, the pace quickens and Rain manages to bring a sense of levity forward. She sings the words "Wake Up. You're Stuck" loudly, and to me that felt hopeful; the first step to moving forward is sometimes being able to recognize when you're stuck. Definitely looking forward to more music and art from her. Check out "Wake Up, You're Stuck" here.

‍

"Moon Phase" by Bowerbirds

This last song one is a solid indie-folk breakup song, complete with acoustic and sliding guitars and fiddle. This is the first track Bowerbirds has released in almost a decade. It will be featured on their next album, becalmyounglovers, due April 30th. The album was written after singer-songwriter Phil Moore's divorce with ex-wife and former Bowerbirds member, Beth Tacular, in a cabin that the two built together in North Carolina. Moore spoke more on "Moon Phase" and the end of his relationship: “When it’s something you’ve been in for a while and has become so familiar, you’re comfortable with its ebbs and flows, and there can be sort of an uncertainty where you’re not sure if it’s truly over or not. 'Moon Phase' really delves into the uncertainty, or disbelief, and that really specific sadness that comes with an ending.” Sonically, the track isn't woeful. There is still pain and anger in his lyrics ("Who was winning? Was that in the vows? Taking the tally the whole way down"), but listeners can also sense the time that has passed that gives Moore the perspective to understand the uncertainty of his relationship's ending. Listen to "Moon Phase" here.

‍

‍