-
Andrew Smith – “Magic Mess”
Today, NYC-based musician Andrew Smith releases a catchy, bubbly power pop late summer anthem. The song, like many of Andrew’s, is about getting in touch with your feelings, feeling them, and staying true to yourself in the midst of stressful situations (his latest EP was called To My Therapist and he says, “Many of my songs are born of reflections I have about my life, or discoveries made in therapy.”)…
-
Sacred Bones announces Songs for Tres
On the birthday of the late Tres Warren, Sacred Bones has announced a tribute record of songs by Tres’s bandmates in Psychic Ills, collaborators, and other special guests. Various Artists "Songs for Tres" by Psychic Ills Tres passed in March of 2020. Unable to gather to mourn properly, the other constant half of Psychic Ills, and Tres’s musical other half Elizabeth Hart asked Adam Amram, Jon Catfish DeLorme and Brent Cordero, who’d been…
-
Joe Harvey-Whyte on Flatland / Spaceland
Flatland / Spaceland by Joe Harvey-Whyte Joe is a producer, pedal steel player, composer, and visual artist whose work we came to love via his work with the Hanging Stars and on the 15th of October he’ll release his solo debut Flatland / Spaceland, an pair of sister soundscapes inspired by Edwin A. Abbott’s 1884 novel Flatland. Although Joe’s the latest pedal steel player to launch his pedal steel prowess…
-
Falling Hard : An Autumn Playlist
It’s fall and that means it’s loner folk season. British folk too, although I really think dead of winter is when Lindisfarne sounds best. For me though, fall is really about classic Cosmic American Music. People like fall, right? I’m not too into the foliage thing, preferring sweeping snow-dusted desert vistas to foggy ochre mountains. Luckily, my falls tend to look like low light making chilly hills covered in yucca…
-
Scott Hirsch – Windless Day
Windless Day by Scott Hirsch Scott Hirsch’s magical new album, Windless Day, is out today on his own Echo Magic label. Recorded mostly at Scott’s studio of the same name in the flourishing wilds of Ojai, a place (I imagine) to be filled with the spirits of the former owners of the vintage instruments and gear that give Scott’s music such a classic, polished vibe. “Much Too Late” has all…
-
IKSRE – “Pobblebonk” (feat. Luminem)
Today, days away from musician Phoebe Dubar aka IKSRE’s new album, III, Petal Motel is pleased to premiere “Pobblebonk,” a shimmering, effervescent song featuring Luminem. I love the texture field recordings add to a song, especially when it makes me pause my music player to make sure it is actually a bird song and not a friend outside my window. The field recordings stem from the sounds of an elusive…
-
Howlin Rain: An interview by Jiah Carron
Petal Motel is pleased to introduce Jiah Carron, a Canadian music journalist and label executive who’s a huge psych and private press junkie. I thought Jiah would be the perfect person to interview Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain and it turns out, I was right. Their conversation was deep, long, and literary. Thanks for reading! I had the privilege of conversing with the legendary Howlin Rain’s frontman, Ethan Miller. I’ve…
-
Patrick Shiroishi – “The Long Bright Dark”
The final single from composer and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi’s upcoming album, Hidemi, is out today: Hidemi by Patrick Shiroishi The inventive album is completely instrumental, aside from a single line in this track, the album’s closer. Shiroishi sings in Japanese, “Is this the end of the storm?” Patrick’s last album, Descension focused on the experience of people in the U.S.-established Japanese concentration camps, while Hidemi focuses on the personal experience of…
-
Noah – “Moonchild”
Today, Hokkaido-born Noah announces her new upcoming EP Étoile, out October 27th release via FLAU. The first release, “Moonchild” is vibey and enigmatic, with layers of gauzey vocals draped over discordant trip-hop beats. Excited to hear the full EP when it comes! Pre-order the album here
