Listen Local: New Louisville Music

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Dewey Kincade has been through a lot: numerous bands and Navigators lineups, national tours, defunct record labels, moves from Louisville to New York and back to Louisville, cancer, fatherhood, and who knows what else. But through it all — going back to the late ‘80s -— Dewey has never stopped making music. Still, it was rather surprising to see that not only a new Navigators album had been released, but Kincade was resurrecting the band after 15 years with an all-new, all-star Louisville lineup. While Standing on a Rock is not technically a new record — Kincade having recorded it with an older lineup of The Navigators back in the late 2000’s — it remained unreleased up until recently when Kincade brought in Grammy-nominated producer Andrew McKenna Lee to mix it. And thankfully he did because this is arguably his best work yet! Kincade and the band are absolutely on fire here! Standout tracks like the bluesy classic country of “Why,” the poppy upbeat indie rock vibe of the title track, the old-time spiritual feel of “I Crossed the Water,” the slower ‘90s rock groove of “Get Out of Touch,” and the bluesy Black Crows feel of album closer “Roll, Baby Roll” make this quite possibly the best roots rock/Americana album to come out in at least the last decade. Standing on a Rock is 10 tracks of essential music you need to hear! Americana artists take note, your new gold standard has arrived.

deweykincade.com

Musick Harris
A Part of My Life - EP

Now I’m not saying Louisville-native Musick Harris’ five-song EP A Part of My Life should come with a warning label, but “Warning: may cause pregnancy” would certainly be a fitting one if it did. This is old-school R&B; sultry, sexy, romantic, seductive, and rhythmically sensual. These are the kind of bedroom-ready slow-jams that made everyone fall in love with Usher, R. Kelly, Ginuwine, and Ne-Yo back in the day. The kind of libido-supercharging music that, if played in the presence of someone else’s significant other, ends in a great night for you but causes some major issues in their relationship. What I admire most about this is that Harris actually has the chops to pull it off. His voice is velvety-smooth and limber, flowing seemingly effortlessly through every note, breaking into a stunning Usher-esque falsetto to hit the highs, and peppering it with a charismatic hip-hop swagger when necessary. Self-described as a “five chapter musical account of [Musick’s] past, present and future experiences with love,” A Part of My Life showcases Harris’ gift for storytelling; using each song to masterfully pull the listener into the story and  carry them through to the end. All five songs also have a music video to accompany them; further helping bring the listener into his story. A Part of My Life is a captivating journey into the realms of love, passion, and desire that proves Musick Harris is a name to be remembered.

musickharris.com

Peter Wesley
“Mixed Feelings”- single

“I know I need healing because I got two feelings; defeated/conceited” raps Louisville artist Peter Wesley in the refrain of his latest single “Mixed Feelings.” “The overall concept is the idea of juggling different emotions. Rap is competitive, but I don’t always feel my best. I’m very critical of myself, but I still know I’m better than you,” said Wesley of the song. The cockiness, along with his signature constant flow and obscure wrestling references, is just part of his style. And he has every reason to be cocky, the man is undeniably talented. Eminem comparisons are inevitable due to his speed of his flow and skills behind the mic. At the same time he also comes across as very likable and relatable; many of his rhymes dealing with deep introspection and his personal struggles. Like his love of professional wrestling, Wesley wears his vulnerabilities on his sleeve, unafraid and unashamed to show you who he truly is and to do his own thing his own way rather than follow the crowd. And impressively, he’s able to do it all without cursing, (for the most part). “Mixed Feelings” is engaging, candid and honest. This wasn’t someone just writing down words that rhyme to fit a theme. You can tell Wesley means every word he says and he delivers them with complete conviction. This is a man on top of his game.
linktr.ee/peterwesley

