Cory Graves
New Music From Conner Youngblood, Danny Cainco And More.
Welcome to Songs of the Week, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By putting them all together here in one place, our hope is that you can spend less time searching for relevant new releases and more time giving each one of these jams the proper shine they so deserve. OK? OK.
Tony Ferraro — “Two Halves Make a Hole”
RIYL: RTB2, Last Joke, Daniel Markham, Hares on the Mountain.
What else you should know: Just a couple months after putting out his A Parrot Buys a Hotel LP — a record that's rather solid from front to back — Tony Ferraro offers up yet another track recorded during the Parrot sessions that inexplicably didn't make the cut. It's a wonder, too, because “Two Halves Make a Hole” is yet another solid piece of well-arranged rock music from Ferraro and his usual accomplices. Among those would be Ryan Thomas Becker, who foregoes his typical guitar wizardry here in favor of the eerie, plunky piano parts that really put this track over the top.
Danny Cainco — “I Do”.
RIYL: Drake's hypothetical evil twin.
What else you should know: Like seemingly every member of the IRAS crew, Danny Cainco is a young star in the making. The 21-year-old emcee and shining Soundcloud star has got a debut album slated for release later this year. In the meantime, fuck with his “I Do” single that could pass for The Weeknd or Drake if it wasn't so hard and dark. That's definitely a good thing. Even at his young age, he sings in a convincing manner that gives you the feeling he's already seen some shit.
New Science Projects — “Great Silence”
RIYL: Home recordings, wistfulness.
What else you should know: From its first strums, this one gives off the vibes of a Ryan Thomas Becker solo song. Except it's not. Sure, that's Ryan singing and playing guitar — but it doesn't take long for NSP mastermind Dale Jones to pop up on cutting synth and those familiar, distant backing vocals that bring to mind all those times he was singing them so close to you at that one house show that you could smell the paint on his face. With Becker's help, the track finds a gentleness not usually achieved by NSP's usual output, while retaining the bleakness and outsidery blues feel of a Jones-penned tune.
Conner Youngblood — “Summer Song”
RIYL: Mute buttons.
What else you should know: Largely comprised of acoustic guitar and some pretty, harmony-rich vocals, Youngblood's latest single is made infinitely more interesting by frequent drastic edits that clip the otherwise pleasant beat from underneath him. It's harsh and jarring every single time it happens, and we couldn't love the uneasy feeling it leaves us with any more. It's weird to feel your heart racing after listening to what's otherwise a quite affable little diddy. Nicely done.
ABACABA — s/t.
RIYL: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.
What else you should know: Proggy Denton rockers ABACABA really dig in with their debut full-length. Don't let that description scare you too much, though. Sure, there are some prog elements, and there are some jammy bits, but only one song in this heavy batch of tunes clocks in past 4-and-a-half minutes, and most are closer to the three-minute mark. Which is to say it's not a chore to dive into in the least. We also reckon it makes even more interesting in a live setting, which you can see for yourself tonight at Dan's Silverleaf. There, The Aquaholics and The Infamists will also be celebrating new albums at this triple-release show.
David Morgan — Genesis EP.
RIYL: Beginnings/new beginnings.
What else you should know: As Morgan raps on “Water,” he's “been grinding for a long time.” That's true: He was once a member of The Mohicans, a Dallas rap outfit that paved the way for that scene's current come-up. But this self-titled EP stands as much as a birth for Morgan as it as re-birth, as the whole thing fittingly opens with the line “I'm just getting started.” Thank goodness for that, as we're already itching for more.
G.U.N. & Cardo — G.U.N. Got Wings EP.
RIYL: Taking it to the next level.
What else you should know: As we mentioned in this column a couple weeks back, the Taylor Gang-affiliated and Dallas-based producer Cardo boasts some top-notch credits — including work with Drake, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean and, of course, Wiz Khalifa — on his resume. With this joint EP, he puts his confidence into the local scene, working with the up-and-coming-and-worthy-of-it Dallas rapper G.U.N. who, for his part, believes the collab will start to launch him into a similar territory as some of those aforementioned superstars. “Everything I do is going Platinum now,” he raps on “Can't Change.” Gotta say, that'd be pretty tight.
Ursa Minor — MOON.
RIYL: Mixtapes in the classic sense.
What else you should know: It wouldn't be a proper Views release day without a third Drake reference in this column, right? Well, you'll find the Six God sandwiched between some Beyonce and Lil' Keke in the opening track on this mix compilation from DJ Ursa Minor, who has now officially dropped the “Yung” the once preceded her name. Drake's cool, for sure. But we're most keen on this effort's final track, “For 214 (RIP A.Dd+).” That one proves that Slim Gravy, Sam Lao and Blue, the Misfit can hold their own even juxtaposed against massive hits from the Kanye Wests and Post Malones of the world.
Wore Partly — “Kiss”
RIYL:
What else you should know: Yeah, we already posted this one over in our White Noise column this week, but as we've been establishing this as the place to look for all the freshest local tracks, we thought it worth a re-post. You can read more of our thoughts on this Prince cover over in the above link, but the main thing to know is that members of War Party, The Fibs, Toy Gun, The Minorz and Andy Pickett all lent their talent to this one.