LA music

Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation: “Let The Sunshine In”

To all the Texans, Happy Belated Juneteenth! Even if you’re out of the state, we hope you got to unwind, enjoy some much-needed shade, and maybe even connect better with your local community over the weekend. When it comes to that last bit, there aren’t a whole lot of creatives that’ve gotten tight with their community quite like Los Angeles producer-arranger-singer-songwriter Jimetta Rose. Rose put out an open call for community choir members on social media and whittled down the prospects based more on their passion for growth and healing rather than sole musical ability. The result is a fervent and diverse nine-piece, The Voices of Creation. With a constituency that includes Sly Stone’s daughter (alto Novena Carmel), Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation quickly invites comparisons to progressive gospel, jazz, and soul groups of the ’60s and ’70s, but thanks to Rose’s visionary instincts, The Voices of Creation caters comfortably to contemporary listeners. Last Tuesday, Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation announced their debut album, How Good It Is, for release on August 12th. Produced by Beastie Boys/Seu Jorge cohort Mario Caldato Jr. and recorded in an East Pasadena church, How Good It Is offers six uplifting tracks of “new Black classical music” as means of formally introducing The Voices of Creation. The original gospel numbers are impeccably inspiring, but the two Sons and Daughters of Lite re-works (like “Let The Sunshine In”) really earmark the ingenuity of this deep and divine debut record.

NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS: “bad things”

Hyperpop…despite its glittery surface-level sound, it’s decidedly not just a genre for teenage girls. But let’s be honest, it’s primarily produced for and consumed by women of younger generations, so you need to cater directly to that audience. Enter NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS, an L.A. “girl group” that’s really not all that different from The Supremes or The Go-Gos; they write about peer pressure, insecurity, bad friends and even worse guys but it’s only the dramatic, digital-age pop sonics that separate NTMC from their analog predecessors. When you take this trio’s confidence and candor into account, it’s hard not to mistake them for pop protagonists. Their debut EP, bad things come in 3’s, leans into that superpowered mythos with sub-rattling bangers and party anthems for a new generation. NTMC dropped bad things come in 3’s last Friday, so make like Professor Utonium and witness the birth of an awesomely empowered triad with the album opener and title track, “bad things”!

BETWEEN FRIENDS: “laurel”

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, it’s not that often that siblings maintain the closeness of their childhood. But there are obviously exceptions, be they Peyton and Eli Manning, Finneas O’Connell and Billie Eilish, or L.A.’s Brandon and Savannah Hudson. The Hudsons have stayed faithful to their commitment of being best buds, a pact made easier by their creative chemistry. They’ve dubbed their partnership BETWEEN FRIENDS, and have already begun conquering endeavors in fashion, set design, abstract visuals, and of course, songwriting. BETWEEN FRIENDS’ preferences are decidedly within the realm of modern pop, but the duo’s youthful curiosity has led to experimentation with psychedelia, ’90s alt-R&B, and even mid-century easy listening. Having only recently entered their early twenties, BETWEEN FRIENDS is eager to catapult their music career and present all those amalgamated styles on their debut EP, cutie. cutie delivers nine vibrant pop tracks that your headphones won’t want to stop hugging. cutie also comes alongside its own set of MTV/Nickelodeon-inspired visuals, Cutie TV, which drops on June 10th, just two days after BETWEEN FRIENDS opens for Halsey on her Love And Power tour. cutie‘s latest single ,”laurel” pays tribute to the Hudsons’ teenage home Laurel Canyon (also an iconic 1970s music hub) with hypnotic vocal effects, jazzy synth chords, and head-bobbing digital percussion.

Traetwothree: “Stuck In My Ways” (feat. Blueface)

Everyone’s referencing “four twenty” on this Wednesday, but if you’re sick of all the pot talk, you may want to shift your focus to another set of symbolic numbers: 323. That’s the area code for South Central, Los Angeles, which is the handle inspiration and home base for rising R&B star Traetwothree. And as opposed to the 40 oz-guzzling, blunt-passing braggadocio of ’90s West Coast hip-hop, Traetwothree tries to recreate the nighttime aesthetic of South Central – somewhere between sensual, introspective, and vulnerable. His half-rapped/half-sung style is plenty confident without being egregiously arrogant, and his use of auto-tune is more of a stylistic choice rather than a pitch-correcting necessity.

So far we’ve only had singles from Traetwothree, going back to 2019’s “Natural” but next Friday he’ll be releasing his debut mixtape, Out The District. At just shy of a dozen tracks, Out The District ushers in a new era of urban R&B for the 2020s, with crystal clear production, jazz-inspired chord progressions, and Traetwothree’s liquid vocals. Each track packs an infectious groove and relatable imagery, most notably on “Stuck In My Ways”, where Traetwothree’s in-the-pocket singing is balanced out by bars from fellow Los Angeleno Blueface.

The Whitmore Sisters: “Superficial World of Love”

At just past the halfway mark forLove Austin Music Month we should recognize that not every Austinite stayed in town for their latest releases. Case in point: Austin’s Bonnie Whitmore, who after a string of successful solo albums, joined her older sibling Eleanor in Los Angeles to realize their folk project The Whitmore Sisters. And after years apart, their shared sororal energy and equal-but-opposite worldly experiences have swirled together beautifully for the pair’s debut LP Ghost Stories. Ghost Stories is out this Friday and The Whitmore Sisters hit the road for a supporting international tour at the end of the month, though they’ve already globe-trotted plenty in the emotional landscape from the sounds of “Superficial World of Love”!

