Sound On

The ARTery’s ongoing Sound On series highlights rising local musicians.

Hip-Hop Broke $ean Wire's Heart, And Healed It

The Boston rapper is an artist at once tormented by and in love with the act of self-expression. “Music was always the medicine to what I was feeling," Wire says....

The ARTery

06:39Feb 11, 2021

Squirrel Flower. (OJ Slaughter for WBUR)

With Pure Vocals And Brash Guitars, Squirrel Flower Writes Her Origin Story

The music of Ella Williams, a.k.a. Squirrel Flower, is expansive and melancholy and preternaturally sensitive to the taut threads of power that run, invisible, through relationships.

The ARTery

06:42Mar 5, 2020

Ezra Furman Is Finally Making The Punk Music Of Her Teenage Dreams

Out with a new soundtrack to the Netflix series "Sex Education," the singer-songwriter Ezra Furman is making Boston home.

The ARTery

10:52Feb 14, 2020

Frances Garrett, who performs as Frances Forever. (Courtesy of the artist)

In Sad Songs With Happy Melodies, Frances Forever Captures The Uncertainty Of Young Adulthood

The bedroom pop act has attracted tens of thousands of streams on Spotify with her odd, yet accessible, songs.

The ARTery

07:06Aug 19, 2019

Rapper Latrell James. (Courtesy Niklas Weikert)

Latrell James Was Ready To Drop An Album. Then He Decided To Start Over From Scratch

The Dorchester-born rapper adopted a different approach to crafting his songs. He stopped writing, started emoting.

The ARTery

04:39Jun 28, 2019

Vocalist Aubrey Haddard. (Courtesy Darius Hale)

Aubrey Haddard Finds Power In The Subtleties Of Her Voice

The Cambridge-based musician has the kind of voice that divas are made of, and is well-poised for national success.

The ARTery

06:51Feb 6, 2019

Cambridge-based band Billy Wylder. (Courtesy Nate Wieselquist)

Cambridge Rock Outfit Billy Wylder Finds Its Roots In Resistance And Sound In Reverence

Frontman Avi Salloway's songs are urgent calls to action written over syncopated rhythms and mesmeric guitar riffs.

The ARTery

07:06Nov 7, 2018

Photocomfort and Anjimile perform in Anjimile's apartment. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Boston Singer-Songwriter Anjimile Mines Blissful Melodies From Melancholy Thoughts

The musician explores transgender dysphoria and mental health in their latest release, "Colors."

The ARTery

06:43Aug 2, 2018

Rapper and music producer Billy Dean Thomas at Pink Noise in Somerville. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The Radical Ambition Of Billy Dean Thomas, The ‘Queer B.I.G.’

"I’m more than just an emcee, I’m more than just whatever box people want to put me in," says the Boston-based artist.

The ARTery

07:21Jun 14, 2018

Musician Sidney Gish. (Courtesy Xinyuan Chen)

Sidney Gish, Boston’s Bandcamp Phenom

The music of the rising bedroom pop sensation is marked by an adventurous impulse -- an eagerness to try, and even fail at, new things.

The ARTery

06:05Mar 28, 2018

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Sound On

Hip-Hop Broke $ean Wire's Heart, And Healed It

The ARTery

With Pure Vocals And Brash Guitars, Squirrel Flower Writes Her Origin Story

The ARTery

Ezra Furman Is Finally Making The Punk Music Of Her Teenage Dreams

The ARTery

In Sad Songs With Happy Melodies, Frances Forever Captures The Uncertainty Of Young Adulthood

The ARTery

Latrell James Was Ready To Drop An Album. Then He Decided To Start Over From Scratch

The ARTery

Aubrey Haddard Finds Power In The Subtleties Of Her Voice

The ARTery

Cambridge Rock Outfit Billy Wylder Finds Its Roots In Resistance And Sound In Reverence

The ARTery

Boston Singer-Songwriter Anjimile Mines Blissful Melodies From Melancholy Thoughts

The ARTery

The Radical Ambition Of Billy Dean Thomas, The ‘Queer B.I.G.’

The ARTery

Sidney Gish, Boston’s Bandcamp Phenom

The ARTery