On Max’s latest album Flowers, you can hear him stretch the limits of his own pre-determinations in a way that feels historical and futuristic all the same—timeless and lived-in yet existing someplace beyond the folk bonafides that have long encapsulated Kahn’s off-kilter lilt. The songs get personal without losing his trademark brightness. He’ll always try to be funny about the things that are following him around, be it death, marriage, and whatever triumphs and tragedies fall somewhere in between.
Nick Stockton’s latest release, Martinis & Dexedrine, finds the native Californian singer/songwriter exploring a gentler, yet darker sound inspired as much by Laurel Canyon-style folk as it is the boozy classic honky tonk of past releases. Recorded in San Francisco, the EP finds the singer reuniting with former Midnight Sons bandmates and a handful of other fellow 2010s SF garage rock scene denizens. But make no mistake— the track bears little resemblance to the jangling drunken anthems of those days. Instead: a lilting country waltz where barroom piano meets warbling harmonica, bolstered by a two-stepping Spanish guitar. Soaring harmonies paired with Stockton’s measured croon evoke the haunted, crumbling California cityscapes and desolate country highways that serve as the songwriter’s inspiration.
