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New Music
Our favorite local music from July
As July comes to a close, our music critics share their favorite local songs, albums and EPs that dropped. A song written in the angst of youth that is now tinged with the irony of adulthood. A simultaneously laid-back and turned-up hip-hop project that serves bravado and vulnerability. A fresh compilation of rockabilly, honky-tonk and surf songs about a crowd-pleasing food: pizza.
Yana, 'Talk About'
Born in Bulgaria and raised in California, folk pop singer-songwriter Yana is an up-and-coming artist with haunting melodies and vibrant production. She graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2020 with a songwriting degree and released her debut EP “Hindsight” in 2022. Her latest track, “Talk About,” is the first single since her 2024 EP “Amy.” Yana writes with raw honesty about failing relationships and the lingering ghosts of her romantic past. Frantic strums pulse as she sings about a toxic cycle she can’t break. “Watch me cry and let me keep loving you/ Coward, liar/ I can’t look you in the eye without/ Seeing something you don’t wanna talk about.” It’s a crushing confession of having no control in a partnership. She wrestles between her head and heart: “Let go, be dragged/ Stay down, fight back/ We’re sinking fast/ And I’m waiting for the crash.” After the musical swell recedes, she realizes “there’s no way out.” Yana’s vulnerability in describing the darkest depths of heartbreak is admirable and not often rivaled. While “Talk About” is hard to swallow lyrically, you can’t help but hit replay. — Maddie Browning
Will Paquin, 'I Work So Hard'
It’s been five years since Will Paquin’s “Chandelier” went viral seemingly overnight, but the newest single off his upcoming debut, “Hahaha” (out Sept. 12), has been simmering in his imagination for much longer. “I Work So Hard” was conceived 12 years ago when a psych-rock-obsessed Paquin was a teenager playing drums in his first band in Weston, Massachusetts. It took encouragement from lifelong friend and ex-bandmate Will Levin for Paquin to take his adolescent idea seriously. After all that time, the track came together in a single frenetic day in Levin’s Nashville studio where the album was produced. The result is equally raw, forgoing Paquin’s typically thoughtful lyrics and intricate guitar work for pure fun and velocity.
At one point written with angsty earnestness, probably about some typical teenage woe like geometry homework, the refrain is now tinged with irony in adulthood. An artist’s day can sometimes be described in one short verse: eat breakfast and head back to bed. But there’s nothing lackadaisical about the playing on the track. An orchestra of guitars oscillate between blown out riffs and tight melodies at lightning speed, and every listen reveals some new ear-tickling instrumental flourish or rhythmic switch. Self-deprecation aside, it’s obvious Paquin does work hard. — Lukas Harnisch
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Vintage Lee, 'Grease Pack'
Roxbury rapper Vintage Lee’s huge splash into the music spotlight came with her hit “Hennythings Possible” in 2016. She even landed a spot on NBA 2K’s soundtrack, which took the song global. The hip-hop artist has since released a steady stream of music and has taken great care in branding herself. Now, she’s out with a new album titled “Grease Pack,” 13 songs clocking in at a tidy 23 minutes and every one of those is classic Vintage Lee.
Most of the songs mirror her real life, in-and-out style. She arrives, brings a vibe and then makes her way out. Her voice is novel and her beat selection lands right in the middle of turned up and laid back, displayed on songs “Need 4 Speed,” “OOO” and “I Wanna Rock.” Lee stays on brand, bringing her impenetrable swagger to “Grease Pack.” The partying, the women, the weed, the nonchalant “I do me” demeanor. But she also shows a vulnerable side, like the track “YKMB (You Know My Body).” The title screams bravado, but Lee hints at a solitude felt from losing homies and people not living up to their word. “I still go to call you. But you’re not around.” A constant refrain.. While I would love to see more Vintage Lee projects, she is doing an amazing job nurturing her career at her own pace. And “Grease Pack” will be on repeat until the next one. — Noble
Various Artists, 'The Swell Slice'
Massachusetts-based roots music label Swelltune has served up this fresh compilation of rockabilly, honky-tonk and surf songs all about everyone’s favorite food: pizza. Most of the tracks were recorded by Boston guitar ace Shaun Young at his Jet-Tone Studios, with Young also contributing the reverb-drenched “Pepperoni Twist” and the bluesy “Red Pepper Blues.” Another eye-popping picker, Kyle Eldridge, weighs in on his favorites with “Stuffed Crust Boogie” and “Deep Dish Rag,” while Eddie Clendening ventures beyond the pie for “Strom-Bo-Li.”
