Getting “Tangled Up in Blue,” while chilling to “Want It With You,” “Seed Spits,” “Last Train” & “Novocaine”
“Split up on a dark sad night/Both agreeing it was best/She turned around to look at me/As I was walking away/I heard her say over my shoulder/We’ll meet again someday/On the avenue/Tangled up in blue” — From 2024 Solomon King & The Chosen covering Bob Dylan’s 1975 hit “Tangled up in Blue”
“I’m so numb to the pain/I must be novocaine/Hurt again, it’s all the same/I must be novocaine” — From Hashemi’s “Novocaine” a modern take on situationship
“No matter who I meet it always comes back to you/Looks like you’ve been running ‘round this circle too/I wonder will this end, or will it end with me and you/We deserve our happy ending someday too/And I want it with you” — Lauren Vahdani’s new single “Want It With You”
The more things change, the more they stay the same, including relationship songs performed by musical artists back then and now. For example, The Telegraph once called Dylan’s iconic “Tangled Up in Blue” song, “the most dazzling lyric ever written…” And, Solomon King’s refreshing interpretation on this classic, from his recent LP The Return of the Folk Singer, underscores the poignancy of those original relationship lyrics. Moreover, as singer/songwriter Hashemi notes, “when the situation-ship gets terrible, at least you have some material for new songs.”
Indeed.
So, here’s a roundup of some indie pop/rock and Americana artists and their tasty new singles, which mine the same emotional territory — he/she loves me, he/she loves me not, I’m sorry, or maybe not!
I randomly met Lauren Vahdani joyfully putting up posters about her upcoming single and gigs (Sep 12 at 7:00 pm at Employees Only, West Hollywood, CA). Her single, “Want It With You” is an upbeat, catchy indie pop/rock tune with a country twang. Vahdani told me, “I’m kind of in the Americana/country scene and I think my next record will lean a little more that way. But this new single kind of sits between Americana and indie pop/rock. I have a music video coming out soon and am doing singles every 6 weeks from a 13-song album.”
Indie Boulevard Magazine wrote of Vahdani’s new single: “This track is like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. It’s light, pleasant, and practically soaked in sunny vibes. Vahdani’s voice — somewhere between country and pop — sounds so clear and melodic, like she’s found the sweet spot between the two genres. It has a cozy feel to it, and there’s something about it that makes you want to sing along. This is a catchy pop track that you’ll want to play on repeat.”
You got to hand it to indie artists enthusiastically doing their own legwork.
Next up is Hashemi, another Angeleno songwriter with Persian ancestry, who I ran into at a book club reading at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. She had just released her EP, Swimming At Night, a compilation of songs reflecting on lost love. Her new tune “Novocaine” is a single to follow up to that EP. And, she’ll also be releasing another single in October.
This talented, effervescent singer/songwriter explains a little more about the new single: “I had had the title ‘Novocaine’ for a while in my phone where I keep song ideas. And, when I had to go to the dentist, I remembered the title and that I should write that song. I wrote it with my co-writer Myah Langston and we were talking about being numb to pain, not wanting to feel your feelings when they’re too intense to process. It’s definitely not a healthy way of dealing with emotions, but I think we have all done/do it from time to time when we’re just not ready to deal with something painful. It was recorded with producer Marshall Gallagher in his studio and we used a blend of synths with electric guitar sprinkled in to give it a dark sound.”
Hashemi has previously opened for legendary artist Herb Alpert, won a Southwest Airlines jingle contest, and has had her music placed in shows on Bravo, CBS, and ABC. So, give “Novocaine” a twirl.
About a decade ago, I had another random encounter — “random’ perhaps being the secret sauce to making headway in Los Angeles for any artist. One summer afternoon, I heard a sweet voice and guitar playing across the courtyard, the sounds dancing out from a neighbor’s open door. I shouted out, “Sing it louder!” Which broke the ice, as I met young Brittany O’Neill from Richmond, Virginia.
Ten years later, Brittany is back on the East coast and about to release her first single, the musically seductive “Seed Spits,” explaining on Facebook: “My band Shera Shi’s first single ‘Seed Spits’ is being released on Sept 13! This will be the first of three singles, with a full-length EP to follow. This is a hell of a big deal for me. It’s taken me over a decade to release any of my original music, for a multitude of reasons — the main one being perfectionism. I finally have the courage, the support and help from some really incredible musicians/audio engineers/artists/friends, and a full-ass album almost ready to be released into the world. I am just so proud and anticipate the future progression and success of this band.”
Carpe diem, sing it louder, Brittany!
Finally, here’s another musical act I met in Los Feliz, the ultra-hip looking, brother/sister pop-rock duo whimsically called The Manic Boys and Girls Club. This year already, Fernando and Bela Ferreira have toured in Portugal and in Canada, and also earned a Video of the Year Award at the International Portuguese Music Awards for their single “We’ll Be Fine” — the video was apparently made in two days, one actor, two crew. No lighting. No permits. No makeup. No special effects. Nothing to lean on but a simple idea and the duo’s creativity.
Now, that’s powerful and creative indie music-making.
Another single called “Sorry,” which they released earlier this summer, kicks off with the plaintive lyric: “All I’ve got left is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Fernando told The Harlton Empire: “Sorry is a love song. More specifically, an apology for sabotaging something that is perfectly healthy for no other reason than just a desire for newness. It’s about a self-destructive nature. The regret. If you’ve ever wondered what you did wrong, what you said, or what happened…sometimes the answer really is nothing.”
And, now, their latest single/video is “Last Train” — “We’ll take the last train out tonight, this could be a last night of our lives…” But Fernando’s added reflection on their previous song, “Sorry,” takes the conversation to another level, as he suggests, “If you take anything away from ‘Sorry,’ I hope it’s the lyric, ‘We can make the wrong things right,,,’ The truth is, we’re all flawed, and that’s okay.”
True enough, whether we’re tangled up in blue, just sorry or wondering if a relationship will continue or just end.
Drop in on The Manic Boys and Girls Club, Lauren Vahdani, Hashemi, Solomon King, and Shera Shi on Spotify.