Quiet Confidence
Quiet Confidence - album

Four years after singer-songwriter-multi-]-instrumentalist and Louisville native Ryan Lane began writing songs and recording demos during the pandemic in an attempt to stay sane while serving as a frontline worker, and one year after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Quiet Confidence’s debut full-length album is finally set to be released on March 9. Is it worth the wait? That answer is a resounding yes! Starting with the incredible opening track “What Do You Say?,” which builds up to an amazing, explosive crescendo, this album doesn’t let up beginning to end. 10 tracks total, including the four previously-released singles; take your pick, all of them are potential hits. Lane is able to hit a sweet spot between indie pop, alt-rock, and early-2000s emo, fully envelope the best qualities of those genres and bring them out into extremely catchy, hook-laden, powerful original tunes that are impossible to ignore; drawing comparisons to The Chainsmokers, Illenium, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Twenty One Pilots, and early Coldplay. And the production here is impeccable: all instruments and especially Lane’s voice coming through crisp, clear, and melding together perfectly. Make no mistake, this is as solid of an album as they come. Quiet Confidence is a multi-million dollar check just waiting to be cashed!

Catch Quiet Confidence live at the album release show on Saturday, March 9 at Mag Bar with Casey Powell, Yellow Cellophane, and Half Nelson. Show starts at 8:00 pm, $10 at the door.
linktr.ee/quiet.confidence

Shadowtime
Volume 01 - EP

Bradley Coomes is a man of many faces, musically speaking. The former bassist for Louisville indie rock/power pop greats The Pine Club, (among several other bands), has done everything from the aforementioned to dream pop to noise, most recently releasing some amazing solo instrumental psychedelic shoegaze material. So one would be right to be caught off-guard by Coomes doing a straightforward, no-frills rock album; yet that is exactly what he’s done with his latest project Shadowtime. A collaboration with Kimberly Kornmeier of darkwave/synth pop band Bow Ever Down, Shadowtime pairs Kornmeier’s lyrics and vocals with Coomes instrumentation and production. The interesting thing to note here is that Coomes and Kornmeier have never met in person, (Kornmeier resides in Topsham, Maine), yet through the power of the internet were able to work together to bring Shadowtime to life. The result is a sound rooted in late ‘80s/early ‘90s alternative and indie rock that draws influences from the likes of Velvet Underground, Big Star, the Smiths, (early) REM, and others. Kornmeier delivers a strong, earnest yet vulnerable and heartfelt vocal performance reminiscent of early Pat Benatar, while Coomes provides a solid instrumental backbone to drive it all home. The recording and production, done at Coomes’ own Laundry Room Studios and Records, give the seven songs on this EP a stripped-down, raw, yet bright and expansive sound. Fans of the aforementioned bands and ‘80s/’90s alternative and indie rock in general would do right to check Shadowtime out ASAP.

bradleycoomes.bandzoogle.com

Louisville’s Slang Words is one of those bands that everyone is going to hear differently. You get 10 people in a room together to listen to this and you’ll get 10 different answers to what style of music they think this is, what bands/artists they remind them of, and what they think the lyrics mean. Slang Words’ sound is paradoxical: familiar yet completely original— experimental yet straightforward —energetic yet melancholic. They are somehow able to weave indie rock, garage rock, shoegaze, alternative, power pop, new wave, and post-punk together for a truly unique sound. How they are able to walk the fine line between all these genres simultaneously and seemingly so effortlessly is well beyond my comprehension, but damned if they’re not doing just that. I’m picking up everything from the Talking Heads, Slowdive, and The Posies to The Kinks, Jeff Buckley, and Frank Zappa here, and everything in-between. The songs are catchy, well-written and well-played, if not occasionally odd. The paradox continues with the production, which is both raw yet highly polished. There is definitely a garage rock, live feel to the recording, yet the guitars, drums, synths and vocals all come through crystal clear with a warm, expansive sound due to band members Aaron Schexneider and Thomas Coomes’s in-house (literally) recording and production studios, which they’ve dubbed Slang Recordings. This is a stellar debut from one of Louisville’s most unique and intriguing new bands.

linktr.ee/slangrecordings