Scott Wesley’s self-titled EP is streaming in full at For the Country Record

Scott Wesley’s EP is out next Friday! Stream the release and read the fantastic review at For The Country Record:

The lead single from the project (and its opening track) is ‘Heavy Rotation’, a swampy country-blues song with pop inflections and a hook that’s wonderfully catchy…The second single from the project is ‘My Love’, a darker, more subdued offering featuring aching pedal steel and fluttering mandolin, and a feel that’s more akin to Americana…‘Front Porch Light’, meanwhile, is a sweet little pop country ballad…Scott seems to be something of a romantic, and ‘Fell For It Again’ is a perfect example of that…‘That Girl’, meanwhile, is an upbeat, southern rock-esque foot-tapper about Scott’s soulmate – who he hasn’t met yet.

The Bluegrass Situation premieres Scott Wesley’s new single “My Love”

Gorgeous new song from Scott Wesley premieres on The Bluegrass Situation. Listen to “My Love,” about which Scott Wesley says:

No matter what that person says or does, sometimes the heart wants what it wants and nothing can change that. Producer Paul Kimsal added pedal steel to the tune, which is something I always imagined this song should have.​ He also ​added a sample of chain clanking, which suits the theme of the song really well.

GroundSounds premieres Justin Fallen’s music video “Dancehall”

Watch Justin Fallen and the Angels’ celebration of Austin in their video for “Dancehall,” premiering on GroundSounds. Justin Fallen says this about the video:

Dancing is big for me – I dance in dancehalls and I dance when I’m on stage, so it was important to me that the first release be a dance song. I met up with Athan Bernal and Nyle Emerson, who call themselves 8th and Nyle, who have a passion that I connected with. We wanted to make sure Austin and the energy of the city that inspired the song was captured. They pretty much took it from there, got their friends together to do some dancing, and were creative about how to do the whole thing. Most of the shots are spontaneous and unplanned around town to catch the feel of the spirit of Austin.

6th street in Austin is pretty crazy. people go nuts when you stick a camera up in the middle of the street like that – that was all spur of the moment, with whoever was walking by joining in. We ended up having to leave early because it was too big of a scene – people were throwing full beer cans from the roof and college guys kept seeming to want to take off their clothes and simulate blowjobs in front of the camera. All that footage was done in less than fifteen minutes before it got too wild to even stay there.

There’s something mysterious about the whole thing, kind of a pied piper narrative – like everywhere you go, dancing can happen.

Jacob Tovar & The Saddle Tramps full album streaming at GroundSounds

GroundSounds streams the debut album by Tulsa’s Jacob Tovar and the Saddle Tramps, coming out on Horton Records on CD and digital, with vinyl coming soon. Says Tovar:

I started performing when I got laid off from a job that I loathed. I spent some time taking care of my newborn son and started playing out and submersing myself in the Tulsa music scene. I had before just basically been a self-taught bedside guitarist interested in playing classical and fingerstyle genres. My older lead guitarist brother was constantly on me to get out and play and play with him whenever we got together. I went back to college and did a few semesters – through my music instructors, I was encouraged to sing more, so I began singing and playing.

The experience of recording the debut album was wonderful. I hand-picked the musicians I wanted in the studio – I had worked with them many times in a live setting, so we ended up cutting the album live just because we were so comfortable and have such great chemistry playing together. I had been to Fellowship Hall Studio last summer with a group of Tulsa musicians to record a compilation and really enjoyed Jason’s style of recording and the way that he uses the original tape reel to record and create that classic sound.

The Boot premieres Scott Wesley’s music video “Heavy Rotation”

The Boot premieres Scott Wesley‘s music video for “Heavy Rotation,” the first single from his forthcoming self-titled EP, coming out on September 11th.

“Heavy Rotation” is a super-catchy, tongue-in-cheek track that explores the journey of following your dreams, being in love and the complications that can arise when coupled together, and its accompanying clip was shot during the live recording session for the song. The track has an organic sound, an old country vibe, honky-tonk piano and a tinge of the blues.

Miss Lauren Pratt EP premieres on Bucket Full of Nails

Bucket Full of Nails premieres the debut album from Nashville’s Miss Lauren Pratt, out on August 21st.

An astute storyteller, Pratt’s debut album, Days Like Tonight, is steeped in Southern comforts (“Days Like Tonight,” Delta Family” and “Josephine”), myth (“Sword in the Stone”) and memory (“One By One”). Influenced by the likes of James Taylor, Jennifer Knapp and Alison Krauss, Pratt forges her own distinct path, demonstrating her dynamic vocal range on “Tattoo Lady” and emotive power on buzzing closer “Difficult Year.” Equally at ease with a warbling coo as she is with stern condescension, Days Like Tonight announces Pratt as a voice that can capture any mood and a writer of close-knit tales.

