Breaking Thru
Discovery is the lifeblood of music. In Breaking Thru we give a listen to independent artists that are making music that needs to be heard. Please give a listen, follow, and support DIY performers.
Dead Horses (from the album Brady Street available on Vos & Wolff Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
A hazy mix of Indie Americana, Dead Horses blend syncopated jazz and EDM rhythms, electric guitar snarls, and whiskey-warmed vocals for the sounds in Brady Street, their latest release. Folk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Mountain music, and Delta Blues, Dead Horses touch their tunes with multiple musical elements to create lush, inviting textures. “Bird Over the Train” floats lazily like its avian namesake while “Ward’ spins on a revolving wheel of rhythms that ebb and flow under gentle, nearly whispered vocals. Milwaukee-based Dead Horses craft beautiful melodies; fragile Folk and intricate weavings of Americana point to the future state of music. Brady Street counts leaves of grass over the sturdy beat of “Birds Can Write the Chorus” as Dead Horses ramp up the rhythms to recall pandemic times for “Days Grow Longer”, remind “You Are Who You Need to Be”, and harmonize in layers for the title track. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Dead Horses on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on Dead Horses website
The Local Honeys (from the album The Local Honeys available on La Honda Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
The stories are from eastern mountain rural regions of the U.S. though through the magic of The Local Honeys harmony, the tales on their self-titled release are small town universal. The pain of losing a treasured family member is a heart hurt when The Local Honeys hug their ponies each morning in “Dead Horses”. Lonesome banjo notes and fiddle pulls lead a path into The Local Honeys with opening cut “The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore” as the pair hear the absence of train wheels hitting tracks as a roaring silence while the sonics of “Toadstool” put an Indie modern touch on stories as old as the hills that birthed the tales. A raggedy rushed rhythm pushes “If I Could Quit” as a western swing wind spins “The Ballad of Frank & Billy Buck”, a ribbon winning prize heads to pasture for “Last Mule in the Holler”, and The Local Honeys make a last wish to close out the album with “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die)”. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to The Local Honeys on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on The Local Honeys website
Martha Spencer (from the album Wonderland available on Gingham Rose Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
A mountaintop in Virginia is ground zero for the music of Martha Spencer. Her voice is the sound of Appalachia, the wind gently blowing through the trees, drifting slowly like water running swiftly in the spring, warm like a big blaze in the hearth, and tender as a lovers whisper cuddled in bed against a winter’s cold. Wonderland, her latest release, collects sixteen songs of the mountains. A ghostly tale of a wandering spirit for “Bringing Mary Home”, the bounce of the banjo for its instrumental take in “Midsummer Serenade”, the sad reverie in “Banks of New River”, the string snarls weaving under “Enchantress”, and skat yodels of the title track; Martha Spencer is a shiny new gem in the crown of Mountain music. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Martha Spencer on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on the Martha Spencer website
The Lilliston Effect (from the album El Bull available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
Smooth grooves, playful riffs, solid backbeats, and powerful horn accents. The Lilliston Effect take their music very seriously while keeping the sound fun on El Bull, their recent release. “The Jungle Beat” offer a toast to a Tequila melody as The Lilliston Effect set the album in motion by entering El Bull on a bounce in “Funky Montgomery”, get a dial for smooth Southern Soul for “Soul Song”, and float on island rhythms with “Spanish Horsefly”. Soul, Funk, Blue Jazz, and top-tapping dancing beats, The Lilliston Effect an instrumental cure to a bad day with sunshine grooves and transformative rhythms. El Bull tosses out a dance floor challenge to ignore the seductive beat of “Juke Joint” and drifts lazily on a sleepy groove in “Memphis (Going to)” as The Lilliston Effect set a percussive foundation for the title track. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to The Lilliston Effect on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on The Lilliston Effect website
Early James (from the album Strange Time to Be Alive available on Easy Eye Sound/Concord) (by Danny McCloskey)
