Imogen Moon, Boy Golden, The Nico Tobias Band, and Kira Sheppard
Imogen Moon - When They Start Rebelling
When They Start Rebelling is a reimagining of Doug Randle’s 1971 album “Songs for the New Industrial State”, recorded by Randle’s granddaughter Imogen Moon with help from none other than Ian Hendrickson-Smith (The Roots) and the Dap-Kings. Moon and her band transform the early 70’s folky protest tunes into full blown soul masterpieces, while never losing sight of the relevance of Randle’s compositions in modern times.
Boy Golden - For Jimmy
Boy Golden’s new EP For Jimmy immediately announces itself as much more earnest than the songwriter’s 2021 record Church of Better Daze. It feels more personal and more insightful, without losing the shambolic charm of Boy Golden’s debut. The EP also leans harder into traditional country sounds that previous work, and it fits Boy Golden’s voice and his storytelling slant like a glove.
The Nico Tobias Band - “Warm Beer”
Warm beer is a bummer; “Warm Beer”, however, is a revelation. The Nico Tobias Band’s latest single features a tight country groove, with all the ripping guitar licks and slant rhymes you could possibly want. Tobias himself is a fantastic storyteller in the vein of fellow Albertan Corb Lund; there’s an effortlessness to the lyrics here, and a casual quality to the storytelling that just feels like a good bud telling you about his weekend over a few ‘sners. Except it rhymes.
Kira Sheppard - “Internet Moon”
Kira Sheppard is a Newfoundland based harpist making work that is spacey, surreal, beautiful, and utterly confounding all at once. The comparisons to Joanna Newsom are inevitable (after all, there aren’t that many songwriter/harpists out there), but on her new single “Internet Moon”, Sheppard sings with an eerie detachment about, well, the internet. It is poetic and artsy, yes, but it is also deeply funny in a winking kind of way that is an excellent contrast to the cinematic quality of the harp as an instrument.
- Sean Davis Newton