Taste Test, Edition #8: Stage Republic, Jouska & more

Welcome to Taste Test, a review wrangling of SubmitHub-only gemstones.

“We Woke Up” by Stage Republic

Dutch singer-songwriter Corjan de Raaf conjures utter heaven on earth through stitching together a patchwork of glorious ’80s pop, ala Duran Duran, with spacious, jaunty modernisms. “We Woke Up” is as crisp as a freshly-fallen blanket of snow, invading every single inch of the senses and erupting into a vibrant display of color. Raaf doesn’t take himself so seriously as to come across as too art-pop, but he’s just addictive enough to never leave your mind.

“Wounded Sky” by Tangie Town

Sam and Sloan Martin plant their feet at a dusty crossroads of funk, soul and rock. They stretch their craftsmanship across dirty rhythms that wallow in the beat far longer than you might expect, and their voices melt like butter over each sinewy lyric. “Wounded Sky” opens their self-titled debut EP with a ravaging earthiness, stripping away typically lush alt-rock for something more primal and immediate. “Falling through the oceans of time,” they sing, moments before the electric guitar shakes and tears through the production.

“Pills.” by Jouska

There’s nothing normal about Jouska. The electronica duo out of Norway demolish expectations and flip society on its head. “Pills.” lurches across a dreamscape of trap and hip-hop, scrapping the surface of consumerism and the suffocating constraints of the status quo. They’re shape-shifters bounding to the sky, and even when they lose themselves in a cosmic cluster of driving beats and stardust, their souls somehow smash constructs and glow brighter than ever. “Another day, another day,” pings across the divide of space, time and conscious. It’s a composed admission delivered with no frills and a cool demeanor.

“Pine Box Derby” by Pete Mancini

The past feathers his hair. His gaze is calm but stern, open but reserved. His childhood floods back in overwhelming waves, and when he puts pen to paper, folk singer-songwriter Pete Mancini knows he must face down some cold, hard truths if he ever wants to grow and truly flourish in this life. “Find the right track and just drive away,” he sings, floating away on the breeze that swells on his acoustic guitar and up into the sky overhead. “Pine Box Derby” is a right of passage, discarding toxic cycles and an innocence long forgotten, and Mancini learns to let go and blossoms into one of today’s most talented storytellers.

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