Anyone who has debated Regina vs. Santarpio’s knows pizza can ignite some passionate feelings around these parts. Rhode Island-bred Jonny Safford makes his case for Cranston pizza with “Go to Fellini’s,” while Chris & Elise Casello have one simple request: “No Pineapple.” Becky Lynn Blanca and the Televisionaries even show their love for anchovies in “Pizza Pizza Pizza Pie.” Maine master guitarist Sean Mencher wraps up this musical meal with the rowdy “P-I-Z-Z-A!,” a dance tune that’ll help burn off those carbs. The CD version opens like a cardboard pizza box and even contains a Pepperoni-scented scratch-and-sniff sticker. Inside is a baker’s dozen of early rock ‘n’ roll-style tunes that are never cheesy and should please even the most crusty listener. — Noah Schaffer
Miranda Rae, 'Pleasant St'
The phrase “it’s bigger on the inside” is usually reserved for “Doctor Who” discourse, but there’s just no expression that better conveys the baffling scope of Miranda Rae’s new EP “Pleasant St.”
The follow-up to the Cambridge-born singer’s 2023 release “For What It’s Worth” clocks in at a svelte nine minutes across its three tracks — barely long enough to qualify as an EP. But the project’s plush, expansive sound belies its tight runtime. “Pleasant St” is a boulevard of maximalist R&B, guided by Rae’s caramel-smooth vocals and fine-tuning from Boston producer l.ucas. Even when detailing brushes with “the internal battle with self and unforeseen obstacles,” as Rae wrote on Instagram, ”Pleasant St” is as grandiose as it is glamorous, as twinkling trickles of piano ferry Rae’s storytelling to listeners. — Victoria Wasylak
Couch, 'What Were You Thinking'
Boston-based, seven-piece band Couch infuses pop with rock, soul and R&B influences to create warm, explosive melodies. The band just released the lead single from its upcoming debut record “Big Talk.” The track, titled “What Were You Thinking,” explores a tumultuous relationship with expressive horns, bright synths and steady drums. It starts at the beginning of the relationship with a bad boy you know in your heart isn’t marriage material but you can’t help but pursue. “A real life rock-and-roller/ Tattoos along your shoulder/ My mother wouldn’t like you,” lead vocalist Tema Siegel sings. I first saw her perform with the band at Boston Calling in 2023, and I’m always blown away by her commanding vocals. The chorus questions why a partner hurt her: “What were you thinking/ Handling a heart of 20 years like that/ Twisting the knife in/ Just to stitch it up and pat yourself on the back.” Siegel told me in 2023 that she draws songwriting inspiration from Maggie Rogers and Madison Cunningham. “Big Talk” will release Oct. 24 followed by a North America and U.K./Europe tour kicking off on Nov. 6. — Maddie Browning
Dropkick Murphys, 'For The People'
There is some music that only requires two notes to elicit a certain reaction. The theme to “Jaws” is probably the most prominent example. If you’re like me, the first two notes of “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” do something to you too. Lucky for us, the Dropkick Murphys have a new album to scratch this Celtic punk itch.
The Dropkick Murphys released the bagpipe-laden “For The People” on July 4 and true to the name, the album kicks off with a protest song that lays out the economic exploitation of the working class for the “rich man’s gain.” The song’s chorus attempts to galvanize those similarly minded in outrage by asking, “Who’ll stand with us?” It echoes classic American protest songs like “Sixteen Tons,” popularized by Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Woody Guthrie’s “Tear the Fascists Down.” I recently interviewed frontman Ken Casey for a story about the album, and he said the band has always been political. “American folk music, protest music, but also punk rock — it's always been about that challenge the system, speak up,” he said. “It's in our musical DNA from all angles.”
For those who are new to punk rock, don’t let the loudness frighten you. There’s a lot of heart on this album. The music moves beyond the rally cry into the personal with tributes to Casey’s grandfather, who raised him, and to the Pogues’ Shane MacGowan. “For The People” serves as both a call to action and a reminder of the communities that are worth protecting in uncertain times. — Solon Kelleher
