While it’s our aim to make this feature a regular occurrence, time and responsibilities don’t always cooperate. Still, we’ll keep pushing. For any newcomers, let us provide a quick refresher: TRIPLE THREAT was created to help expose our readers to a wider array of local music. For our staff, it also provided an effective means of keeping tabs on a scene that is constantly growing and releasing ever more music. The premise has never changed—a spotlight on three new(ish) songs that climbed their way to the top of our local playlists. We give you a bit of insight into why we think they’re great, the music does the rest. Pretty simple, eh? So go on. Press play and enjoy.
Sister Sai – “Sunshine”
From the LP, Ideal
Just in time for this run of gorgeous weather (false spring is the best spring), Saira Raza has returned with her balmy meditative jazz in tow. Released yesterday, Ideal marks the first Sister Sai release since 2019’s Broad Street Sessions and the first to feature new music since 2017’s delightfully spontaneous Extempore. Lush and serene, “Sunshine” hits like the arrival of the vernal equinox after a bitter winter. You can practically hear the dew glistening, the vibrant chatter of birds, flowers coming into bloom. But renewal often arrives at a cost. While the music glides along in a warm cascade of breezy drums and aqueous guitar, Raiza is unable shake her despair: “Can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel broken,” she laments in the opening verse. When she beckons for Sunshine, it is as a nurturing spiritual force, a salve for the soul. Light and energy don’t always lead to growth; sometimes it’s enough to not shrink into the darkness. – Guillermo Castro
Ideal is out now via Bandcamp.
More Info
Web: sistersai.com
Bandcamp: sistersai.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @sistersai
SoundCloud: @sistersai
Lowtown – “Wild Dog”
From the standalone single
Lowtown have never been afraid to mix things up. Dark, noir-ish alt-country? Stark and gauzy lullabies? Epic psych-blues freakouts? Yes. Check. Most def. If there is a lone thread that ties their music together, perhaps it’s the way they embrace traditional song structures only to subvert them within their own Southerh gothic prism. New single “Wild Dog” certainly fits this mold. Equal parts spectral ballad and dramatic, desert-flecked indie rock, the song suspends the listener in a kind of harrowing waltz. As the track progresses, vocalist and guitarist Beaux Neal swings between melancholy and angry resentment before settling into cosmic fatalism: “The stars they are like us / burning out without a cause.” It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but Lowtown know how to handle the turns. – GC
More Info
Bandcamp: lowtownofatlanta.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @__lowtown
Lonnie Holley – “Protest With Love”
From the upcoming LP, Tonky
Leave it to Lonnie Holley, cosmic explorer and mercurial sherpa of sound, to peel back the veil and gently lure us to the heart of the matter. As the United States sheds its mask and embraces its bloody imperial roots, dissenting voices are essential. Holley, who has made Black trauma and liberation central themes in his music and art, is well-suited to the task. With its deep grooves and soulful hooks, “Protest With Love” is a buoyant, anthemic appeal to our better angels. Its motivating principle—“Let love be your weapon”—may read like t-shirt sloganeering, but in Holley’s hands it feels like a sacred edict. Musically, “Protest With Love” alludes to Motown and Stax soul—sounds that helped invigorate the civil rights movement. Lyrically, it brandishes the language and movement of Black spirituality. As the song progresses, we’re reminded that love is transcendent, it is holy. Amidst such punishing nihilistic upheaval, it may be the only thing worth clinging to. – Avery Shepherd
Tonky is out Mar. 21 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-orders are available here.
More Info
Web: lonnieholley.com
Bandcamp: lonnieholley.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @LonnieHolley
Instagram: @lonnieholleysuniverse