Stephan Moccio: “Winter Waltz (The Music Box Version)”

Here we are at the final Song of the Day for 2021 and with just one week away until Christmas Eve, this one’s an extra sentimental seasonal pick. It comes from the mind of L.A.’s Stephan Moccio, who, outside of a successful solo career has some seriously impressive co-writing credits: “Wrecking Ball” from Miley Cyrus, the title track from Celine Dion’s A New Day Has Come, and The Weeknd’s “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Gray)”, on which he also played the pivotal piano parts. This Ontario-born Grammy-and-Oscar-nominee’s had a pretty busy year, releasing his serials Vol. 4 through Vol. 6 (all compiled together on THE ARCHIVES) alongside a breathtaking full-length, Lionheart. But with an almost unquenchable sense of ambition, Moccio’s managed to squeeze out just one more masterpiece in 2021. Less a remix and more a spiritual companion to one of his originals off last year’s Winter Poems, “Winter Waltz (The Music Box Version)” will warm you with its incandescent chords and whisk you away from any Christmastime anxiety. Song of the Day returns Monday, January 3rd.

EXES with Luke Wild: “Girl of My Dreams”

One of the trickiest parts of pop songwriting is conveying emotion in a genuine way that’s both catchy and accessible. But for L.A. duo EXES – vocalist Allie McDonald and producer Mike Derenzo – that’s their bread and butter. Thesekindred collaborators have been creeping up into the indie pop scene since 2019 and coming off the alternative sounds heard on their EP Nothing Ever Ends, EXES is eager to explore more elements of rock on their upcoming full-length, Don’t Give Up On Me Now. Don’t Give Up On Me Now is due out February 4th, 2022, right around the same time EXES hits the road for a quick national tour. The LP’s announcement coincided with the release of its debut single (and charmingly cinematic music video) last Friday, one that’s co-written by featured singer Luke Wild but is far from a traditional love song in spite of its title, “Girl of My Dreams”.

Sydney Ranée: “One Night Only”

L.A. native Sydney Ranée first started putting her pipes to work when she turned double digits, got a Bachelor’s in Music from Cornish, and now has fans across the globe. On top of being a virtuoso vocalist, some of Ranée’s more recent endeavors have included exploring the endless world of music production and dipping her toes into the fashion realm with her own custom wardrobe.

Last Friday Sydney Ranée shared another new cut off her upcoming album, a mesmerizing R&B-jazz-pop accomplishment that gives the likes of Lizzo a run for their money, “One Night Only”!

Petticoat: “Get Loose!”

At a junction of ’80s-style synth-work, millennium-era R&B, and modern electronic experimentation, L.A. producer David Halsey, better known to the world as Petticoat, is inching closer and closer to a truly timeless sound. Which is impressive to say the least, considering he’s only in his mid-20s, but that youth has allowed Halsey to overlook some of the restraining factors of retro new wave formulas and instead extrapolate the genre’s finest nuances and appropriate them into poppy, dance floor-ready club bangers.

This morning Petticoat revealed the roadmap for his new EP, Tumbleweed, an announcement that coincided with the record’s jaw-dropping lead single and flamingo-friendly music video, “Get Loose!“, which both feature that all-too-classic Led Zeppelin “When The Levee Breaks” drum sample and are sure to help you unwind into the weekend.

Mia Doi Todd: “If I Don’t Have You”

Dating back to 1997’s The Ewe and the Eye, L.A. songwriter Mia Doi Todd has permeated an evolving world of parallels; a personality that’s sensuous but stern, curt but existential, and packing a philosophy based on her experiences that still manages universal appropriateness.

Mia Doi Todd’s been challenging the bards of antiquity with her own modern mythologies ever since, and expanded on her jazz-folk sound last week with Music Life. Pairing originals with covers of classics, Music Life breathes effortlessly with Mia Doi Todd’s airy aesthetic, especially on her acoustic rendition of Gregory Isaacs’ “If I Don’t Have You”!

Chris Pierce: “It’s Been Burning for a While”

L.A. multi-instrumentalist Chris Pierce began losing his hearing at the formative age of fifteen. But instead of hindering his progress, Pierce let it push him to new levels of awareness and musicianship. Fast forward to 2021, where Pierce’s performance passport has grown to include supporting spots for the likes of Aaron Neville, B.B. King, Seal, Al Green, Blind Boys of Alabama and more.

The latest expansion on Pierce’s folksy brand of acoustic soul came with last Friday’s American Silence LP, ten tracks of poignant political observations and reactions drawn together by Pierce’s guitar, harmonica, and vocals. It’s a powerful full-length to say the least, and has all the elements of prime-era Bob Dylan and Richie Havens, especially on “It’s Been Burning for a While”!

Julietta: “Not Today”

It feels like just yesterday that then-New Yorker Julietta was being hailed in the indie pop-ulace for her 2018 debut album Smooth Sailing. But now that she’s well acclimated to a new coast out in L.A., this singer’s spirits are ascending even further with each bold new single.

Julietta’s set to share six new tracks within the next month, forming a cube of indie-pop audacity with her upcoming EP, Levitate. Levitate reaches its optimal altitude on February 5th, and get her listeners’ heads pointed skyward, today Julietta dropped the record’s infectious first offering, “Not Today”!