Tag: massachusetts

LISTEN: Mamma’s Marmalade, “Dirty Work” (Steely Dan Cover)

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Artist: Mamma’s Marmalade
Hometown: Worcester, Massachusetts
Song: “Dirty Work”
Album: Fakin’ It: Covers Deserving of Coverage
Release Date: September 16, 2022

In Their Words: “We chose Steely Dan as an artist to explore because they changed pop-rock music so much. They were pioneers of songcraft on par with the Beatles and Bill Monroe, and as musicians that strive to innovate within our genre, we were excited to see how our sound would mix with the writing of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. This was our first opportunity to bring drums into our sound and Karl Helander knocked it out in about two takes. He has incredible sensitivity and groove, which is essential to working with stringed instruments. Eli Salus-Kleiner put the finishing touches on with the Wurlitzer (because you have to have Wurli on this track; non-negotiable!), and our engineer Andy Cass stepped in to guest on bass. The whole experience was very relaxed, letting the arrangement unfold organically in the live room. Mitch’s vocal performance captured that ’70s approach really well; gentle, expressive and melodic. Listeners can probably hear how much fun we were having while making this one.” — Lily Sexton, Mamma’s Marmalade

Mammas Marmalade · Dirty Work

Photo Credit: Jamie Gouger

WATCH: Ash & Eric, “Never Walking Out”

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Artist: Ash & Eric
Hometown: Worcester, Massachusetts
Song: “Never Walking Out”
Album: Sure
Release Date: May 6, 2022
Label: TPIH Music

In Their Words: “‘Never Walking Out’ is a snapshot story of the 60-year marriage between Eric’s grandparents (Dick & Brenda). Inspired by the performances of June & Johnny Cash, we unflinchingly address our highs and lows of life shared over decades. We imbued it with candor and humor so listeners can imagine a lively conversation as though we’re sitting across a table sharing a couple beers or cups of tea. The video features actual studio footage of our many takes at Eagle Hill School in Hardwick, Massachusetts. One of our fans’ favorites, the heartbeat of this song, as with all songs on our new album, is our honest attempt to capture our dynamic chemistry, recorded in real time using just four microphones. After grabbing our favorite take, Eric added additional instrumentation including upright bass, high-strung guitar, percussion, and Mellotron to fill out a folk singer-songwriter vibe reminiscent of yesteryear. It was a very fun and cathartic process.” — Ash L’Esperance

Photo Credit: Tommy Vo

LISTEN: The Bad Oats, “This Old Plane”

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Artist: The Bad Oats
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “This Old Plane”
Album: The Other Side of Love
Release Date: March 15, 2022
Label: Pine House Records

In Their Words: “I started writing ‘This Old Plane’ one morning while camping in New Hampshire. I had been reflecting on a past relationship and the song became my way of acknowledging that I had finally moved on. We recorded it, along with the rest of our album, in January of 2021 while quarantined together in a cabin in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. We recorded the entire record live in the living room with minimal overdubs. In a time of remote recordings and isolation in everyday life we all felt extremely lucky to be able to share a space and create together. We hope the energy and excitement that we experienced from being together comes across in the album.” — Sam Powers, The Bad Oats

Photo Credit: Mike Saunders

LISTEN: The Lied To’s, “Winter of the Winter”

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Artist: The Lied To’s
Hometown: Newburyport, Massachusetts
Song: “Winter of the Winter”
Album: The Worst Kind of New
Release Date: March 11, 2022
Label: Hollow Body Records

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Winter of the Winter’ almost exactly a year ago. Winter in New England can feel endless and bleak in the best of times, but during the COVID lockdown it felt brutal. People were either terribly isolated and lonely, or climbing the walls trying to balance kids, spouses, working from home, and remote school. There was a sense of collective grief, but there also was a real meanness out there given the political divide. I wrote ‘Winter of the Winter’ to try to process all of it. I really wanted the whole ordeal to mean something. I wanted us to learn something from the experience, for us to end up a little kinder, a little better as a society. The song asks: ‘When the spring comes and everything is growing/Will we remember how it was snowing/And will we be better for the knowing?’ I think, unfortunately, the verdict is still out.” — Susan Levine

Photo Credit: Doug Kwartler

WATCH: Grace Morrison, “Small Town Lament”

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Artist: Grace Morrison
Hometown: Wareham, Massachusetts
Song: “Small Town Lament”
Album: Daughter
Release Date: August 20, 2021

