Kennie Mason, lead singer and founder of Jacksonville band Siichaq (pronounced sea-check), always felt like a fish out of water in the community she grew up in. Her music career began early, checking off the rite of passage of many a beach kid: singing in a rock band with a bunch of surfers. After a few years of growth and …
Jacksonville Band Ducats Offers Worthy Psych-Rock Delights on New Single, “Uggo Druggo”
Springtime apparently activates febrile indie rock music. The latest track from locals Ducats, “Uggo Druggo” heralds the seasonal arc in the form of an unhurried post-punk planted in a field of reverb. Over the course of its four-and-a-half minutes, “Uggo Druggo” is carried along in a bramble of guitar stabs and textures, riffs closing and falling back into the echoes, …
Latest from Duval-to-NYC Musician Alexei Shishkin is a Quality Byrds-Style Flight Plan
Make no mistake: “Wind Picks Up Again,” the third track from Alexei Shishkin’s recent album dagger, is a fantastic rock song. From the start, it’s evident that the Jacksonvillian-turned-NYC-Brooklynite is adept at evoking the kind of lysergic 12-string-guitar shimmer that made 1966-era Byrds achieve stratospheric peaks, and the driving bass and drums accompaniment of Shishkin’s economical approach propels and enhances …
Annie Dukes Have a Hankering for “Cherry” on Hot-Blooded New Single
Femme-fronted Jacksonville rock outfit Annie Dukes are marking this International Women’s Day with a blistering new single, “Cherry.” Cassidy Lee (bass, vocals), Emma Moseley (guitar, vocals), Callie Johns (keys, vocals) and Mike Monahan (drums) describe their sound as “Black Sabbath meets Fleetwood Mac,” and on “Cherry,” the foursome hew to the heavier end of that spectrum. The dynamic track evokes …
Duval Indie-Pop Impresario HUAN Delivers an Anthemic Takedown with “Finer Things”
Operating in a creative realm parallel to bedroom dream-pop exists Duval-based musician HUAN, aka Juan Mallorca, who throws a little nuanced neon light and electronic-soul on his DIY domain. Mallorca’s garage-rock jollies are satisfied with his project Jawberry and he’s also the mastermind behind the latin-trap entity, Chico Honey. Over a breezy riff that is smooth to the point of …
Erica Reese Spirals Through Shoegaze on Hooky New Single “Pretty”
Ahead of her set at this weekend’s Winterland Six music festival, Jacksonville’s own Erica Reese has shared a shoegazing new single, “Pretty,” produced by her Coastal Creature collaborator Parker Dixon. Awash in oceanic guitar tones and unflinching vulnerability, “Pretty” finds Reese’s narrator seeking external validation in what she knows deep down is a futile effort to fill some internal emptiness. …
Here’s How Jax Indie-Rockers Seagate Use Analog & Digital Gear to Achieve their Garage-y Sound
As Seagate frontman Sam Baglino shared his influences with me—Osees and Ty Segall, to name a few—I couldn’t help but notice that this local musician-of-all-trades is drawn to prolific artists. Both acts he named have, respectively, released more than a dozen records, and when considering Seagate’s own output, this influence just makes sense. Last year alone, the band released a …
On New EP, Jacksonville Hip-Hop Artist Willie Evans Jr. Explores High-Level Concepts with Nuanced Cool
Prolificity, patience, and discernment are all evident in the mix-mind of Willie Evans Jr. The Duval-based hip-hop polymath has been creating music and cultivating the overall contemporary Southeastern rap scene for so long—25+ years and counting—that it seems as if he was always been present. Evans is woven tightly into the Full Plate label-scene, an imprint that has codified and …
New Compilation from Moon Cheese Babies is a Glimpse into the Radiant Murk of the Local Music Underground
From its deliberate misspelled name to overall aesthetic vision, since 2009 the local label Infintesmal Records is tantamount to an ongoing unreleased soundtrack to the 1967 documentary Titicut Follies. That still-affecting B&W-film chronicled the hellscape that was the Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. In this case, in lieu of the mental hospital Infintesmal Records label cohorts Jimmi Bayer …
