Reviews

Kaitlyn Shuko-photo by Paolo Salud - courtesy of the artist

Kaitlyn Shuko Tosses A Musical Stone

August 16, 2023 by Giulia Arlia

Next up on your playlist: Brooklyn-based Kaitlyn Shuko’s mini EP, Stone Tossing. Consisting of two songs, “stone tossing” and “b.b.”, Kaitlyn Shuko shows she is... read article

Cindy Alexander’s “Messy” Gets Rugged and Real About Life

August 1, 2023 by Michela Arlia

Singer, songwriter and storyteller Cindy Alexander has a magical way with words and phrases in her latest album Messy. In the 10-track album, this indie... read article

Lakse Street Dive -Fun Machine The Sequel album art

Lake Street Dive’s Fun Machine: The Sequel EP

July 18, 2023 by Giulia Arlia

If you’re looking for music that feels both nostalgic and new at the same time, take a listen to Lake Street Dive’s Fun Machine: The... read article

Bandits On The Run at the Dumbo Archway/ photo by Noemie Trusty

Bandits on the Run Steal Hearts at Dumbo Archway

July 13, 2023 by David K. Moseder

As part of the Dumbo Improvement District’s current Wednesday evening “Live at the Archway” summer music series, Brooklyn Roads caught an extensive, spirited set from... read article

Matter Album Art courtesy of Kanine Records

Nicole Yun’s “Matter” Matters !

June 10, 2023 by Giulia Arlia

Nicole Yun shares her latest work in an album entitled Matter. Her collection of 90s-inspired rock tackles issues of depression, melancholy, and personal moments in... read article

Annie Keating Release Show / photo by Griffon Sgroi Jacobs

Annie Keating On The Jalopy Theatre Stagr photo by Griffon Sgroi Jacobs

Annie Keating Wows Jalopy Crowd With “Hard Frost” Release Show

May 27, 2023 by David K. Moseder

With her newest album, Hard Frost, due out on June 1, Brooklyn’s own Annie Keating played a release show at Jalopy Theatre on May 18.... read article

Camp Bedford photo by Yekaterina Gyadu

Camp Bedford’s “So Often & So Sweet” Is So Promising

April 17, 2023 by David K. Moseder

Brooklyn-based trio Camp Bedford — Roxanne Quilty and Mariela Flor Olivo, on guitars and lead vocals and Tallen Gabriel on cello – have released their... read article

Bruce Springsteen at Barclays Center In 2016 Photo by Debra L. Rothenberg

Brooklyn’s Live Music Scene Is Blossoming

April 2, 2023 by The Brooklyn Roads Team

Now that spring is upon us and the pandemic is behind us, Brooklyn’s music venues are rushing to make up for lost time. The most... read article

Aiofe O'Donovan Plays Nebraska-album cover

Aoife O'Donovan Plays Nebraska Album Art

Aoife O’Donovan’s “Nebraska” — A Fresh Take on a Classic Album

March 23, 2023 by David K. Moseder

Aoife O’Donovan Plays Nebraska was initially a live-stream event recorded at her Brooklyn home on May 9, 2020, and released digitally in 2021. Now it’s... read article

IVA’S “NOBODY’S WOMAN” SHOULD APPEAL TO EVERYBODY

March 17, 2023 by David K. Moseder

When Brooklyn Roads interviewed singer-songwriter IVA in November of 2022, she told us that she aims to create “thought provoking” music that “gives people mega... read article

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Artists on our Radar

Brayden Baird Is Asking the Big Questions – And Making You Laugh Through the Pain

Brayden Baird -photo courtesy of Mix-Tape Media

After decades of producing and releasing music under various aliases, Brooklyn’s own Brayden Baird is stepping into the spotlight with his most raw and refined work yet. Backed by the Once in a Lifetime Band, Baird’s upcoming LP Lord, why do you do these things to me? is a heartfelt and even satirical exploration of grief, identity, and faith that refuses to follow conventional sounds before its time. Across the ten-track album, Baird weaves catchy humor with emotional vulnerability, building a soundscape that feels intimate and extravagant all at once. His lyrics are clever without being cynical and full of sincerity; this delicate balance places him alongside emerging alt-folk figures like Cameron Winter and Nate Amos. The album kicks off with its title track, a sharp, stomping folk-rock number that wrestles with clever anecdotes and the chaos of unanswered prayers. From there, the songs unravel like chapters in a personal essay. The blending of stories of loss, family, addiction, and self-discovery comes about in just about every track. “Light in the Tunnel” turns a daily subway ride into an anthem of personal awakening. At the same time, “When Will the Sun Rise Again?” delivers a haunting, piano-led meditation on mourning and artistic authenticity. Other tracks showcase Baird’s gift for finding light in unlikely places. “Blue for the Body” is a lively reflection on coping mechanisms based on Gatorade flavors, which Baird says “is intended as a fun jam that people can sing and play along to and make light of the weight of addictions.”. “Pelican” draws on childhood lore amid his father’s mythical stories that untangle complex family bonds. With the accompanying music video for this track, Baird draws on whimsical elements of his father’s storytelling, saying, “In life, it is so easy to hate somebody based on the things they’ve done and so hard to forgive. After all, we are just working with the things we’ve got.” One of the album’s most affecting moments, which comes halfway through “It Kills Me to See You Sick,” channels rage and helplessness into a hushed piano ballad that’s both deeply personal and widely relatable, with Baird recounting the pain and sadness behind the song’s creation as his mom was diagnosed with Cancer as other family members were simultaneously hospitalized. On the last track of the album, “When You Were Castrated,” Baird confronts mortality and estrangement with brutal honesty about his father’s passing, delivering a final note that is at once heartbreaking and cathartic. Baird’s musical world is one of contradictions: funny and tragic, sarcastic and sincere, spiritual and grounded. With Lord, why do you do these things to me?* he’s created an album that doesn’t just tell stories but invites listeners to sit with them, question them, and sing along anyway. Catch Brayden Baird and the Once in a Lifetime Band at their album release show at The Rabbit Hole in Brooklyn on June 26 and stream the whole record on June 20.

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