We ain’t fooling around. April’s New Music Alert is HERE (and it’s lookin’ good).
This month’s list is all about that feeling of seeing our worlds—our hometowns, our parents, our partners, our ourselves—in fresh new ways. In other words, it’s about growing up.
No matter your generation, discover a new nostalgia with these eight new songs by Sofar artists.
P.S. Shoutout to 90s babies who “don’t need no bullshit.” (See Lady Jay’s song below).
Livingston | A Hometown Odyssey
The young singer-songwriter, now freed from a major label contract, is making music for him and for him only. Enter A Hometown Odyssey: a powerful and emotional pop album about Livingston’s hometown of Denton, Texas, and the way it made him who he is today.
The tracks feature larger than life hooks, gorgeous strings, and pop sensibilities that sound like a blend of Coldplay and Imagine Dragons.
Check out standout single, “Last Man Standing”:
BD3 | SUNNYDALE II
Brooklyn’s hottest MC has dropped another one, and it’s a sequel to his hit SUNNYDALE.
SUNNYDALE II is BD3’s most personal album yet, with tracks about his childhood and the world he came from, and how his memories and culture shaped him. “I’m still hood though,” he raps on the track ‘TWEED CHECKERS’. And stories of his upbringing are abundant, notably in the tracks ‘CLOTH TALK’ and ‘TOXiC’, which you can watch the video for here:
Lady Jay | MRS Gold (My Real Self)
It doesn’t get much more hypnotic than Lady Jay.
On her new album MRS Gold (My Real Self), Ghana’s vocal powerhouse soulfully blends West African rhythms with electronic instrumentation. Her lyrics always tell a story: about loving herself, about loving others, and about loving her past. This is the follow-up to 2022’s Anywhere but dey EP, which launched her career, and it perfectly encapsulates Lady Jay’s next chapter: one of frank honesty and head-nodding beats.
‘I’m a 90s baby, I don’t need no bullshit,’ she sings on the track “My Days”:
Dende | Wish You Were Here EP
Hopping back to Texas, we want to talk about Dende’s latest EP, Wish You Were Here. It’s small but mighty from the Houston resident, clocking in at three tracks. But this trio packs a punch, and features Dende’s trademark soul-stirring R&B and outstanding harmonies.
Just watch this video for “Your Intro” to get the vibe:
LVDY | Feathers EP
We covered LVDY back in the January edition of Sofar Artist News, and we’re excited to cover them again with the release of their beautiful Feathers EP. Colorado’s harmonic duo are back with a four-track EP that features last year’s “By & By”, a groovy cover of MGMT’s “Electric Feel”, and the meditative “Gentle Time” – a reminder to be kind to yourself and take time to contemplate the beauty of the world around us.
Here they are performing “Gentle Time” in a canoe on Trout Lake, near Telluride, CO. This five minute video should be used by the Colorado Tourism Board: it’s that awe-inspiring:
Rodrigo Alarcon | “Só Mais Um Pouquinho”
São Paolo’s Rodrigo Alarcon combines all of the hallmarks of Brazil’s heroes of music – Caetano Veloso, Joao Gilberto – but makes a sound that’s entirely his own. As is evidenced by his latest single “Só Mais Um Pouquinho”, the singer-songwriter creates an immersive soundscape, with lyrics that make you want to get outside and dance in the sun.
CLOVER | “Beach in the Rain”
This latest one from the New Jersey singer-songwriter is a real tearjerker and we are so here for it. “Beach in the Rain” is about CLOVER’s father passing away, and how she, grief-stricken, cleared out his apartment, held a memorial service in her hometown, and got away to Kauai for a planned vacation. She expected a sunny, beach paradise, but it instead rained all day, every day she was there. This song encapsulates that feeling of our internal emotions being expressed externally, through nature, and how we sometimes never want that to end because it means the end of our grieving.
‘If the sun came up, I would feel betrayed,’ she sings. That hits hard. Here’s her live performance of the song, recorded for the NPR Tiny Desk Concert:
BlackJeans | “Belladonna”
The latest single from NYC’s BlackJeans is a psych bop that rivals late Tame Impala, with vocals that echo The Weeknd. Yes, all these seep through “Belladonna”, but the sound is something entirely new. Give it a spin and make the night last forever.
Ready to catch some of these songs live? Check out Sofars in your area!
