From the first note of Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram’s 2021 album 662 to the last, you can feel the decades of hard work and heartache that went into creating the album. You can almost see the many thousands of miles of dusty roads he had to travel to get where he is today. You can smell the beer-drenched floorboards of every Blues shack he’s had to play since the 1950s. You can imagine the beautiful smiles of the hundreds of women that broke his heart along the way. And if you turn the new album up real loud, your speakers will begin to sweat, filling the room with the results of many, many years of Kingfish’s service to the Blues. This veteran guitarist and vocalist has been treading the boards since before the Beatles arrived and he’s been here ever since. Wait… what? Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram is only 22 years old? And 662 is only his second album? How can Blues this authentic be created by someone who was born at the tail end of the 1990s? What in tarnation is going on here?!

In all seriousness, Ingram is a young guitarist and vocalist with the soul of a classic Blues man. Every note he plays sounds like it is drenched in decades of Blues history. His vocals sound as if he’s been baking in small, hot clubs for years, experiencing the highs and lows of a man two or three times his age. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1999, Kingfish has crammed plenty of life into a very short period of time. He’s toured the world. He’s performed with Vampire Weekend, Jason Isbell, Buddy Guy, and Bootsy Collins. He made the covers of Guitar World and DownBeat in January 2021. He was compared to B.B. King, Jimi, Hendrix, and Prince by Rolling Stone magazine. To top it all off, his 2019 debut album, KINGFISH, was nominated for a Grammy Award and received critical raves across the board. And all of this from a young man who is barely old enough to legally buy a beer in most states.

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram’s sophomore album, 662 – which is named after his hometown’s area code – is s sizzling slab of the Blues that reveals a more personal side of the artist. While his debut album, KINGFISH, was most certainly a tour-de-force, 662 is a two-de-force – twice the Blues and twice the emotion. While the blues burners like “Not Gonna Lie”, “Long Distance Woman” and the title track are rough and tough, 662 also reveals a tenderness that is essential to the Blues. “Another Life Goes By” and “You’re Already Gone” are sweet and soulful. And when the horns come in on “That’s All It Takes”, it transforms the song into a Soul classic. There are plenty of other surprises on 662, but those are there for the listeners to discover. Not just your average Blues artist, Ingram operates at a level far beyond his years. Just imagine what he’ll be like when he’s 25!

Thanks to his song “Tuyo” being used as the theme song to the Netflix series Narcos (2015) and Narcos: Mexico (2018), American music lovers have recently discovered – and embraced – the music of Rodrigo Amarante. However, the talented vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer started releasing music nearly 25 years ago in his homeland of Brazil and has been making musical inroads internationally ever since. With his mix of Latin, Folk, Psychedelic, Pop, Samba, and Rock, Amarante has forged his own unique musical path, constantly evolving and experimenting with styles, moods, and audio colors. He has reshaped his musical vision with each new project yet has managed to retain a distinct core sound that ties all of his musical excursions together.

Rodrigo Amarante first came to prominence in 1997 when he joined the Brazilian Rock band Los Hermanos. The band, formed by a group of college friends, was a commercial success, touring and releasing several albums before going on hiatus in 2007. During this period, he also became involved with Orquestra Imperial before forming Little Joy with the Strokes’ drummer Fabrizio Moretti and singer/songwriter Binki Shapiro. Aside from these projects, Amarante also had time to play on sessions with Gal Costa, Norah Jones, Gilberto Gil, Devendra Banhart, and others. He released his debut solo album, the critically acclaimed CAVALO, in 2013. And then there was the song “Tuyo” that he wrote and performed for the popular Netflix series Narcos and Narcos: Mexico. With his commercial profile higher than ever, Amarante has spent the last several years preparing his sophomore solo album…

2021’s DRAMA is finally here, and the album lives up to his reputation as an innovative, engaging, and enchanting singer, songwriter, and musician. Like a seamless blending of styles including Pop and Latin music, DRAMA is an album wrapped in atmosphere, melody, and emotion. The album seldom stays in one place for too long, stretching its musical arms and embracing the listener with songs such as “Tango”, “Maré”, “I Can’t Wait”, and “Sky Beneath”. While the album is most certainly a Rodrigo Amarante album, it is also a new, living musical statement that will surprise his legions of fans and engage a new generation of listeners. There are many musical shades on the album, from the gentle piano playing of “The End” to the rays of sunshine that dance amongst the notes of “Tanto”, DRAMA is an album that invites you into a world of both emotional comfort and musical exploration.

