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Ahc
“Arequipe” and “Swim or Drown” – singles
With five albums, three EPS, and now seventeen singles released since 2020, one could make the argument that Louisville-based artist/producer/songwriter Annahelen Croce has been a wee bit busy. With a bold, genre-blurring sound, Ahc is obviously quite driven to create and continue further developing her unique sound, smashing genre barriers as she goes. And with her latest two singles – “Arequipe” and “Swim or Drown” – she is ready to take over the dance floor.
“Arequipe,” (which is the Columbian name for dulce de leche), pays tribute to Ahc’s Columbian heritage with lyrics sung in both Spanish and English over an energetic track that fuses reggaeton and Latin pop with a house-infused groove and hip hop influence to create an extremely danceable, infectious beat that’s made for movement.
Whereas “Swim or Drown” goes in a bit of a different direction by taking a loungy bossa nova beat that forms the skeleton of the song and brings with it an airy, coastal rhythm, then spicing it up with elements of house, hip hop, and pop for a very tropical feeling number that would be right at home at any beach-based dance club. The lyrics of which “were inspired by mental rumination; feeling stagnant in life. It’s almost like being in the middle of the ocean trying to paddle against the waves,” according to Ahc.
This is dance music that moves the body and stirs the soul while hinting at even more boundary-pushing to come. Ahc isn’t just crossing genres – she’s building bridges.
Earl Bowman
Wannabe – album
In preparing to review this album, I Googled Earl Bowman and came across an interview he recently did with Real Roots Radio in which he divulged that he didn’t start seriously pursuing music until 2022. Do me a favor, go to Spotify and pick any track off this record, listen to it, and try to wrap your head around how someone who’s only been doing this seriously for three years could be at this level. It’s astounding! There are musicians who’ve been playing for decades that can only dream of writing songs like these!
On the eight tracks that make up Wannabe, Bowman fuses a mix of 70’s traditional country, Americana, bluegrass, and roots rock with a solid backbone rooted in the blues and gospel. Not only is he blazing his own trail with his sound, but carving a deep groove in the modern day country music landscape that is certain to inspire others to follow. He also proves himself to be quite the masterful storyteller with lyrics inspired by events in his own life dealing with heartbreak, addiction, and the struggles of living with bipolar disorder. He has a knack for being able to seamlessly go from heartbreaking to hilarious while bringing the listener along on his journey.
Bowman, who is also the co-host of the Top Hill Recording Podcast, self-funded the recording and brought in a who’s who of Kentucky musicians to back him, and the result is incredible! Simply put, Earl Bowman undeniably has superstar potential, and you need to hear this record!
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Luke Powers
Tallest Hill – album
There aren’t many performers who can skirt the lines between neotraditional country, outlaw country, Americana, folk, and Southern rock and make it sound convincingly honest. Often times the listener can tell which songs were written for radio and which were written only to fit certain genres. However, on Tallest Hill – his second full-length album for SonaBLAST! Records and his third overall – singer/songwriter/guitarist Luke Powers delivers ten honest, from-the-heart, and often downright fun songs that blur the lines between the aforementioned genres. It’s a sound that owes as much to Johnny Cash, both Hank Williams Sr. and Jr., Willie Nelson, and David Allan Coe as it does to John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Justin Townes Earle, and to contemporaries like Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson.
Drawing inspiration from his own life as a hard working husband and father, Powers is able to seamlessly blend humor with deep introspection to capture the struggles, joys, and complexities of everyday life into relatable stories. Not only does he have a knack for storytelling, but also for writing incredibly catchy songs such as the rolling Americana of lead single “As the Crow Flies,” the bluesy soul of “Holding You,” the Southern rock stomp of “The Drug Store” and the title track, and the traditional country of “Cling Clang Clunk” and latest single “Champagne Taste” that are impossible to ignore.
Backed by a highly talented band and a wonderfully bright production, Powers’ Tallest Hill is a standout amongst several genres and showcases an artist who’s obviously more than qualified to take on much larger recognition on the world stage.
Mean Mugg’d
Save Face – EP
Louisville hardcore has reached a whole new level! Seriously, I’ve been around the music scene for 35 years and there has never been anything quite like it. Some of my contemporaries will probably string me up for saying this, but the early 90’s scene had nothing on what’s happening right now. And it’s still growing! New bands are coming out all the time and I can’t keep up with all of them.
Take for instance Mean Mugg’d, whom I’ve let fly under my radar. I know nothing about them other than they’re young and it seems like they’ve been on the bill for every single local hardcore show over the past year. But they sent a link to their latest EP Save Face, and holy shit, you have no idea how happy hearing this makes me!
Yeah this is Louisville hardcore through and through, but there is such a great throwback feel to their sound. Listening to this, I felt like I was mentally transported back to and fully immersed in my mid-teen years again. The mid-to-late 80’s East Coast and NYHC sound of bands like Agnostic Front, Sick of it All, Cro Mags, Warzone, Uniform Choice, and Youth of Today come to mind, except Mean Mugg’d is less sloppy and more focused. This is perfect skate music right here!
But make no mistake, Mean Mugg’d isn’t a straight up NYHC throwback band by any means, as they have powerful modern hardcore song structures and some truly intense breakdowns that 80’s hardcore can’t fuck with! This is the best of both past and present hardcore, and I love it!
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This article appears in Jun 20 – Jul 3, 2025.
