Today one of my very favorite transcendental musicians Cass McCombs releases a brand-new song, “Belong to Heaven,” which truly captures many stages in the grief process, from the devastation, to the ire, to the nostalgia, beautiful through and through. For “Belong To Heaven,” McCombs reunited with Grammy Award-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid, with whom he worked on Catacombs, WIT’S END, and Humor Risk. McCombs, on vocals, guitars, piano and percussion, is joined by Danielle Haim on drums and vocals, The Chapin Sisters on additional vocals, Shahzad Ismaily on bass, keys and piano, Frank LoCastro on keys and Buddy Ross on hammond organ. The song’s lyrics, beautiful and melancholy, navigate the loss of a close friend:  I…

Today San Francisco’s Kate Ramsey, AKA Rose Haze, shares the first single from her upcoming album Maximum Security Prism, to be self-released on May 6th. At one point along the mixing phase, I thought, ‘why am I so intense?’ Eventually the self-critic in me wandered off again and I fell back in love with it because of its intensity. It’s an anthem to never give up, to remind us that we all go through dark times, but are often never really as misunderstood or truly alone as it sometimes feels, and ultimately to not commit suicide. Because eventually we crawl…

West Kensington is the product of harpist Mary Lattimore and her neighbor, guitarist Paul Sukeena, recording in “strange times,” which I think we all know is a code phrase for. It’s a funny-business new-age sound, definitely an unearthly, beautiful listen but at times almost seems to take classic ambient concepts and turns them on their head; or as liner notes author Nicky Devine put it, “the chords of the harp conjure a feeling of togetherness and intentional greeting resembling Philip Glass after loads of red wine.” Notes bend and drawl; Lattimore’s harp a lit-up carousel, sparkling to extend the abilities…

Diatom Deli’s newest “Disarray” from upcoming album Time~Lapse Nature (love an album title with a tilde) is a more delicate, traditional turn from her previous more experimental recordings, but the result is absolutely gentle and lovely. Her voice is exquisite and the kaleidoscopic strums of acoustic guitar and distant chimes evoke relatable wistfulness. She reminds me of early Nelly Furtado (in the best way) – completely unique, bright, and pure. The video, shot in an earthship in Toas, was directed by Lindsay Gauthier & André Williams. “I wrote this song about friendship breakups. It’s not talked about often but breaking…

I have to highlight this gorgeous single from V.C.R.’s upcoming spring release on Leaving Records. This multi-faceted song is a sensory overload in the best way possible and I can’t wait to hear more. V.C.R.’s voice is enchanting and the retro vibe and resounding drums hypnotize the listener. One of those songs that makes you think, “wow, this is what music should sound like!” Blue by V.C.R V.C.R describes her music as “cinematic soul.” The Memphis-born, LA based vocalist shares her latest single today, “Blue”, ahead of her long awaited full-length due out this Spring on LEAVING.“Blue” is a nostalgic…

Stefan Beck AKA Golden Brown is proving to be truly prolific with the announcement of his seventh full-length album and – the third since October. “Ghosts” is a gently droning saunter through a pacific landscape, pastoral but modern, a much-needed balm for our current era. Beck’s 1936 aluminum lap steel does the heavy lifting while ambient electric guitar adds subtle decor. Luminous is out April 8th via Inner Islands. Luminous by Golden Brown This was the first of these tracks that I started with the intention of building the song around the field recording. I really liked this recording with…