psych folk

Meggan Carney: “Ketchup”

Despite the already-blistering temps down here in Texas, Summer doesn’t officially start for another couple weeks. And with exactly one month to go until Independence Day, Hot Dog Season is coming up quick too. But you can’t have hot dogs without ketchup, right?

Well, we’re set to have plenty of ketchup on deck over the summer thanks to our November 2018 Artist of the Month Zettajoule’s frontwoman Meggan Carney. These days Carney’s up north in New Jersey raising a family with her fellow Zettajouler Matt Sheffer. It’s a big life update and a gargantuan undertaking, but that hasn’t made Meggan forget about her musical roots. Nope, a full decade removed from her last EP BOMBZ AWAY, Meggan Carney’s finally back pursuing her passion in solo songwriting.

Perhaps inspired by her now-two-year-old son, and consequently any toddler’s favorite condiment, Meggan Carney will be sharing a sling of singles over the upcoming months that’ll be bottled together as The Ketchup Chronicles. The Ketchup Chronicles‘ first dab – aptly titled “Ketchup“ – came out a month back. “Ketchup” doesn’t attempt to be overly fancy in its phonics; instead it relishes in the lo-fi indie folk psychedelia that’s always made Meggan such a treat to listen to. But with production provided by Sheffer himself, “Ketchup” is a huge step up in sound from Meggan’s pre-existing discography, retro sensibilities aside. Seriously, “Ketchup” sounds like a long lost tape from the ’70s, that, just like ketchup packets, enjoys zero listed expiration date.

So what are you waiting for? Catch up with Carney and The Ketchup Chronicles before your plate gets too full.

John Inghram: “Little Mountain Mama”

Anyone who practices mindfulness and meditation will tell you that being in the moment is a big deal. The most successful goal-oriented individuals will say it’s never too late to start chasing dreams. Those two fundamentals boil down to seizing the day, something that John Inghram‘s taken to heart in recent times. The Charleston, West Virginia bassist spent almost twenty years as a four-string for-hire across the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic and funneled much of his short-term gains into frivolous partying. But Inghram’s since recognized that his talent isn’t just a commodity for other artists, that he’s got the gumption to ‘carpe diem’ and tackle a project on his own. Which brings us to Inghram’s debut self-titled full-length, nine tracks of vintage-style, Americana-aerated psych-folk-rock. It was recorded at two different studios over the past two years, which led to a creative compartmentalization of Inghram’s jazz and bluegrass influences (the latter of which culminated in a guest appearance from bluegrass legend Tim O’Brien). So when John Inghram drops tomorrow, don’t get caught up in the creepy conventions of Friday the 13th. Instead, soak up these surreal songs like the sun on a long wilderness hike, with misty, audacious arrangements like “Little Mountain Mama”.

Michael Cormier: “More Light!”

As drummer for Friendship and songwriter for Hour, multi-instrumentalist Michael Cormier‘s already made quite the impact on Philadelphia’s music scene. And that’s not even including his solo work that dates back to his 2019 debuts Days Like Pearls and M-F, which both introduced us to the inherent human nature of Cormier’s profound folk.

In the brief couple years since, Cormier’s furthered himself even more from distractions to fully focus on his latest artistic offering, More Light!!!. As you may have been able to guess from its triple punctuation, More Light!!! illuminates Cormier’s passion with a bit more psychedelic energy than its stripped down folk predecessors, and you can catch some of its shine early with its just-released title track!