Song of the Day

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May 1, 2023

Last Planet: “Seaglass”

By: Jack Anderson

In today’s inclusive landscape of listener tastes, even the tiniest traces of crossover can lead to big impact craters later on. But for that to work, an artist had best select the strongest elements from a finite geography of genres rather than overpopulate their originals with way too many styles. That “quality over quantity” formula’s been followed by far too many to list out here, but we can say for sure that the recent roster includes Last Planet. It all started in 2018 when two Guitar Center co-workers, Cort Young and Albero Berul, broke out of the showroom and began bridging gaps across continents of genre and decade. Right around the time that Last Planet released their debut EP Petrichor in 2021, this Oakland outfit had evolved into a seasoned sextet, whose new emphasis on steamy female vocals finally codified their genre-melting core underneath a defined crust of soul/R&B-meets-modern rock. Last Planet’s undying dedication to Bayside-pleasing grooves has already given us two studio singles in 2023, last month’s “Whiskey Breath“, and March’s “Picture of Us“. But as the seasons change, so does the climate of Last Planet’s latest single. “Seaglass” instantly stands out against its two harder-rocking predecessors by taking a breezy neo-psych-soul approach to this hazy, four-minute, naturally-polished seduction. It’s like what Pink Floyd would’ve sounded like if they’d decided to record “Great Gig in the Sky” with Jill Scott instead, and at the turn of the millennium. Needless to say, if you’re not a stone’s throw away from a beach like Last Planet, “Seaglass” will instantly transport you to the stoned, care-free aesthetic of an oceanside outing, be it romantic or recreational.

Episodes

April 30, 2024

Grandmaster: “Castle Door”

Watch out, Golden Dawn Arkestra…there’s a new costumed collective in town, and they’re hunting for for fresh converts! But instead of frenetic Afro-inspired dance grooves, these fanatics have so far stuck to the slower side of ’70s-style jazz funk rock; think War whisked together with Steely Dan. Not that you’d be able to tell from […]

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April 29, 2024

Trip Cigs: “Comeback Kid”

When a seasoned musician wades out of their genre comfort zone, you love to hear it. Because the technical expertise, jam stamina, and songwriting skills are already in place, but opening the gate to different inspirations and influences is always a welcome breath of fresh air. So let’s talk Rod Gator, who – as you […]

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April 24, 2024

Viben: “Pablo Picasso”

Lyrics are a fickle field. You can be wordy as hell, hoping that at least one line sticks in listener’s minds. Or, you could just loop the hell out of some barebones sentences – guaranteed to have a lot more hypnotic staying power through sheer repetition, especially in the realm of dance music. Now let’s […]

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April 24, 2024

Rett Smith: “Sunsets”

In terms of musical association, at least outside the world of film soundtracks, U.S. southwestern scenery often gets associated with country. But there’s a certain psychedelic quality to our regional deserts that we just love to see artists embrace. Folks like Rett Smith, based here in Austin, but bred out of West Texas, so you […]

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April 23, 2024

Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any creative endeavor, there’s an opportunity to move the needle in many directions, which makes “success” […]

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April 22, 2024

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors: “Suffering”

The very nature of Americana is rooted in traditional music. But it also lies at the crossroads between folk, country, and rock. So if an Americana act decides to veer into new lanes, the choices are limited and somewhat predictable. And yet it’s still such a joy to hear an artist explore new sonic territory, […]

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April 19, 2024

Melotheory: “Breathe”

When you have roommates, at least good ones you get along with, group activities naturally arise around the house. For most folks, it’s watching TV, recreational smoking and drinking, or maybe the occasional board game. For musicians, however, having a practice space within eyeshot of your bedroom door is too good of a scenario to […]

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April 17, 2024

Rhythm&Truth and Sakari: “Bring It All Back”

We won’t say that successful collaborations should mandate a solo artist’s trajectory. But if something built together leaves people wanting more, it’s not a bad idea to get back together and sate those desires, right? Because what’s unachievable on the individual level often just needs to get catalyzed by some good collabo chemistry. So let’s […]

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