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.
Credit: Isabel Williams Lewis
Rose Hotel – “Blues Run the Game”
From the standalone single
Some things don’t change. Even among mutated genres and nuanced dialogues, the good ol’ world-weary travelogue never grows old. And even if Kentucky transplant Jordan Reynolds hasn’t hopped a boat to England or maybe Spain, she can certainly confess the pros and cons of drifting from town to town within Rose Hotel. As a faithful rendition of Jackson C. Frank’s original ballad from 1965, “Blues Run the Game” unfolds a dusty tale of constant sorrow from that sepia yesteryear, but with Reynolds’s history of troubled relationships, the story fits seamlessly into the Rose Hotel canon. This single also captures the singer/songwriter by her lonesome, like in her first Atlanta outings—a clever move for a stop-gap release, since her upcoming album should feature a radically different (and decisively more rock band-ish) line-up from last year’s lush debut EP Always a Good Reason. Until then, “Blues Run the Game” holds us in a meditative limbo, reminding us gently that, despite all that heartache, Reynolds isn’t done traveling just yet. – Lee Adcock
Rose Hotel will perform on Mon., May 14 on the Rooftop of the Georgia Theatre alongside Material Girls and Pleasure Point. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $3. 21+ to enter.
More Info
Web: rosehotelmusic.com
Bandcamp: rosehotel.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @rosehotelmusic
Instagram: @rose_hotel
SoundCloud: @rose-hotel
Twitter: @rosehotelmusic
Summer Walker – “CPR”
From the standalone single
The classic R&B vibe from Summer Walker’s new track “CPR” lulls the listener into a sunset trance. Throughout the song, Walker is phased out on melancholy, tempering her angelic voice with introspective murmurs. The meditative delivery is both intimate and transient, almost as if Walker’s voice was drifting over sun-baked pavement from an apartment across the street, and the few pedestrians who are lucky enough to catch a snippet are drawn into her mythology, even if just for a few seconds. – Russell Rockwell
More Info
Instagram: @summerwalker
SoundCloud: @summerwalker
Twitter: @summerwalker
Yung Baby Tate – “Back Up”
From the standalone single
We know from experience that Yung Baby Tate can sling out wavy anthems that get listeners grooving. Her latest single, however, sees the rapper and producer experimenting with icy techno and electronica. “Back Up” still slaps, of course, but not without imparting a kind of nervous and fidgety energy that provides all sorts of interesting pockets for Yung Baby Tate to issue her warnings and stunt on obsessive fans who would dare stalk her. It’s a unique turn of direction for the emerging artist, one that makes you wonder what other surprises she may have up her sleeve. – Avery Shepherd
More Info
Bandcamp: yungbabytate.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @yungbabytate
Instagram: @yungbabytate
SoundCloud: @yungbabytate
Twitter: @yungbabytate