We know we’ve been away for a while, but we’re back and excited for 2024! Since we’re starting fresh on the playlist, we added a couple extra songs this time.
This update to the East of 8th Spotify Playlist includes music that ranges from scorching indie rock to pure psychedelic exploration. We hope you enjoy what we’ve picked out! As always, make sure to connect with the artists and enjoy the music we put together for you.
LEVITATION ROOM: “REVELATIONS”
Leading off our refreshed playlist, we’re bringing you “Revelations,” from L.A.’s Levitation Room. The track serves as the last single the psych rock quartet will release before their upcoming album Strange Weather drops on February 16. Fuzzy, lo-fi guitar headlines this throwback rocker, while dreamy vocals give it a spacy feel. The song has something for anyone who appreciates retro rock sounds: while it feels like it would be right at home being played at Woodstock ’69, there’s enough head-nodding might to appeal to the heavier crowd too!
Connect with Levitation Room:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | BANDCAMP
TOM COLLINS: “CASTING SMILES”
Is it a folk or indie rocker? Or is it a pop song slyly packaged to draw in cross-genre listeners? After listening to “Casting Smiles” from Welsh singer/songwriter Tom Collins, we’ve decided to stop trying to categorize the song and just sit back and enjoy the infectious, upbeat track. The song is lead by acoustic guitar, but it definitely isn’t an acoustic track, filled with plenty of plugged-in musical support. The song grows in power as Collins spins a feel-good story of love and appreciation—complete with a chorus that was made for a full scale singalong.
Connect with Tom Collins:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM| SPOTIFY
MIMOSA: “TAXI FARE”
If the intense opening drum rhythm on Mimosa’s “Taxi Fare” isn’t enough to draw you in, the intensity of the following guitar riffs will surely do the trick! This song is pure rock energy! As the UK rockers give us their homage to a night out in their hometown, they do so with a never-ending flood of manic indie rock music and vocals that almost cross into punk influences. If you like old-school Green Day, mixed with a bit of The Darkness, and the slightest touch of The Hives added for good measure, then this one belongs on your playlist.
Connect with Mimosa:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | TIKTOK
BENBEN and CHRIS GASKELL: “COLOR CLOUDS”
There’s psych rock and psych influenced folk music—and then there’s New York’s BenBen. On “Clouded Head,” self-described “gnome rocker” Ben Wigler, aka BenBen, gives us enough psychedelic indie art rock to make it feel like we’ve drifted away to another realm, full of fantasy and color. Off his recent album Sincere Gifts, the track is a great way to be introduced to BenBen’s grand vision of artistic freedom crafted into song.
Connect with BenBen:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | TIKTOK |BANDCAMP
LANA NAUPHAL: “IS IT RAINING IN CALIFORNIA?”
With “Is It Raining In California?,” New York singer/songwriter Lana Nauphal brings us an early taste of her upcoming May 24th album, Wildland. The future album reflects on a time in Nauphal’s life where she had found her perfect place—until things fell apart—and then rebuilt her life to who she is today. As part of that journey, “Is It Raining In California” finds Nauphal as time distances her from a difficult breakup, yet the heart keeps her bound to the feelings that were lost. The song is a gentle and sentimental heartbreaker that should be spun in the jukebox of your favorite beer-soaked honky-tonk—or thanks to Nauphal’s vocal dexterity employed on the track—on your indie playlist as you daydream about warmer, happier days around the corner.
Connect with Lana Nauphal:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | TIKTOK |BANDCAMP
TYLER RAMSEY: “THESE GHOSTS”
Don’t let the first slow piano notes fool you—“These Ghosts” from Tyler Ramsey, former lead guitarist for Band of Horses (2007-2017), quickly unveils the song’s bigger, dreamy indie rock identity. “These Ghosts” is the lead track off Ramsey’s forthcoming album, New Lost Ages, which is set for release on February 9th via Soundly Music. The track takes us through the realization that the ghosts of the past can weigh on a person and that you must put bad times behind you to truly be free. The song feels optimistic as the buoyant guitar-led melody and Ramsey’s delicate approach to the vocals leaves you feeling satisfied that he has indeed found peace from
Connect with Tyler Ramsey:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | SOUNDCLOUD
SAVANNA LEIGH: “LOCKED IN JULY (LIVE PERFORMANCE)”
Savanna Leigh is quickly carving out a name for herself in the Nashville pop music scene. Earlier this year, she released the reflective single, “Locked in July.” Now she has added a new live version of the song to her catalogue and supported the release with an intimate live performance music video. The new version of the song gives us a stripped back, emotionally raw presentation that proves sometimes less production can still equal more emotional power. Well-crafted lyrics thrive over minimal musical accompaniment as Leigh looks back on a time before a relationship ended and wishes that moment of the past could have lasted forever. Thanks to her clear, perfectly emoted vocals, Leigh successfully pulls the listener into her wishful daydream.
Connect with Savanna Leigh:
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | TIKTOK| APPLE MUSIC | SOUNDCLOUD
Listen to the East of 8th Spotify playlist:
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