Look, we know we throw a lot of new music at you. We also know that not everyone who comes to this site has the time to be as involved with or informed about the local scene as maybe they’d like to be. So for those casual readers who either can’t or have no interest in keeping up with the parade of artists we try to cover, who may not know the difference between Bitter and Biters, we have created our TRIPLE THREAT feature. The premise is simple: every Friday our writers will put their heads together and come up with three tracks that grabbed our attention over that week. Then we tell you why the songs are great and worth listening to. That’s it. Maybe some weeks we’ll have a guest commentator come in and share their favorites, but the format will always remain the same: three songs, some words, and we out. Enjoy.
Ivory Williams – “Dancing in the Sky”
From the standalone single
Ivory Williams may have caught us off guard us with the release of her new track “Dancing in the Sky,” but if you’re surprised by her effervescent voice and passionate delivery, you weren’t paying attention to her 2016 debut, Don’t Have to Worry. The song is a cover of Dani and Lizzy’s 2013 YouTube hit, but Williams reimagines the track as something both melancholy and elegant. Stripped down to her voice and a few spare piano chords, the spacious song allows William’s heartache to bleed through every note. – Russell Rockwell
More Info
Web: ivorywilliamsmusic.com
Facebook: @Ivorywilliamsmusic
Instagram: @ivorywilliamsmusic
SoundCloud: @ivorysounds
Alex Bond – “Carpe Diem 2”
From the standalone single
Seize the day. Now there’s a platitude we take for granted all too often, a mantra that taunts us when we’re locked in the daily grind. But anyone who practices an art knows that the hours add up; sustain an effort, and eventually the dividends unwind. Even though he’s just 20-years-old, Alex Bond can feel the hourglass sands slide; as a songwriter, producer, writer and actor, the Georgia native has fought hard against wasted time. Within the haunted choral loop in “Carpe Diem 2,” hours gleam like gold dust, both in the stockpiles gained (“All the years I’ve practiced / Let you do the math”) and the motes lost (“This 24, hold on / 3, 2, 1, gone”). And while it would be easy to just preach the age-old phrase, Bond acknowledges that time eludes even the best of us: “Let your mini-me do his best / know my enemy is Bond” That stark admission renders Bond as a fascinating persona, both headstrong and inherently flawed—hopefully, we’ll delve further into this complex youth’s head when his EP hits next year. – Lee Adcock
More Info
Web: ialexbond.com
Bandcamp: alexbond.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @alextbond
Instagram: @alextbond
SoundCloud: @alextbond
Twitter: @alextbond
Jaden Smith [ft. Raury] – “Falcon”
From the LP, SYRE
On his latest collaboration with close friend Jaden Smith, Atlanta phenom Raury brings harmony, social commentary, and a discerning caution to the table. Together, the pair make music that is partial to the nature lovers and those in tune with the universe’s cosmic vibrations, yet the breakbeat production scattered like sound mines throughout the song bring to mind the militant musical stylings of M.I.A on songs like “Bad Girls.” A video for this song must be on the horizon. Raury does his thing, singing better than ever before and appearing not to have missed any steps when it comes to his rhymes. – Mus Abubaker
SYRE is out today.
More Info
Facebook: @raury
Instagram: @raury
SoundCloud: @raury
Twitter: @Raury