So full disclosure I run a record label and I’ve come to an agreement with Blood Makes Noise to let me promote releases every week. The idea is every week I will present a playlist with some new Mint 400 Records music and what I think inspired our songwriters. This week we once again explore lots of homegrown talent from right here in the Garden State from a handful of indie music veterans. We start the playlist with our newest signing Tom Barrett who you may know from his very My Bloody Valentine sounding projects like Overlake and Wave. Tom’s solo stuff has more of a Jeff Tweedy and Elliott Smith vibe on this his first single with Mint 400 Records. Tom’s music encapsulates so much from the past 50 years of music and it definitely has it’s own unique sound but for those who need tangible describers think The Long Winters or maybe even Nick Drake. It’s always hard to pin down exactly what you hear when you know it’s a well rounded artist that listens to everything and incorporates a little bit of it all into their music. I made the obvious comparison to Jeff Tweedy in this weeks playlist.
Next is former Shithead’s Rainbow songwriter Nicholas Maratta and his new project Cantations. Don’t worry, most of the other Shithead’s lent their talents to help complete this recording. Upon first hearing the track Ag(e) I immediately thought of The Cure song “Kyoto Song” from Head On A Door. Nick takes interesting folk ideas with this new track and layers it with interesting instruments like synth, strings, horns, etc. The end result is an amalgamation of many different influences coming together to make a unique brand of indie folk. His vocal style is a little bit like Car Seat Headrest but musically Nick really takes this new EP into interesting musical territory. I can’t wait to hear more from this project as this EP only gives us about 5 minutes of music but it’s enough to wet the appetite for more.
A split release with Pyrrhic Victory Recordings and Mint 400 Records is our next track and it features Joe Pugsley from The 65’s and Ryan Struck of Scary Hours. This track to me screams New Jersey as it has built into it Joe’s Mike Ness-ish vocals that he has become known for over the last 25+ years and Ryan’s sweet backing harmonies which give almost an ethereal quality to the track. The song at times reminds me of Social Distortion, Bad Religion, My Chemical Romance, and Gaslight Anthem all at the same time. Joe has been making songs in this style before some of those bands were even bands so it’s clear to see the circle of influences that most Jersey artists in the punk scene have is similar. This track is built on a solid foundation of punk rock knowledge and it shows. This track however is a little more polished then previous efforts and feels like an instant classic right from the start.
Finally this week we leave off with an epic 14 minute long track from Lowlight, a staple of the Asbury Park music scene. This track titled “The Quarantino Mixtape” is offered on this new single as one track but will be divided into smaller sections on the bands forthcoming LP “Strange Light”. In the track the first section has the chorus “Strange Light” as then later the track takes twists and turns where songs transition into other songs seamlessly. An upcoming article will shed light on the recording process as it’s many layers deep and is the product of the year long Quarantine. At times the track is neat and resembles traditional song structure and other times it ventures off into prog / jazz territory but all of it with a hint of Americana. In my playlist I likened it to ELO because of their big songs that often ventured into many areas all within one track. Almost it’s own brand of pop prog is what Lowlight touches upon on this track. Within the scope of the album it feels like that whole connected section of Abbey Road with more sparse pieces. Overall it’s a bold experimental piece that pays off as it never feels self indulgent and keeps the audience engaged with it’s pop hooks.