“I Know This Girl” takes no time or rest getting right into the driving melody and percussive sway to this arrangement. Guitar lines that beg you to dance and move along. Singer Ethan Robbins stretching his range out and injecting a (somehow relaxed) intensity to his performance. He sinks in ever so brilliantly to each word, but the tone and feel hit in a deep way.

All great bands, no matter what the size, need the glue that holds things together and Ariel Bernstein is like Titebond on steroids. There is such a taste and temperament to his playing. Going where the song needs his rhythmic influence and control the most.

This band is pure vibe and swagger. But, I would expect nothing less.

Listen to the track below.

“I Know This Girl” is the first tune off of Cold Chocolate’s upcoming record, Not Gonna Stop (releasing on February 13th 2026). You can pre-order the full record over on their Bandcamp Site.

Ethan is like Renaissance master painter. The 8 strings of his mandolin as his brush and the air is the canvas he paints with an ethereal palette of moods and colors. “Boundless” may be quick in its length, but pulls you deep into its sonic landscape. Trickling tremolo drenched in reverb and an undulating bass rhythm. Like the rich darkness of a desert night, curious and calling out, but a bit heavy and almost bordering on mysterious and unearthly. Seemingly endless miles of space, to explore and breath in, in between.

From Ethan: This month I’m releasing an EP of some music I worked on during 2020 and 2021 when I had a lot of time at home to experiment. Across The Great Divide, vol. 1 is inspired by time in solitude traveling across the US, and incorporates field recorded samples from the great outdoors. The first single, Boundless comes out TODAY, January 3rd! More singles will follow and the full album releases on January 24th. Below, I’m excited to share the artwork for the first single, featuring the work and photography of Louise Bichan. You can hear Boundless wherever you stream music.

Filmed in St. James Community Square in Vancouver, BC by Trent Freeman, the hall behind the trio is empty as the camera slowly paces back and forth in front of the group as they sing this solemn tune. The collective noise filling the space with a warmth cast in grey and blue. It has that down trodden traditional feel, taking you back to times of famine and untilled fields, but contextually in the modern day. There is just such a timeless quality to the subtle play between pain and optimism in White’s voice. M’Gonigle’s harmonies adding the perfect garnish to an already delicious feast for your ears and soul. Moments of hesitance and reserved excitement interplay with one another, creating an emotional push and pull that really hits.

I’d be remiss to not mention the beautiful light and coloring of the video work here from Trent Freeman as well. A wonderful dovetail between visual and audible arts.

If you haven’t already dove head first into Bella’s latest release, I cannot urge you enough to go on ahead and buy it today. “Just Like Leaving” was recently re-released with Round Records.

Songwriter and lead singer Martin England says, “‘Talking to Your Ghost’ is my favorite song on the record. It’s super fun to play live, and always gets people going.” Considering where this song came from, England says, “It was inspired by my gratitude of being married to the world’s most amazing woman, and how, even after twenty-two years, we can still surprise and delight each other with humor and romance. It’s about connectedness, even if it sounds otherwise.”  Even if it sounds otherwise. That’s what I love about this band and this record: there are layers to every song, and the paradoxes lead you to deeper truths.

But the biggest news today is that you can catch The Reconstructed opening for The Drive-By Truckers on Sunday at Prescott Park! As always, the line-up for this summer of concerts in Portsmouth is amazing. Where else can you see acts of this caliber for a $10 donation? Get out there, my friends! 

There are a lot of artists out there who suffer from the malady “cover-a-song-but-its-not-as-good-as-the-original-and-you-didn’t-make-it-your-own”-itis. Emily Mure is not one of those artists.

Just today Mure dropped a new single celebrating her love of covering songs (and not only doing them justice, but elevating them to new and exciting places). She tackles “Gone for Good” by The Shins this time around and called on a host of incredible artists (and engineer-extraordinaire Dan Cardinal) to capture her take on the tune.

Emily has a penchant for weaving enchanting, vibrant arrangements with her voice and simple guitar patterns. The power and control she has over her voice is a feat to marvel at. Calming and putting you at ease, it sinks you down into a song. There is a flow and movement, pressed on by twinkling and trickling guitar notes from master Lyle Brewer. Well placed and firmly embedded harmonies from Caroline Cotter are a perfect accoutrement to Mure’s delicate voice. The chorus that unleashes in a patter of cascading words.

Emily Mure has this way about her. She will release something that borders on utter perfection, tour for a bit, then escape back into a creative cocoon before emerging again, somehow more brilliant and enthralling than the previous go around. Word on the street is this is just the first in a line of covers that will culminate in a full project EP. Keep an eye out for them as they continue to reveal themselves in teh coming months and get out and see Mure live whenever and wherever you can.