In Their Words: “I’ve always wanted to write an audience participation song. My favorite live moments are the ones when the audience and performer sort of ‘become one,’ and for the most part that tends to happen for me when I’m performing traditional tunes (‘Loch Lomond’ is a favorite, but hell ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ can spark some magic too). Those songs speak to the eternal — the parts of the human condition that never change. So my intention when I sat down to write what became ‘Small Town Lament’ was to create a melody and lyric that would be simple enough to teach an audience on a lark, but poignant enough to make people think, ‘Yes, that describes my life.’ We haven’t gotten far enough back into normalcy for me to really try out the sing-along portion of the song, but I can tell you that EVERYBODY seems to know that bittersweet small town feeling. Gossip… community…rumors… home.” — Grace Morrison

Photo credit: Corinna Raznikov

LISTEN: Aoife O’Donovan, “More Than We Know” & “Captain’s Clock”

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Artist: Aoife O’Donovan
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
Songs: “More Than We Know” (featuring The Milk Carton Kids) & “Captain’s Clock”
Release Date: July 19, 2021

In Their Words: “In January of 2021, I reached out to my friend Joe Henry about some new music I was writing. What transpired from that first conversation was a lot of new music… a lot a lot. I’m so excited to share two songs from those sessions! ‘More Than We Know,’ a new song written with Joe, features the crystalline vocals of Joey and Kenneth (The Milk Carton Kids). The second tune ‘Captain’s Clock’ (yes, it’s a Hook reference) features insanely beautiful woodwinds by Levon Henry. My parts were recorded at Full Sail with Darren Schneider.” — Aoife O’Donovan

Photo courtesy of Shorefire Media

LISTEN: Naomi Westwater, “Americana”

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Artist: Naomi Westwater
Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts
Song: “Americana”
Album: Feelings
Release Date: September 3, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Americana’ is a song about race and pain. It’s a song about being in the in-between. This is a song for multiracial Americans — for every person who’s been asked, ‘What are you?’ This is for the people who are white, and Black, and brown all at once, and at the same time never white, or Black, or brown enough. This is my love letter to America, I think we need to break up? This song is me asking, post-racial America? For who?” — Naomi Westwater

Photo credit: blahnik x westwater

LISTEN: Kris Delmhorst, “Light Breaks Through”

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Artist: Kris Delmhorst
Hometown: Buckland, Massachusetts
Song: “Light Breaks Through”
Album: Light Breaks Through
Release Date: March 26, 2021
Label: Bandcamp only release

In Their Words: “‘Light Breaks Through’ is a pretty straight-ahead song about the moment after a long stretch of bad weather (literal or emotional) when you begin to believe it’s over. As I was writing it, it landed naturally in these feel-good chords that felt like a bit of a guilty pleasure, and I kept having the urge to make it more complicated. But ultimately I decided that it’s right for this one to feel effortless; effortlessness is exactly the point. When you’ve been struggling and it suddenly eases up, you don’t overthink it; your job is just to let go and enjoy feeling good.” — Kris Delmhorst

Photo credit: Brittany Powers

LISTEN: Will Orchard, “Rita”

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Artist: Will Orchard
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Rita”
Album: I Reached My Hand Out
Release Date: March 18, 2021
Label: Better Company

In Their Words: “‘Rita’ is a song about the blurred lines between attraction that’s real and long-lasting, and attraction that’s intense and fleeting. To me, it’s about lacking trust in my own impulses, and constantly questioning if those feelings are valid. I wrote this song while on tour on two separate occasions about a year apart, and the distance between those two moments really helped me put what I was feeling in perspective. The contributions of Allen, Jess, James, and Miles really helped bring this song to life and create the dark and the anxious landscape of those emotions.” — Will Orchard

Photo credit: Tim Ryan

LISTEN: Ryan Dugré, “Powder Rains”

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Artist: Ryan Dugré
Hometown: Holyoke, Massachusetts
Song: “Powder Rains”
Album: Three Rivers
Release Date: Feb 19, 2021
Label: 11A Records

In Their Words: “‘Powder Rains’ was written for a potential film placement which did not pan out. It started with the image of being on a train sitting opposite of the train’s direction, slowly gaining speed. I tried to create this feeling in the recording by adding parts in slowly throughout the song, and by increasing the tempo halfway through. Mixer Leo Abrahams added to this by accentuating the swirling, circular sounds, building to a feeling of arrival at the very end.” — Ryan Dugré

Photo credit: Annette Wong