Duval Jazz Collective Madre Vaca Share a Surprising, Stellar Coltrane-Meets-King Arthur Concept Album
What at face value sounds like a potential theoretical misfire or needless farce—see: Northeast Florida jazz musicians creating a concept album celebrating the Arthurian legends—is a surprising, welcomed and well-executed addition to local music. The Jacksonville-based jazz collective Madre Vaca have just released their 10-song Knights of the Round Table album, available as download and also a quality CD package …
A New Six-Song EP from Duval Soul/Hip-Hop Collective L.O.V.E. Culture Maintains Their Vibrational Pull
Since 2019’s Vol. 1, the first in a series of EP’s that culminated in the January 2024 release of Vol. 3, Duval hip-hop collective L.O.V.E. Culture has made it evident that, while they were fully capable of creating dancefloor-ready songs, they were aiming for a higher aspect through lyricism, instrumentation and sonic production. While collectively the six-songs on Vol. 3 …
How Singer Cortnie Frazier Wrote Coyboi’s Stunning Love Song, “Violets”
Welcome to Songwriting School, where we talk to local songwriters about how they wrote one song. Coyboi is a collaborative songwriting effort between Cortnie Frazier and Ihlan Magloire, two musicians whose friendship traces back all the way to elementary school in Green Cove Springs. Frazier’s lyric-writing style is as confident as her singing voice. Here’s our conversation with her about …
Cory Driscoll and Tianna DiSalvo Duet on Eureka Springs’ Upbeat Ode to Friendship
Taken from their new single Two Duets, Eureka Springs‘ “Great Friends” is a three-minute, light-and-breezy ride through the joys of companionship. The brainchild of Cory Driscoll, this latest iteration of Eureka Springs finds the Jacksonville singer-songwriter accompanied by several local musicians, including Tianna DiSalvo (of Patsy’s Daydream) on guest vocals, trumpeter Robert Bidwell and guitarist Danny Strickland. The rolling, gentle …
The Latest from St. Augustine’s King Peach is a Tasty Throttling of Anthemic Postcore Rock
King Peach has shared a new single, “I Know.” The St. Augustine indie-rock four piece’s debut full-length Found Dead was one pleasant surprise of 2023 (a year that wasn’t exactly bursting with pleasantness). Amongst other worthy delights, the crispy-crunch of “Let Us Not,” with its ungodly guitar hook that evoked J. Mascis blowing up display amps at Guitar Center, and …
St. Augustine’s Kevin PM Shares Idyllic Debut Album ‘burning’
Kevin PM, aka Ancient City singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and educator Kevin Mahoney, has released his first full-length album, burning. Out now on Jacksonville’s own Long Jump Records, the LP is the artist’s third release on the label after a pair of EPs, 2020’s Fondly* and 2021’s And Then Forever. Mahoney wrote the 10 tracks that would become burning between …
23 Local Songs We Loved in ‘23
JME contributors pick their favorite songs made by Jacksonville-area artists this year
This year, the Jacksonville Music Experience team reviewed more than 70 songs made by Jacksonville-area artists as part of our Local Spotlight series, and breathlessly covered the local scene with features like Songwriting School, Gearheads and more. For our marquee year-end list, we decided – somewhat arbitrarily – to share 23 local songs made in 2023. Of course, this being …
Jax Indie Band Teal Peel Shares Debut Album Ahead of Vinyl Release Show on WJCT Soundstage
Popular Jacksonville-based indie-rock band Teal Peel has shared Country River, the group’s debut long player, ahead of a vinyl release show on the WJCT Soundstage next week. In addition to the four songs from the band’s 2023 Sandy EP – the dynamic soft-loud slacker-rock single “Smello Coffee”; the pensive insect odes “How Many Bugs” and “Fruit Flies”; the laid-back, surf-inflected …
How RickoLus Wrote His New Heartfelt, Cinematic Single, “New York”
