Howlite Magazine

I am back as promised with another recap of my repeated songs for August. I found myself listening to albums and EPs more than individual songs this past month which made nailing down one song for each difficult. Here are my four picks for the past month!

“Selective Memory” by Passing On the Right

There is something so haunting about the track “Selective Memory” compared to the other songs on the “End of Trail” EP.  It drew me in for a whole week this past month and I really think it was the instrumentation this one that just made it so good. I especially like how they use the guitar to create this sense of unease until the end where it has this major release like letting go of painful memory. The line that really stood out to me was “I’ll put your name onto this life-long list, of people that I miss.” This last bit of the first verse really struck me because either consciously or unconsciously we all have this list. We replay select memories often happy ones and it makes us feel empty when the people that made those moments sweet are no longer in our lives. It is good thing we still have those moments with us, but it is even better that we can move on and find joy in the present.

“roy biv” by Sergeant Hare Apollo

The whole “John Backer” album by Sergeant Hare Apollo was on repeat this month. I have enjoyed going back to listening to it since it was released back in June. I am just going to talk about the first track because it really sets up all the sky motifs and the theme of freedom. The opening features this keyboard playing solo notes mimicking the sound of falling raindrops while a guitar plays a steady chord progression like the sun slowly coming out from the cover of clouds. Both these instruments tell you to look at the sky where you see a newly formed rainbow. Then this strong electric guitar crashes in serene skyscape like a plane cutting up the brilliant blue expanse with a warm white contrail. The lyrics just add to this beautiful auditory environment especially the lines “The best among us/ Can only see in black and white/What else is there/Between the runway and the sky.” I interpret this as the singer pointing out how binary our thinking has become as we are more disconnected from the natural world and each other. The “best among us” are trapped on the runway unable to look into the colored sky. We need to get into our planes and open ourselves to learning more about the world around us. Then maybe when we turn our eyes skyward and feel at peace knowing that we are not alone.

“Birthplace of Aviation” by Thrown Over

I had been following Thrown Over on Instagram for a while, but I didn’t sit down and listen to any of their music until I saw their album “A Window into Limbo” at Used Kids Records. I was blown away by all the moody but not muddled energy that each song has. I was especially drawn to the atmosphere of the song “Birthplace of Aviation.” The lines “Last night, stayed up to late/And lost the key to my Escape,” bring up this vivid image of staying out with friends and driving down winding country roads at night without a destination in mind until the sunrises. The sunrise is the final goodbye before the monotony of the work week returns. Then you see the seasons have changed and you feel like you missed your chance to enjoy the moment you were in. Please give this album a listen and I wonder what stories you will see!

“Princess Idiot” by sugardear

I was thumbing through some smaller seven-inch records in the back of Used Kids Records not really looking for anything. That is when I saw this woman with intense pink hair eating what looked like a birthday cake with her bare hands. I read the back to find out the record was two singles by sugardeer a Cleveland based indie pop-rock band. I listen to both, but I was drawn to the gritty expression of rage for a relationship that is collapsing I found in “Princess Idiot.” “So I gave you all I had hoping something would break through/I reached again, there was nothing left, except the words I’d never use,” these lines show case the deep disappointment the singer has towards the person they cared for. They hoped their actions would be enough, but what they got in return were useless words, nothing that showed the same level of compassion. The arrangement of this song starts with a steady drumbeat and soft guitar and bass lines that build up this wonderful cathartic release with the final chorus. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you want to finally say goodbye to wasting your time on someone.

I hope you give all these musicians a listen! If you have any local music recommendations, please message me on the Howlite Instagram account!