Ever heard this one: A high school prom queen, a med student, a Texan, and a thoroughly beguiling new voice in American indie pop walk into a bar? Probably not, because all those tropes come together then break apart in the singer-songwriter-producer Quiet Light, the latest signee to Oklou and Grace Ives’ label True Panther. Her debut album with the imprint, Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2, fleshes out one of her first self-released mixtapes into a poignant reflection on looking back to look forward, drenched in Badalamentian dreaminess and warranting comparisons to Grimes, Imogen Heap, and even Olivia Rodrigo’s deep cuts.
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Mikaela Davis: Graceland Way [Kill Rock Stars]
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The harpist and songwriter Mikaela Davis describes her new album, in press materials, as “canyon country:” a mix of modern Western drama, timeless Laurel Canyon folk, and the heyday of American FM radio. Tackling corporate greed, learned loneliness, and urban sprawl with equal zeal, Graceland’s Way finds novel inroads into Davis’ sound without straying from the high-gloss, existential honky-tonk where much of her ouvre lives. Madison Cunningham, Tim Heidecker, Neal Francis, Karly Hartzman, and more feature across the track list; Davis wrote the record with longtime collaborators John Lee Shannon and Dan Horne. “The songs were written from our personal experience, but together they tell the arc of humanity,” Davis said.
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Angelique Kidjo: Hope!! [Parlophone / Warner]
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