Welcome to Songwriting School, where we talk to songwriters about how they wrote one song. Singer-songwriter Rick Colado, better known as rickoLus, has a new album coming out in March. His first single from that album, “New York,” may sound like it’s about New York City, but in a lot of ways, rickoLus really wrote it about his hometown: Jacksonville, …
‘Tapes Volume 1,’ New Release from Jax Indie-Rock Band Seagate, is a Fine and Furious Collection
From the not-yet-fully developed prefrontal cortex of guitarist and songwriter Sam Baglino (kid is 21-years young), Jacksonville indie-rock band Seagate‘s Tapes Volume I is a six-song release of lo-fi, careening electro-shock-punk jollies. Opening track “Mind Control” hits hard, with a crushing groove and hyper guitar hook that is, whether through accident or intention, straight-up 1970s protean punk that is tasty …
Jax Band Rosewilder Unveils their Swan Song with Final Single, “Cherry Leaves and Razor Blades”
“Cherry Leaves and Razor Blades,” the just-released track from Duval indie rockers Rose Wilder is also apparently their swan song and final release, and that reality can surely influence that experience of hearing the song. In some ways the song is a less-gory transfusion of prime-era My Bloody Valentine, especially with the swirl of lead vocals, but with a decidedly …
New Collab from Jax’s Bright Purpel and Culture School Brings a Positive Gradient to Their Soulful Palettes
A collaboration between Duval new-soul and hip-hop artists Bright Purpel and multi-instrumentalist and producer Culture School offers up a radiant glow. The second track from Culture School’s new release Nail Salon, the three-and-a-half minutes of “Purpel” moves along courtesy of an unhurried chromatic keyboard riff, with Culture School (Quinn Spencer) and Bright Purpel (K.UTIE and Jeremy Ryan) trading off lyrics …
Local Psych-Heads Yaupon Holly Double Down and Break the Bank with their Latest Pummeling Single
Heading at you with rolled-up sleeves and tube amps a-blazin’, local garage-fiends Yaupon Holly are the apparent chimera of Motörhead and Mudhoney and their recent single “No Aces” is intent on banging your head via generous skull-crackery. Kicking off with an impressive jazzy intro by drummer Michael Glime, “No Aces” shows its hand immediately with guitarists Marcelo Celi and Bryson …
Sun Child Stick to the Shadows on First Full-Band Single “Ghost”
Jacksonville Beach-via-Charleston’s Sun Child, the folk-pop outfit formed earlier this year as the solo project of singer-songwriter Brooke Garwood, have shared their first single as a full band. Released last week, “Ghost” is a downcast, atmospheric breakup ballad in which Garwood sifts through the fallout of a fractured relationship, equally unsure of what it truly meant and of what comes …
Bad Madonna Fight for Their Right to Party on “Vicious Party Girl”
Local indie-rock act Bad Madonna have shared their first new material as a four-piece, the spiky anti-judgment anthem “Vicious Party Girl,” ahead of a single release show on October 20, at The Block Skate Supply in Springfield, with an accompanying music video due out Friday, October 27. On “Vicious Party Girl,” singer-songwriter Alexis Rhode, guitarist Dylan Young and bassist Storm …
“Trance,” the Latest from Jacksonville’s K.UTIE is a Winning Dance-Floor Reverie
The latest from K.UTIE is a genre-shifter for the changing of seasons, with enough high-gloss soul to usher in the cooler weather. Produced by Mantra, “Trance” serves up three strong minutes of hypnotizing sliding synths, switched-up percussion to keep things in motion, propelled by jabs of bass, as K.UTIE sings about being both mesmerized by—and questioning of—the daze of love: …
St. Augustine’s Spotless Record Share First Single, “Sertraline Dream”
From Isola Collective, the St. Augustine-based queer music collective who brought you Kids in Their Cars, comes the new band Spotless Record, who recently shared “Sertraline Dream,” the first single from their forthcoming debut album growing pains. The Isola Collective thread begins with this summer’s mary st. demos, the first EP of three from Kids in Their Cars that will …