A haze of Blue Jazz surrounds the songs of Early James. He opens Strange to Be Alive, his recent release, with the stop/start beat of “Racing to a Redlight”. Lyrically, Early James takes his place among Southern Gothic storytellers such as Eudora Welty and William Faulkner. A funhouse of fractured rhythms and riffs is the foundation for Early James to dedicate a murder ballad to “My Sweet Camelia” as Strange Times to Be Alive offers fashion advice with “Straitjacket for Two”, tumbles through “Wasted and Wanting” on a rumbling groove, and whispers a melody for the red flag resume of “Splenda Daddy”. Produced by Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Strange Times to Be Alive showcases a unique take on music from Early James, creating a normalcy for free-floating rhythms (“This is a Strange Time to Be Alive”), making a mighty roller coaster groove out of distorted instrumentation (“Harder to Blame”), and picks a path through a chaotic front porch Folk jam (“If Heaven is a Hotel”). Early James is joined by the Yma-Sumac mystery vocals of Sierra Ferrell for a smoky “Real Low Down Lonesome”. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Early James on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on Early James website
Blue Moon Marquee (from the album Scream, Holler & Howl available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
Blue Moon Marquee are on the move, heading down to the honky tonk with a pocketful of good intentions and loose change for the jukebox promising to “Scream, Holler & Howl” as a remedy for what ails ya’ on the title track to their recent release. Twang to tango, Blue Moon Marquee are a spinning wheel of sound in Scream, Holler & Howl. Country and Western swing kicks up sawdust with “My Wild Rose”, late night Blues noir sings a love song in “Thunderbird”, quietly whispers “Another Night to Cry” with rainy day acoustics, and a wriggling riff beckons seductively to “Come on Down”. Co-produced by Duke Robillard, the Canadian duo wrap Scream, Holler & Howl in the Blues, strutting out “Hound Dog on a Chain” on a rattling rhythm, traipsing alongside a jazzy pied piper horn call in Lowlands as Blue Moon Marquee shine a single spotlight on the cabaret nod to “Old Alberta”, sway to a smiling shuffle with “Medicine Man”, and board “Long Black Train”, letting the rolling wheels define the rhythm and listen to the conductor share his tale. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Blue Moon Marquee on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on the Blue Moon Marquee website
Spotify EMBED:
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/6wXbCkCvBfJEjVYuI148IN?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
A hazy mix of Indie Americana, Dead Horses blend syncopated jazz and EDM rhythms, electric guitar snarls, and whiskey-warmed vocals for the sounds in Brady Street, their latest release. Folk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Mountain music, and Delta Blues, Dead Horses touch their tunes with multiple musical elements to create lush, inviting textures. “Bird Over the Train” floats lazily like its avian namesake while “Ward’ spins on a revolving wheel of rhythms that ebb and flow under gentle, nearly whispered vocals. Milwaukee-based Dead Horses craft beautiful melodies; fragile Folk and intricate weavings of Americana point to the future state of music. Brady Street counts leaves of grass over the sturdy beat of “Birds Can Write the Chorus” as Dead Horses ramp up the rhythms to recall pandemic times for “Days Grow Longer”, remind “You Are Who You Need to Be”, and harmonize in layers for the title track. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Dead Horses on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on Dead Horses website
The Local Honeys (from the album The Local Honeys available on La Honda Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
The stories are from eastern mountain rural regions of the U.S. though through the magic of The Local Honeys harmony, the tales on their self-titled release are small town universal. The pain of losing a treasured family member is a heart hurt when The Local Honeys hug their ponies each morning in “Dead Horses”. Lonesome banjo notes and fiddle pulls lead a path into The Local Honeys with opening cut “The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore” as the pair hear the absence of train wheels hitting tracks as a roaring silence while the sonics of “Toadstool” put an Indie modern touch on stories as old as the hills that birthed the tales. A raggedy rushed rhythm pushes “If I Could Quit” as a western swing wind spins “The Ballad of Frank & Billy Buck”, a ribbon winning prize heads to pasture for “Last Mule in the Holler”, and The Local Honeys make a last wish to close out the album with “Throw Me in the Thicket (When I Die)”. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to The Local Honeys on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on The Local Honeys website
