These LITM Rock Picks embody lived experiences asking to be heard; featuring The Way After, CS Hellmann, Tony & The Kiki, and more!
1. The Way After – Its The Right Time But The Right Time Only
Its The Right Time But The Right Time Only is a hypnotic and evocative melody with subtle touches of folk-rock running through. From The Way After’s EP, Still To Breathe, it intertwines layered, haunting harmonies with twangy acoustic guitar. The track lends itself well to the ominous feeling of nostalgia that comes with a small town, seemingly frozen in time. It feels timeless, fitting into any era, while still retaining a freshness that keeps you constantly guessing as to its next turn – all enhanced by the raspy, deep vocal delivery that draws you in effortlessly and lingers long after you’ve hit pause.
2. CS Hellmann – Burned Romances
CS Hellmann’s Burned Romances feels like a fever dream: a lucid experience you’ve lived through, but one that slips away the minute you try to grasp at it. CS Hellmann’s voice comes to you through smoke, haze, and distortion – its rasp is beautifully juxtaposed with the shiny, neon feel of the hard synth. Arranged to perfection – from the bass grounding the song to the synths floating way up there – it surrounds you with its urgency, injected into every element of the song possible. It’s made for a late-night drive as much as for sweaty dance floors, and demands your attention – listen here!
3. Tony & The Kiki – B.N.T
B.N.T is Tony & The Kiki’s masterclass in glam-rock. It’s bold, unapologetic, and unabashedly chaotic; if music could be bedazzled with rhinestones, it’d probably result in B.N.T. Explosive vocals team up with equally explosive lyrics (“Baby don’t forget, this bitch is from Queens!”) to burst in your ears. It fully deserves you blasting it on full volume to hype yourself up – it’s the only way you can even begin absorbing its whirlwind. Tony & The Kiki have fully committed to the energy, and with B.N.T, they’re confidently flipping off everyone who’s ever hurt or doubted them – with a glittery middle finger, at that.
4. Purbeck Temple – No Hard Feelings
Purbeck Temple takes us through the journey of survival with No Hard Feelings, a track from the album The Agoraphobia Files. Few tracks feel as lived-in and real as this one does – it doesn’t just document a story, but it lives it right in front of you. With undeniable weight and pain in his voice, Purbeck Temple takes us through an unpredictable journey. Each element of the song’s production gives space to the rest, creating a track that’s intimate, yet one that takes up the space it deserves. You can tell the track’s depth isn’t to garner sympathy, but just to tell a story, asking to be heard.
5. Dead Feather – American Dreams
Constructed upon a solid foundation of raw rock energy, Dead Feather’s American Dreams saunters with power enough to fill a room. With a restlessness bordering on urgent, Dead Feather balances clarity with rawness with enviable precision; it’s all about encapsulating his own experiences with growing up deaf, the spiritual, and being isolated from the mainstream as a Native. American Dreams has a jagged feel to it, fitting for themes that cannot be contained and wrapped up with a neat bow. The contrast between the two vocals and the guitar creates a jagged, rough feel – producing a song that makes you want to peel back its many layers on each listen.
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