The Useless Critic 2.0

Erie-based singer-songwriter Brooke Surgener dropped her professional debut, "Moon Waves," this past Friday. If you like your music of the folky variety, I would recommend checking it out! Brooke is a well-known performer in the Erie area, and even though I haven't resided there for a decade, I follow enough Erie news on social media to see Brooke's name pop up a lot.  The winsome title of one single from the album, "I Hate You the Least," caught my attention immediately. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you like stuff like Phoebe Bridgers, The Weepies, even some She & Him. I really hope "Moon Waves" catches a lot of people's attention - Brooke is a talented artist and I look forward to seeing more from her (and catching a show in town someday!) In closing, here's her recent collab with another Erie-based singer-songwriter, Tommy Link, a cover of the Jim Croce classic "Operator." If you want to learn more about Brooke ...

This is just a very quick post today to share that a singer-songwriter I have a soft spot for, Landon Pigg, is going on tour (mostly hitting up spots in the American West). You might not remember him, but he's a soft rocker with a good voice who had a song on "Grey's Anatomy" as well as the Shrek soundtrack (or one of the several Shrek soundtracks). Which is, you know, iconic. Plus he played Elliot Page's love interest in "Whip It." Anyway Landon will be at the Rhythm Room (a venue I've never been to!) on November 30th with Jesse Daniel Edwards. You can grab a ticket here . And here's a throwback to a song off Landon Pigg's "LP" that I still love all these years later:

Sounds Like: Shawn Mendes meets Purity Ring on a road trip Doesn't Sound Like: The Portishead song "Roads"  Coming from somewhere that blends singer-songwriter folky aesthetics,  Mark Diamond premieres his new single, "Road." It's not a song that demands your interest at first - it's almost too soft and easygoing for its own good. But repeated listens reveal a comfort and warmth to it, and certainly it indicates (a lot) of promise for future music.  Says Mark, "I have never had more fun making music in my entire life. Music should make people feel good more than it makes them feel bad. Not necessarily ‘happy’ songs, but songs that make you feel better about life than when you started listening to it.” Seems like he's meeting his ... mark! Looking forward to hearing more from this up-and-coming talent.   

So back in 2009, I interviewed up-and-coming singer-songwriter Stuart Newman. He was a musician nice enough to reach out to me when I was just starting, which is a fact I truly appreciate. There is something to be said for decent people in this world! Anyway, I got back in touch with Stuart Newman and asked how he has been. How how has he been? Let's see:   UC:   How have things changed for you since we last spoke three years ago? Stuart:  Well, I guess a lot has changed in 3 years. I’ve written more, recorded more and done bigger and better things, I think. I’ve recorded in the recording studio more and I now have far more video things than I did then. Everything has continued to improve. So yeah, huge changes, moving forward all the time. UC:  What are you working on right now? Stuart:  I can’t reveal specifically what I’m currently working on, but you can probably guess what it might be.  Something  new will hopefully be coming in ...

Is he the heir to Damien Rice's throne? I don't know, but he sure is good. question:  would you ever do a flash mob?

First of all, thanks for growing your hair out, girlll! Second of all:  the new album. Strange Mercy . what do you think? Reader, I'm a little at a loss. When this album is good it is BRILLIANT. St. Vincent is very accessible and does have a pop feel to her sound, yes, a cloying little female singer-songwriter vehicle like so many before her. Think Regina Spektor, even (egads). but what separates her from the fold is she sounds like she is slowly going insane. or maybe she's already insane BUT WE JUST DON'T KNOW. That's how this whole album is. Even Actor  didn't leave me feel like I had stumbled out of a dreamlike daze this much. I mean that in the least pretentious way possible, by the by. It just happens to be how so much of it is. "Hysterical Strength" (my personal favorite btw), "Year of the Tiger," "Dilettante"...each song is carried by some supernatural, some disembodied element. Like she's half-awake and humming. ...

She does not like white vans. She has toured with Uh Huh Her, among others. She has a fanbase in Erie (???). Singer-songwriter, Michigan native and former model Angie Mattson played a show in Erie two weeks ago that I was personally unable to attend due to my poor transportation situation. Nonetheless, she was amazing enough to do an interview with me. Her new album, Skeleton Arm is currently out. It's been described as "rockabilly" and "jazz." How do those two coexist? Wonderfully! The girl is worth a listen (and seriously read her bio here, it's fascinating) Angie first played the amazing metropolis of Erie (sorry about the snark! I'm entitled! I live here!) six years ago. "It was one of my first shows," she remembered. The enthusiasm has remained up since then, because the Beer Mug was pretty packed when she made her return. "I was happy all the seats were filled and everybody was so into the music. We had a great time," Mattson s...

