livefreediyhard.com

Tag: Folk

  • The First Year by Here For You

    The First Year by Here For You

    Note From the Author: This review was originally posted on the Start-track blog.

    Artist: Here For You

    Album: The First Year 

    Released: October 25, 2025; Atlanta Zone Records 

    Here For You is a band from Brooklyn, New York and on their first album: “The First Year” they offer up an eclectic mix of folk and pop. I actually covered “Theme Song 2” their last single for this album a few weeks ago here on the blog[This is in reference to this Start-track blog post].  I bring this up because it is my favorite song from the album and I feel like if you haven’t checked it out yet, you definitely should. 

    “French Toast” is hands down my second favorite song from the album, mainly because it is a very tongue and cheek reflection on the food industry, food culture and marketing. It does this under the guise of a song about enjoying breakfast and all conveniences provided by modern times that make it great.. It’s an up beat song that is highly infectious. It is hard not to start singing along. About a minute into the song there is a jazzy bit that is really fun. It is a pure bop. 

    There is an extraordinary vibe presented by “Night at Maud’s”. I would frankly, be remiss for failing to mention it. The song starts out with an extremely twangy guitar riff that is quite enjoyable.The group vocals are exceptional and the distorted guitar that ends the song is a great finish. The lyrics are about hot summer nights in the city and that is just about as relatable as anything. All this adds up to equal the ultimate sit and chill song.

    “Brunson Floater” is a song about the people in your life that you can always count on for support and wanting to reciprocate that support. I must confess that I had to google the name of the song because it presented a metaphor I wasn’t New York and/or sporty enough to initially understand. That being said, I think its rather delightful now that I am in the know. This song features some more group vocals that I think work really well.

    The last song that I want to talk about is “Go Forth”. This is probably the song on the album that is the most folk punk in terms of vocal presentation, which is something that I quite like. And again the group vocals in the song are superb. What I really like about this song in particular is the ending lyrics are borrowed from a Utah Phillips song. Aside from me personally being a Utah Phillips appreciator in general, I think that there is a direct line between his music and themes of solidarity, friendship, and finding joy presented in the song and in the album in general. To me, it feels very much like modern folk paying homage to someone who helped shape the genre. 

    “The First Year” by Here For You can be defined largely by its poppy folk performance, its use of stellar group vocals, and its themes of overcoming adversity through solidarity and friendship. On top of all that, they still manage to fit in a dash or two of punk rock attitude. This is a very strong first album and I am definitely looking forward to more from Here For You in the future. 

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase The First Year by Here For you via Amazon Music 

  • Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen by Little Tiny Knife

    Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen by Little Tiny Knife

    Album: Wayne’s World/ Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen

    Artist: Little Tiny Knife 

    Released: July 31, 2025; Self Release 

    Little Tiny Knife is a band from the Sacramento area. They were founded by Josiah Masteller and include members such as Jim Soltero and Brianna Carmel. You may remember them from their solo work being featured on the blog last year. This will be their first full album release, having only a single and a feature released prior.

    Their album, “Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen” represents a departure from Little Tiny knife’s perviously released work, which focused on delivering a chiptune accompaniment along side folkesque vocals. With this album, what they do deliver is a solid indie folk offering with a punk infused ethos. Probably the best display of this ethos is found in the song “Roll up Your Sleeves”. It is a melody driven ballad about making the world better by standing up to oppressors through actions like punching Nazis. This is the track that really sold me on the album. I was like, “damn, y’all I’m really digging your game”. This is my favorite song, hands down.

    “Spaceman” has pretty somber subject matter dealing with domestic abuse from the P.O.V. of someone struggling with the aftermath from outside the immediate relationship. Honestly, I was initially perplexed by the spaceman analogy and assumed that it was a reference for a specific person or an inside “joke” but the more I thought about it, the more I am convinced it’s a reference to the 1950’s sitcom the Honeymooners. The blow hard main character infamously used space travel as a threatening metaphor for domestic abuse. While the core message of the song is definitely stark, the song still manages to have a catchy rhythm in parts and has a great vocal delivery.

    The last song I want to draw attention to is “Tired of Driving”. This is because this particular song is a revision of a single they released in 2023 that originally came with a chiptune treatment. The new song is more mellow and the chiptune has been replaced with acoustic melodies, tambourine and a bass line provided by Jim Soltero on the up right bass that I would go as far as to say slaps. While I love me a good chiptune, I would willingly trade it for the up right base lines that are laced throughout not only this song, but the album. It is hard to deny that this version really brings it in every way that maters.  

    Despite “Wayne’s World/Almost Alive From Dustin’s Kitchen” being Little Tiny Knife’s first album, it presents a depth and maturity that you can only get from veterans of their local scene. The Little Tiny Knife Discography just leveled up, big time. Fans of folk should give it a listen or also if you are a fan of the kazoo. Yes, they’ve got a kazoo, some people are just cool like that.

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—-> Purchase Wayne’s World/Almost Alive from Dustin’s Kitchen via Amazon Music