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.
King Marze – “Splash”
From the standalone single
You may recall King Marze from our SOLILOQUIES FROM THE SOUTH feature last year, and here we have the young rapper and producer putting his skills on display with “Splash,” a track he produced himself. In the description on SoundCloud, King simply states “STELLA is next,” and to prove his point listen to him flow and change cadence at the drop of a hat over the cut’s shimmering beats. The emerging emcee continues to amass a following as major Atlanta artists and creatives follow him on Twitter, including Raury, DJ OHSO, and Yung Baby Tate. Stone Mountain-bred, we’re excited to see what else King Marze has up his sleeve. — Mus Abubaker
More Info
Instagram: @kingmarze
SoundCloud: @KINGMARZE
Twitter: @KINGMARZE
Pamela_ and her sons – “Shell Mode”
From the LP, 2014-2016
When you get to a certain level of critical aptitude, you start thinking about music on multiple dimensions. “Does this work in my headphones?” yields to “Does this work on a dance floor?”, which in turn yields to “Does this work in a separate plane of logic that I’m not aware of?” A ‘yes’ in all three layers, as you might imagine, is pretty dang rare. But as it turns out, Pamela_ and her sons concocts multi-dimensional music: these blips and bloops ricochet in feverish patterns that creative bodies can hustle to. I forget now if “Shell Mode” was in Alessandra Hoshor’s set at Irrelevant Fest — these crowded signals flow like rivulets into the stream, from dozens to one — but I tell you, folks were moving. So I can see them again here, the herky-jerky silhouettes in the dark, their minds churning with their feet to align with the algo-rhythms (see what I did there?) that Hoshor lays down. And critic me approves. – Lee Adcock
More Info
Web: pamelaandhersons.com
Facebook: @pamelaandhersons
SoundCloud: @pamela_andhersons
Credit: Jade Thames
Sloth And Friends – “(Low)”
From the standalone single
You are weightless, levitating, floating along a smooth, enchanting guitar intro until gravity pulls you down. A dream foreshadows the haunting outcome that slowly approaches with the pulse of heavy drums. Somehow “(Low)” by Sloth And Friends, the solo project of singer-songwriter Blake Obajrtel, forms a narrative far too familiar to many, one that embodies the highs and inevitable lows of this mysterious and baffling concept known as love. Bewitching vocals expose a languishing pain that reverberates off the abandoned room, once a dreamscape, now heavy with the emptiness that follows. Why then, is this single so alluring? After all, Sloth And Friends successfully immerse their listeners in a hazy malaise throughout a fluctuating four minutes. This is the same question that shapes the song: why does agony always disguise itself with beauty? – Sophia Rubin
More Info
Bandcamp: slothandfriends.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @SlothandFriends95