When most people think of defiant music, they think of punk rock or outlaw country. But defying genres while transcending eras and resisting clichés is hard to pin down when it comes to artistry—unless you’re talking about Miss Tess, who does all of that and more on her new release, The Moon Is an Ashtray. Swinging for the fences and from the branches of jazz, country, blues and old school rock and roll, she has employed all of her influences and talents on a tour-de-force, while cleverly taking standard perspectives and ideas—like the definition of a love song—to task.

To help capture and shape her own unique sound, Miss Tess enlisted not only her trusty 1930s Weymann archtop, but also heavy input from co-producers Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) and Thomas Bryan Eaton, her full-time bandmate and musical partner. Tess elaborates, “I think Andrija’s indie leanings were pivotal in taking these songs into a transcendent space, while still supporting my initial vision. He definitely pushed me in new ways and the three of us found a very interesting mix between bold experimentation and a more traditional approach.” Combining Thomas’s arranging ideas and skilled instrumental work with Andrija’s studio full of vintage mics, tube amps, keyboards, and tape machines, the resulting record has a rich, buttery warmth well-suited to Miss Tess's voice and authentic, retro-contemporary songwriting style. 

Dark River is the upcoming album from Nashville based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lydia Luce, which transcends personal turmoil to create an evocative collection of songs. Spellbinding strings and dream like piano soundscapes soundtrack Luce’s hypnotic vocals, which give voice to personal stories about learning to accept sadness and loneliness in order to find clarity of mind. 

For Luce, work on Dark River began after a tumultuous breakup in the summer of 2019. Describing herself as a “extrovert who finds it difficult to sit still in the face of anxiety,” Luce gave in to her restlessness, and decided to take a solo trip to the Pacific Northwest later that summer. She wanted to spend time in nature, hoping that the space would inspire the creative process for her next album. Between attempting a risky summit hike on Mount Saint Helen and even falling ill in the Colorado mountains while camping, Luce did not do much writing, but she was able to face her feelings. Luce shared, “By isolating myself in the mountains, I was able to sit quietly in sadness and let myself feel the deep loneliness I was trying to avoid.”