Taste Test, Edition #3: Sparrows, MADDi, Copper Viper & more

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

“Over & Out” by Sparrows

The dive bar hangs thick with a dirty kind of mugginess. Piercing through the smoke, curling in decorative figurines as shape-shifting as the wanderers slipping in and out of the shadows, the voice of Sparrows ebbs and flows, falling away with the cavernous grunge-rock beats. “Over & Out” is coated in drippings of alternative underground music, a space odyssey spiraling out of control at the bottom. The ache shatters the bones at such a violent pace, the night will surely be…quite the adventure.

“Rumor” by Tar & Flowers

Flecks of guitar barrel down the canyon, and Tar & Flowers, a western outfit out of Los Angeles, are situated atop a great white stallion. Their stature is as towering as John Wayne riding into town, and “Rumor,” off their new album, Indian Summer, is as ghostly as it is encased in the earth’s crust. “Take a walk around the sun / Rumor talks but it just can’t run / Like these stories of us we’ve told / That we’ve heard from tongues unknown,” the second verse murmurs, the unseen cinematography brandishing a rose-colored palette and a bird’s eye view-style camera angle. It’s the kind of masterfully-done landscape few newcomers can achieve, and the ride is a long one, but we’re ready.

“Talk Again” by TELYKast

The trio of Kyle Tonoli, Linus AK and Trevor Klaiman nuzzle your chest. There is considerable scruff, and the dizzying glow of sunrise hits the cornea. You forget where you are for a second. It’s a high you’ve never known, paired with the memories of the glitter-splattered and drunken rave from the night before ⎯⎯ remnants of the disco lights reflect back, and even the glory of feeling truly alive seems to be slowly vanishing. In just over three minutes, “Talk Again” is a combustible alloy that’s flaming hot and best used as some sort of cooling agent. But it forever preserves that energy, allowing you to return time and time again to regain that exhilarating buzz.

“Hung Up Alone” by Copper Viper

The front-porch toe-tapping sends a shock through your brain. The gospel-plunged introduction is haunting. But then, the fiddle and the gentle *ribbit ribbit* from a choir of frogs enter and kick things into overdrive, tipping you over and out of grandpa’s chair. Robin Joel Sangster and Duncan Menzies pole vault in gliding acrobatics on “Hung Up Alone,” a plea to not be left alone too long. “Throw up your arms / I’ve been addicted to you and your charm,” the folk duo yowl, harmony binding them together in a kind of sterling magnetism. Its down home production is assuredly worthy of bluegrass hoedowns out in the middle of nowhere, shiny and overflowing with a rally of handclaps that bust out in spades within the last minute or so. It’s glorious.

“Hold Your Own” by Edward and Jane

Timothy Edward Carpenter is concerned about you. He looks you straight in the eye, bubbling with kindness, strength and a kind of endearing presence that cuts to your core. “You’re a helluva woman / And the love that you’ve given me won’t ever die,” he sings, turning to band mate Emilie Jane Creutzinger for even further clarity, as her voice wafts tenderly in the background. “When you don’t have nothing left, you don’t let go,” the Americana pair urge in times of unbelievable suffering. They remain strong and calm and feed you the kind of hope you’ve been seeking all this time.

“She’s Not Me” by MADDi

The darkness leaks from her barely-held-together seams. The classic rock guitars slice and dice, and even with the plastered percussion, from whistles to buckling foot-stomps to a monster drum kit, hitting all senses at once, MADDi makes it damn clear she’s the only one who could satisfy his needs. “She can’t write you a love song,” she teases, bitter but sweet and confident. “She’s Not Me” blurs the genre lines between blues, rock and pop so remarkably, she pins you to the wall and won’t let go. Despite the song not exactly giving MADDi full license to break the ceiling, there are hints of a voice that defies logic lurking beneath the watery depths of imagination. Only time can set her free.

“Didn’t You Know” by Michigan Rattlers

Why don’t they ever warn you that heartbreaks are really just earthquakes packing a 10.0 magnitude on the Richter scale. Even the aftershocks can wreak some serious havoc. Far removed from that event, Michigan Rattlers wax a bit poetic with “Didn’t You Know,” a boot-shuffling mid-tempo detailing still-haunted dreams of a past lover. The trio leave you feeling emotionally drained and able to then uncover new layers of your own stories. Through the dusting of guitar, piano and percussion, the song, a sample of their upcoming debut LP, Evergreen (Sept. 28), Adam Reed, Graham Young and Christian Wilder evoke a kind of love-lorn midnight thievery that stings but proves to be critical to this so-called life.

“flis” by Emilia Ali, featuring Mannywellz

This is the kind of pop confection that is so sweet, the sugar high lasts for days, if not weeks. Emilia Ali feels the beats, relishing each drop and delightful rainbow sprinkle, and as the prominent guitar stretches and flicks beside her, the pop upstart reaches a climax that even Katy Perry would envy. Mannywellz cuts the proceedings with a sly wink and smile but never at the expense of Ali’s own contributions. “I feel so good,” she coos, the arrangement broadening to next-level delirium. We do, too, m’dear.

Photo Credit: Kris Wixom / TELYKast Twitter / Anna Orhanen Photography

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