Songwriter and guitarist Dan Baker came my way via the usual channels a number of years back. Playing the same dives and swapping each others records when we once shared a bill. I was immediately hooked on his plaintive and candid writing style. Songs like ‘This Ain’t My Home’ completely shook up my ideals of what a good song should be. Prior to hearing Baker meaning drenched in metaphor and literary device and afterwards realizing that THESE were the kinds of songs I wanted to be writing. When he proclaims “well I live up in a room, two stories from the street / in a building make of bricks in the 1970s / its got carpet on the floor, 15 inches thick / its got popcorn on the ceiling, makes me kind of sick” I related so deeply to that plainspoken method of writing. I’ve lived in that shitty apartment, I think most of us have who got back from college and had no money and far more debt. Or those who weren’t able to attend college and were scraping by on what we could make during the day and playing for tips and beer at night. His words resonant more than I can properly explain.

I dance like a chicken and cry like a mule 
I’ll just get out and walk if I run out of fuel 
And it ain’t true honey what you think 
Even though I never make a stink 
I do suffer 
I do suffer 

Sonically, ‘Suffer’, has such a groove to it that keeps your head dipping back and forth and occasionally descends into madness when Baker riffs off on something. It can be a sort of controlled explosiveness that is exciting and tension creating. Its not quite straight blues or straight rock n’ roll, the rhythm steady and strong driving, but also unpredictable in a grunge, garage rock sort of way. The dynamic rhythm duo Matt Slobogan on drums and Brian Jablonski on bass just round out the sound wonderfully, adding just what it needs. Its just plain fucking awesome.

I cannot wait to hear what comes next from this band and watch them as they further cement themselves as one of Providence’s finest.

The duo recently released their debut EP back at the end of June and this one song is speaking to us particularly deep. Just one of those tunes that gets you moving. With a quick walking bass, throbbing keys, just a vibe that is undeniable. Woodsmith’s voice is pure power, a quick spitfire of words, that belly deep rumble and seemingly effortless perfection…beautifully badass. I had know Chris Hersch to be a power player in the past, a guitarist who rips but he shows his penchant for playing tasteful coloring all over the track as well. I think that restraint and knowing that sometimes less notes is more sets the best from the rest and Hersch is at the top of the game.

Of that performance I reminisced “Some music needs to be listened intently to. Taken in with a deep and engaging breathe and held there for a bit. Appreciated and experienced.” The songs off of the singer-songwriter’s latest record are no different. Pensive and curious. Her voice sailing aloft in a seascape of sounds that dip and bob beneath the narrative she is carving out of the swells motioning past. 

“Where I’ll Find You” particularly caught me up in the feeling of it all. A sort of smokey-jazz inspired feel seeps its way into the instrumental portion of the song. Notes from an acoustic occasionally cutting through the snare and bass lines, Joan’s mellowed tone floating and weaving between it all. Its transportive and spell binding.

tie me to the banks and hold me, safe from all the storms that form behind me

out on the blank sea

Singer-guitarist Tyler-James Kelly has a voice like no other. There is a grit and rough and tumble nature to his vocal that matches his howling slide guitar work and infectious riffs. Sand papered and whiskey stained, the emotion that creeps through the cracks in the surface, its just some heavy stuff that makes you want to move. It’s hard to believe the band is just a trio with the sheer volume of sound that they bring to the table. And I don’t mean in a way that encompasses some sort of “we can be loud so we will be” ideaology. No, there is a purpose to each lifting note or increase in the energy poured from the band. It just sounds like so much more than a bass, a drum, a guitar is going on. The harmonies are on point and HUGE.

As a whole the record brings so much to the table. Allman Brothers style guitar antics to swampy delta, low hanging blues that skims across the arrangement of the track. “Let It Ride” is the first track off the album and lends itself more to the rock side of things. With a heavy lead in and a melody and repeated chorus line that is catchy as all f*ck. The riff trailing under Kelly’s voice forcibly moves you to a head bob and foot stomp. The entrance of harmony vocals in the verse that picks up the fervor of the song. Building and building. Its just…so…damn…good. Give a listen to it now and buy the record. The weather is getting colder and The Silks bluesy rock style is just the thing to heat you up.

You can pick up the whole record on Bandcamp RIGHT HERE. Do it.

As I have come to expect from the Kickers, the harmonies are on point in this track and leave you with that fluttering feeling in your chest. The repeated nature of the chorus really carries you into the song and the story contained within. Characterized by a strong rhythm section, the acoustic strum breaking through the mix regularly and a strong electric guitar solo for good measure, it’s a great listen again and again.

well this world has had its way of breaking her down 
down to where she’s had her share 
of cocaine and cigarettes, she’s 98 pounds 
of proof that life isn’t fair.

Another great tune from a great band.

For those of you in the Boston area, the band will be at The Bull Run, in Shirley, MA on January 30th.

Tickets are here: http://tickets.bullrunrestaurant.com/orderticketsarea.asp?p=981&a=41&backurl=default.asp

Also of note, Liz Frame and the Kickers are very excited to be part of this year’s Merlefest lineup! Check it out here: http://merlefest.org/lp-v4