Founded in 2009, Clipping is an experimental hip-hop trio composed of producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes alongside rapper, actor and Tony and Emmy Award-winner Daveed Diggs. Friends since childhood, Hutson and Snipes initially started the group as a remix project, creating unique musical landscapes using a cappellas by mainstream rap/hip hop artists and their own music. Within a year, Diggs had joined Clipping as rapper, writing his own rhymes over the Hutson and Snipe’s original music. The trio released their debut mixtape, MIDCITY, in 2013, earning them critical success and gaining the attention of record labels and the public at large.

Signing with legendary label Sub Pop Records, they released their debut album, CLPPNG, in 2014. While Clipping’s experimental hip hop sounded minimalistic on first listen, the group’s dark and abrasive sound revealed more layers with each listen. Both a full embrace AND a full denial of modern hip hop, CLPPNG was an album that stood shoulder to shoulder with their contemporaries while also standing apart. However, CLPPNG wasn’t the whole story of the band’s early days. Even though they have issued three full length albums since then, a few of their most popular songs were recorded during the CLPPNG sessions but were not finished in time to make the release. And that is where WRIGGLE came in…

Originally released digitally in June 2016, the WRIGGLE EP consisted of tracks that were originally meant to be on CLPPNG but were not completed in time. The songs “Shooter” and “Wiggle” have become firm fan favorites over the years but, until now, have never been given a physical release. In July 2021, Sub Pop releases WRIGGLE on vinyl LP complete with bonus tracks. This vinyl release contains all six of the digital EPs tracks – including another fan favorite, “Hot Fuck, No Love” (featuring Cakes Da Killa & Maxi Wild) – plus an additional four tracks: “Wriggle” (Homemade Weapons Remix), “Back Up” (Dave Quam Remix), “Shooter” (Jana Rush’s Face Rearranged Remix), and “Wriggle” (Cardopusher’s EBM Remix). Even five years later, WRIGGLE still sounds fresh and never stops revealing surprises behind every beat. But this time, its physical.

Since their formation in 2009, Costa Mesa-based Of Mice & Men has managed to remain one of Metalcore’s most popular bands even though their line-up has changed over the years. The origins of the band began in Columbus, Ohio when former Attack Attack! vocalist Austin Carlile and bassist Jaxin Hall decided to form a band. Connecting with Southern California-based drummer Valentino Arteaga and guitarist Phil Manansala, Carlile and Hall relocated to the West Coast and Of Mice & Men was born. The band added Shayley Bourget on guitar and clean vocals and with their line-up in place, they released their self-titled debut album in 2010. But changes were in store…

By the time the band released their sophomore album, THE FLOOD, in 2011, Hall had been replaced by Alan Ashby. Carlile himself had exited the band temporarily but had returned by the time they released their third album, RESTORING FORCE, in 2014. However, Aaron Pauley had replaced Bourget and was providing clean and unclean vocals alongside bass duties.  This line-up was still intact for the 2016 studio album COLD WORLD, but changes were in store for their next album. Founder Austin Carlile left Of Mice & Men, but instead of replacing him, bassist Aaron Pauley stepped up and became the band’s vocalist. The 2018 album DEFY was their first as a quartet, followed by 2019’s EARTHANDSKY. While the line-up at this time only featured two original members, the band’s sound had evolved, and they had never sounded more passionate.

Signing with SharpTone Records, the powerhouse quartet spent 2020 working on new material during the various COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Before focusing on an album, Of Mice & Men decided to release a trio of EPs, and TIMELESS is the first of the three releases. From pummeling rhythms to soaring choruses, Of Mice & Men have perfected their sound and remain as heavy and melodic as ever. Featuring the songs “Timeless”, “Obsolete”, and “Anchor”, this EP sees the band looking forward while bringing the best of their unique sound with them. The EP roars, screams, soars, and dreams… all with added Metal riffing and a skull-crushing rhythm section. This is dark, but it is not without light. Of Mice & Men has built their career on creating exciting Metalcore and judging by the TIMELESS EP, they show no signs of slowing down.