The Useless Critic 2.0

I wanted to continue to give Ruby Roberts some love with her first music video, "My Endeavor." Like I said before, I definitely think she has a nice retro Lana thing going on, which I really appreciate. I also am just rooting hard for her success. Like, she needs to blow up, so help me make it happen! Ruby will continue to release singles and perform in the UK - make sure you check out "Gonna Change" as well, which is a beautiful song in its own right. Sounds like: Lana Del Rey, the 1960s/70s, Zella Day

Looking for some good old-fashioned garage rock? I've got you today! Meet the NYC-based band Native Sun, which remind me a lot of the Velvet Underground meets the Jonathan Richman & the Roadrunners with just a touch of The Strokes and Sonic Youth. Honestly? It's very refreshing to me right now. Not saying modern rock stinks (it doesn't; there are always good gems like Royal Otis) but garage rock has a special spot in my heart. Listen to the single "Adam" below: Their debut LP drops September 19th, the same day as "A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY" which I already have a ticket to see because apparently my mid-life crisis is being a fangirl!

My new favorite band Cannons reissued their definitive "Shadows" album back in July, the pretty-much-flawless offering that spawned their monster hit, "Fire for You." The "Midnights" version that came out last month contains 3 remixes in addition to the original track listing: a midnights version of "Fire for You," a dub mix of "Talk Talk" and - my personal favorite - a dark wave version of "Shadows." Coincidentally, it's also my favorite track off the regular album! It retains the dark, seductive energy of the original track while adding a haunting new layer to the track that suits it well. The other two remixes are good, but I find this one to be exceptional:  I dig this whole Midnights concept artists are getting into. Roosevelt did it really well too! And weirdly, Clay Aiken has some remixes of "Invisible" that are now here 22 years later. I mean, sorry to Cannons to go off on a weird Clay Aiken tangent, but ...