Tony Jay - Faithless

 

We have been absent from our keyboard for most of the past six weeks. We offer apologies, but no excuses or explanations. Life is like being on the surface of the ocean -- sometimes it is calm, sometimes it is stormy. And sometimes you catch a wave and thrill until you wipe out. Winning is staying above the surface as long as possible. So, what brings us back? Well, the soundtrack to our lives is important to us, and to our readers, and a large backlog of good music needs a cheerleading voice. We won't get to all of it, but we will give it our best efforts.

One recent album that we cannot ignore is Faithless by San Francisco's Tony Jay. We are great fans of Michael Ramos' work in various Bay Area bands (e.g. Cindy/Flowertown/Pennys/April Magazine), but his Tony Jay project digs into our soul. The combination of atmospheric whispers and  delicate melodies breaking through fuzz and hiss like sunlight chasing away the fog sound more like an inner dialog being repeated back to us than a external musical score. We don't mean to imply that we have any ownership in the music, but the effect us that we are all in the water together.

Faithless was written and recorded on their recent tour of Japan, and explicitly informer by Japanese indie pop artists such as Les Rallizes Denudes and Shizuka. The band wrote all of the songs except for a cover of Gabys "Familiar Dreams". Tony Jay is Michael Ramos, Kelsey Faber, Cameron Baker, Ida Belisle, and Evie Brown For the Japan tour, the band was joined by by San Francisco musician Kati Mashikian (Mister Baby/April Magazine) who provides vocals on tracks five and six.

Bandcamp for Faithless

Jeanines - How Long Can It Last

 

With sharp songwriting and a sound that combines the familiar guitar pop with echoes of Sarah Records and folk rock, Jeanines are a band we treasure. And their recently released How Long Can It Last finds them at a new high. The vignettes are compact but colorful, told with an adult perspective but a youthful vigor. Always tuneful, with pleasing harmonies and thoughtful lyrics, this album pleases the ears at the first listen, and then draws the listener back for repeated encores.

Jeanines were formed by songwriters/musicians Alicia Jeanine and Jed Smith. The album also features contributions from Maggie Gaster, who plays bass for the band's live shows.

How Long Can It Last is out now via Slumberland Records and, in the UK, Skep Wax Records.

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Bandcamp for How Long Can It Last

Slumberland Records page for How Long Can It Last

Skep Wax