The Boot premieres Jacob Tovar & The Saddle Tramps’ single “Tips and Beer”

The Boot premieres “Tips and Beer” by Jacob Tovar and the Saddle Tramps! Stream the 3rd single and pre-order the forthcoming debut album, coming next month from Horton Records:

“The band’s unique sound combines old-school honky-tonk with Tovar’s booming baritone, along with some top-notch guitar picking…reminiscent of the genesis of the honky-tonk phenomenon.”

For the Country Record premieres Trevor Brooks’ debut release ‘Lonely At Its Finest’

For the Country Record premieres Trevor Brooks‘ debut release Lonely At Its Finest:

This record represents a whole host of heavy emotions and difficult lessons learned…His voice breaks on ‘Steal My Car’ and submits to the dominant electric guitar, while the dobro gives ‘Finished That Bottle Too’ a reflective, melancholic feel, and ‘Talk Me Out of Her’ builds to a passionate crescendo. ‘Bottle up the lonely, let it pour all over me. I’ll sip it slow til I go drowning in your memory,’ Trevor sings on closing track ‘When The Lonely Feels Normal’, an emotive piece of classic Americana to be proud of.

The Daily Listening premieres Annalibera’s ‘L.I.A.R.’ EP

The Daily Listening premieres L.I.A.R., Annalibera‘s 3-song follow-up EP to the debut full-length Nevermind I Love You, taken from the same recording session and coming out on 6/16:

Des Moines has some budding indie-rock royalty on their hands. After discovering the spellbindingly-beautiful sounds of Annalibera this past winter, we’ve been sharing their debut, Nevermind I Love You, with anyone willing to listen…Emerging with its own cohesive style and theme, L.I.A.R. employs a semi-country-tinged twang-pop playfulness sure to win over any listener.

GroundSounds premieres “Handle Myself” by Ship of Fools

GroundSounds premieres the debut single “Handle Myself” by the genre-melding Baton Rouge quartet Ship of Fools, featuring cello by Cuban-born, Venezuela-raised and Switzerland-trained Raudol Palacios; Baton Rouge native Michael Blount on guitar; and LSU students Ashley Monaghan on vocals and Eric Brown on percussion. GroundSounds calls the track “pure sonic goodness.”

The Boot premieres Trevor Brooks’ debut single “Talk Me Out Of Her”

The Boot premieres the debut single from Nashville country singer/songwriter Trevor Brooks. Check out “Talk Me Out Of Her” from his debut EP, set for release this summer:

Brooks is someone we could get used to hearing: His vocals are warm and inviting as, in this particular song, he earnestly sings about a girl that he wants — but he knows she’s not what he needs. Instead, he begs listeners to, as the title suggests, “talk me out of her.”

VIDEO PREMIERE: Impose premieres Karen Meat’s “Pizza & Beer”

Impose premieres Karen Meat & the Players‘ new video for “Pizza & Beer” from their debut cassette Karen Meat & the Computer (Red Nude Tapes):

Karen Meat and her crew of Players and Computers provide the minimalist audio, and visuals for the “Pizza & Beer” video that involves a mess of PBRs, Miller Lites, Budweisers, and delivery pizza, and a predominately fixed camera on a tripod. The self-aware states of eating too much, and drinking too much are explained in a kind of honesty heard in the manner of west coast style indie girl rock that can be heard from the Southern California coasts, through the Bay Area circuits, and to the north left scenes of Seattle. The song on the surface has a catchy and funny mode while there is an autonomous statement that lies beneath the slacker-like minimalism. The law tables of attraction and affection are overturned with an autonomy mission that says ‘take me as I am’ in the lyrical, and conceptual subtext, heard loud and clear by the final tongue in cheek line,”I’ll get really thin, maybe you’ll like me then”.

SONG PREMIERE: Northern Transmissions premieres Annalibera’s “Love In A Recession”

Northern Transmissions premieres Annalibera‘s “Love In A Recession,” the first single ​​from​ L.I.A.R., the 3-song follow-up to ​March​’s debut full-length Nevermind I Love You (Sump Pump Records). L.I.A.R. was recorded during the same session as the album, but emerged with its own cohesive sound and theme, full of country-tinged twang-pop playfulness.​