Martha Spencer (from the album Wonderland available on Gingham Rose Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
A mountaintop in Virginia is ground zero for the music of Martha Spencer. Her voice is the sound of Appalachia, the wind gently blowing through the trees, drifting slowly like water running swiftly in the spring, warm like a big blaze in the hearth, and tender as a lovers whisper cuddled in bed against a winter’s cold. Wonderland, her latest release, collects sixteen songs of the mountains. A ghostly tale of a wandering spirit for “Bringing Mary Home”, the bounce of the banjo for its instrumental take in “Midsummer Serenade”, the sad reverie in “Banks of New River”, the string snarls weaving under “Enchantress”, and skat yodels of the title track; Martha Spencer is a shiny new gem in the crown of Mountain music. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Martha Spencer on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on the Martha Spencer website
The Lilliston Effect (from the album El Bull available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
Smooth grooves, playful riffs, solid backbeats, and powerful horn accents. The Lilliston Effect take their music very seriously while keeping the sound fun on El Bull, their recent release. “The Jungle Beat” offer a toast to a Tequila melody as The Lilliston Effect set the album in motion by entering El Bull on a bounce in “Funky Montgomery”, get a dial for smooth Southern Soul for “Soul Song”, and float on island rhythms with “Spanish Horsefly”. Soul, Funk, Blue Jazz, and top-tapping dancing beats, The Lilliston Effect an instrumental cure to a bad day with sunshine grooves and transformative rhythms. El Bull tosses out a dance floor challenge to ignore the seductive beat of “Juke Joint” and drifts lazily on a sleepy groove in “Memphis (Going to)” as The Lilliston Effect set a percussive foundation for the title track. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to The Lilliston Effect on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on The Lilliston Effect website
Early James (from the album Strange Time to Be Alive available on Easy Eye Sound/Concord) (by Danny McCloskey)
A haze of Blue Jazz surrounds the songs of Early James. He opens Strange to Be Alive, his recent release, with the stop/start beat of “Racing to a Redlight”. Lyrically, Early James takes his place among Southern Gothic storytellers such as Eudora Welty and William Faulkner. A funhouse of fractured rhythms and riffs is the foundation for Early James to dedicate a murder ballad to “My Sweet Camelia” as Strange Times to Be Alive offers fashion advice with “Straitjacket for Two”, tumbles through “Wasted and Wanting” on a rumbling groove, and whispers a melody for the red flag resume of “Splenda Daddy”. Produced by Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Strange Times to Be Alive showcases a unique take on music from Early James, creating a normalcy for free-floating rhythms (“This is a Strange Time to Be Alive”), making a mighty roller coaster groove out of distorted instrumentation (“Harder to Blame”), and picks a path through a chaotic front porch Folk jam (“If Heaven is a Hotel”). Early James is joined by the Yma-Sumac mystery vocals of Sierra Ferrell for a smoky “Real Low Down Lonesome”. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Early James on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on Early James website
Blue Moon Marquee (from the album Scream, Holler & Howl available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
Blue Moon Marquee are on the move, heading down to the honky tonk with a pocketful of good intentions and loose change for the jukebox promising to “Scream, Holler & Howl” as a remedy for what ails ya’ on the title track to their recent release. Twang to tango, Blue Moon Marquee are a spinning wheel of sound in Scream, Holler & Howl. Country and Western swing kicks up sawdust with “My Wild Rose”, late night Blues noir sings a love song in “Thunderbird”, quietly whispers “Another Night to Cry” with rainy day acoustics, and a wriggling riff beckons seductively to “Come on Down”. Co-produced by Duke Robillard, the Canadian duo wrap Scream, Holler & Howl in the Blues, strutting out “Hound Dog on a Chain” on a rattling rhythm, traipsing alongside a jazzy pied piper horn call in Lowlands as Blue Moon Marquee shine a single spotlight on the cabaret nod to “Old Alberta”, sway to a smiling shuffle with “Medicine Man”, and board “Long Black Train”, letting the rolling wheels define the rhythm and listen to the conductor share his tale. (by Danny McCloskey)
Listen to Blue Moon Marquee on Spotify
Find more information and purchase options on the Blue Moon Marquee website
Spotify EMBED:
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/6wXbCkCvBfJEjVYuI148IN?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