Jacksonville’s Jeremy Marshall Blanton Delivers the Goods with “Strange Cargo”
The title track from Duval singer-songwriter Jeremy Marshall Blanton‘s Strange Cargo EP dropped in mid-October and it’s a certain gem for anyone seeking local musical treasure. While Blanton has worked with estimable area acts including Robert Lester Folsom, Dean Winter and the Heat and Strangerwolf, the flavors Blanton serves up on his debut EP are surely his own. The intro …
Latest Single from Kale That Raps Offers a Healthy Dose of Duval Hip-Hop Soul
The certain Northeast Florida Renaissance of forward-thinking and progressive hip-hop has produced another impressive artist in the form of Kale That Raps. Taken from his recent Summer Feels Like… EP, the track “A Heartbeat” is an impressive three-minute mix of soul and languid-yet-assured raps from Kale. A dream-like production of otherworldly backing vocals, ethereal to the point of levitation, a …
The Latest from Duval Rockers Ducats Stays Faithful to Their Lo-Fidelity Psych Sensibilities
The latest from Duval rockers Ducats takes the continuous-release, narcoticized-guitar maneuvering of peak My Bloody Valentine and halcyon days Teenage Fanclub well into the 21st century. “Painless” is stylized but hardly flatlined or constrained by any rockist demands. Wobbly guitar shimmers over, under and around vocals unintelligible to the point of any distinguishable words — and that is a compliment. …
On “Foreign Rain,” Jax Goth-Rockers Glass Chapel Channel ’80s Synth-Pop
The new single from Duval goth-rockers Glass Chapel is ‘80s dourness to the max. Band member Jake Phillips acknowledges that “Foreign Rain” is “inspired by Gary Numan and Cold Cave.” And from the icy keyboard tones, disaffected vocals drenched in reverb, not to mention a definite Peter Hook-infused bass-guitar outro, the tune surely paints within the parameters of dark wave …
With “La La,” Jax Progressive-Soul Duo Bright Purpel has Preemptively Bloomed the Local Song of the Summer
A strong lead-in track from the equally consistent Colors, the debut album from Duval progressive-soul duo Bright Purpel, “La La” is the summertime jam of 2023; bloomed early in the spring. A three-minute paen to being blindsided by love, a fat-free-and-lean production (including tasty brass and a savvy loop of “La La” that is an electro-percussive force unto itself), and …
Artsy Jax Noise Duo golfer two’s ‘bl00db4th6000’ is Four Minutes of Enjoyable Unorthodoxy
Jacksonville experimental outfit golfer two recently released a new album, bl00db4th6000, that assuredly has regional noise acts shaking in their hand-me-down boots. The duo’s unimpeachably-DIY and innovative psychoactive sound has hit the market (see: bandcamp) and unlike the infamous synthetic amphetamine that led to an albeit short-lived trend of face-eating in Miami, golfer two’s album is labeled for human consumption. …
Local Spotlight | Hear 3 new songs from Jax artists out now
Brand new tracks from Bobby Kid, Bad Madonna and Dean Winter and the heat
The Jacksonville Music Experience team keeps its collective ear to the ground in Duval County in order to put the spotlight on the beautiful noise emerging from the First Coast and reverberating across the globe. Here’s three great new tracks by Jacksonville artists out right now. “High Resolution” by Bad Madonna Indie singer-songwriter Alexis Rhode, aka Bad Madonna, has released …
Local Spotlight | The best releases by Jax artists out right now
New singles from Faze Wave and Niki Dawson; albums by LPT and DeAndre Lettsome
The JME team was busy last week, as new music flooded in from across Northeast Florida. New tracks from indie rock quartet Faze Wave and singular vocalist Niki Dawson perked our ears. And meditative and complex new full-lengths from jazz-scene standout DeAndre Lettsome and ten-piece Afro-Cuban salsa orchestra LPT gave us much to chew on. Here are the best new …