Do you like Ellie Goulding? Do you like American folk music? Do you wonder what would happen if these two things got married and made an unholy musical love child? Enter LISSIE. who is, just. um. Lissie. no last name. think Cher. I feel like Miss Lissie has the potential to get very big. Watch and learn. She's used two covers, one of "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga and the other "Pursuit of Happiness" by Kid Cudi/MGMT wisely to her advantage. If you are an up-and-coming pop star these days, advice: COVER A BIG SONG. SOMEONE WILL HEAR IT AND THINK IT IS BRILLIANT. Luckily, in Lissie's case, it's just so: OMG, do you remember I mentioned Ellie Goulding before? I like Ellie Goulding a lot but it's mostly because I do find her attractive. very attractive. yeah I'm shallow, deal with it, BUT LOOK THEY'RE DUETING: maybe making out? I can only dream. anyway, despite its pop aspirations, there is something refreshingly natural about Lissie. she seems to ...

I am really trying to do a weekly thing of this, every Thursday. aight! - Fireflies sort-of twee pop hailing from New England. It's fuzzy and delicate; therefore it demands that you love it and give it a home. This guy's worth investigating; it's great background music or study music, at the very least. http://www.last.fm/music/Fireflies p.s. HE HAS A SONG CALLED OWL CITY. - Patrick Joseph originally from Pittsburgh, he really is NOT bad, although he runs the risk of becoming that cliched male singer-songwriter that is so popular and prominent right now. his voice reminds me a lot of the lead singer of the Stereophonics. listen to him cover E. Smith here: - Joe Negri Joe Negri is the handy man from Mr. Rogers! he's also an accomplished jazz guitarist who teaches college down in Pittsburgh! OH MY GOD HE IS 85 AND HE IS AWESOME listening to the new Arcade Fire again: I think it finally might be growing on me. I just wasn't ready for it, a few weeks ago. it was too so...

I have been going through my Fiona discography like whoa this past week. I don't know what spurred me on- I think one of her songs came up on my iPod shuffle and as triggered to go through her stuff and rekindle my love for her, the way middle-aged couples define getting together once a week to have sex while the kids are away as passion reignited. I came to a theory, while listening to "Limp" and "Shadowboxer" again and again (just like the good old days- not really). there are certain weights of estrogen-ladled singer-songwriters out there. There is Tori Amos, who is apeshit. There is Rachael Yamagata, who is sweet and has a few good songs but yet has to do something of real impact. There is Regina Spektor, who is talented but relies too much on being precious and quirky to do anything that makes me want to listen to HER discography again (barf). Then you have a whole host of others- Sarah McLachlan, Nicole Atkins, Sara Barielles, etc. ALANIS, OH MY GOD, WILL ...

This is where I wrap up relatively "new" artists of the year and recommend them to you. what I discovered this year and what you might discover too! IT'S MUTUAL! LET US EXPLORE Chris Garneau Like Sufjan Stevens if his balls were eaten by bunny rabbits. Good Shoes Just a really fun Britpop band, think a la the Maccabees or even Arctic Monkeys or Art Brut. A lot of Britpop bands sound SO ALIKE OMG. Good Shoes stands out. Check out their last.fm for a free MP3. Adam's girl, Florence and the Machine She's a legend in the making. Truly talented. my personal favorite: SO EPIC Greg Laswell His voice is beautiful- what seperates him from the dozens of other unmemorable singer-songwriters out there at the moment- shit, his talent. his cover of Kristin Hersh's "Your Ghost" gives me shivers. He has a very slowcore thing about him, a la American Music Club. But I gotta keep my eye on him in the future. He's currently touring with, yes, Ingrid Michaelson. plu...

In case you haven't heard, Vic Chestnutt, an acclaimed singer-songwriter who was discovered by Michael Stipe of R.E.M., died yesterday. He was 45. I'm not going to claim to have listened to him before, because I never really did. but he was obviously very talented and I'm listening to him right now- there's a very Americana, Townes Van Zandt vibe to his music. worth a listen. http://www.last.fm/music/Vic+Chesnutt/+charts?rangetype=week&subtype=tracks (some streamable tracks here) RIP.

You Need to Hear This Stuart Newman "Music has always been around in my life," Stuart Newman, an acoustic folk-y singer-songwriter from Brighton (UK) reflected in a recent email interview. He is the sole moving force behind his operation: he is responsible for not only the writing and composing of his music, but the artwork as well. Not to mention the music itself, which is a hefty job indeed. Growing up, he heard 60s-influenced music, a lot. "The Beatles featured heavily in that," he said. He taught himself the piano growing up ("I really didn't like the 'lessons' part") and the guitar was conquered at the age of 17. From then on, Newman's life began to drift more in a musical direction. "I started thinking seriously about songwriting later on in my university life, and since then I’ve been doing the best I can to get my music out there." Thus leading to the internet. Stuart Newman's music- and his debut EP, "Single but ...