Tag Archives: lo-fi

LISTEN: With ‘Two Feet Tall,’ CIAO MALZ Carries the Weight of Unfinished Business

Is there something that you know would make your life better, but for whatever reason, you just can’t bring yourself to pull the trigger and get it done?

If that sounds like a familiar refrain, we have something hazy and wonderful from CIAO MALZ. The Connecticut native — real name Malia DelaCruz — has given us “Two Feet Tall,” an experimental indie rock single about our nagging need to get things done.

“Two Feet Tall is about the feeling of losing an inch every day you put off making that call you really need to make,” DelaCruz said. “It’s the pile of clothes growing bigger and feeling yourself getting smaller. Regardless of the overcompensation, the mountains to hide behind — that unsettling feeling persists. I wanted to evoke the feeling of stagnation while everything else is in motion, so the lead on this track quivers in front of the persistent drums that push the scene along.”

The track’s lo-fi sensibility hangs over a bright, intricately layered soundscape like the weight of half-finished ambitions; the foggy feeling that comes with knowing that better days are ahead — if only we would finally flip the switch.

If you dig this one, we have good news: more music from CIAO MALZ is coming, when she drops her EP, Safe Then Sorry, on December 6.

Safe Then Sorry is a rest stop on the path most traveled. I wrote the bulk of the EP after work, (and) these stories and characters came to me subconsciously and asked to be spoken into existence,” DelaCruz said. “These songs are about the unlikely connections we make, how they’re simultaneously inexplicable and meaningful. I work through these contradictions with unpredictable melodies, explosive choruses, and with the recording process itself. We did everything on the fly to capture as much raw emotion as could fit in the four walls of the basement studio. I wanted the project to feel how it did when I was messing around on GarageBand on my first computer — unrestrained.”

Indie Darlings: November 2024

We conclude our November rollout of The Playlists with the one that brings us closest to our true Underground roots.

Indie Darlings consists of the cuts that are ambient, experimental, and don’t quite fit into any one genre box. You’ll hear shades of pop, rock, and folk here — often at the same time — as you get lost in a diverse sea of sounds.

We phoned a friend for this one, too. Our friends at Circle Back Entertainment Group contributed roughly half of the selections here, because we believe in the power of teamwork! (Also, adding this playlist to the mix was actually their idea…)

Track listing
BoyWithUke – Ghost
Julia Kahn – Badlands
Accidental Friend – Empty Love
almost a.m. – Stand Still
Nico Son – Let This Go
Hunter West – Don’t Cry
Hugs ft. Parking Lot Funeral and Karaoke Bar – hummin
Post Meridiem – Love
Chasing Tonya – Why
Pierce Alexander – Doll Parts
Sierra Carson – skeletons
Davis Evanoff – Cranberries (2024)
rakey – Everything Is Summer
Adam Lamah – Even If
Common Man – Vermont
The Stremes – Got Myself Together
Max Blansjaar – Burning In Our Name
Unbelievable Truth – Roadside No. 2
Shawn Andrew – Valley of Hope
book NOT brooke ft. Zina – Everything I Wanna Know

UMC20: Let’s Diversify (Jan. 9, 2024)

The beautiful thing about our UMC20 playlist has always been that you can find music of any genre, from artists in any location in any given week.

This week, we bring you everything from dance music to study music, hip hop to folk, and just about anything else you could possibly need. The best part? All we had to do was run through the music that you, People of the Underground, submitted for consideration to compile this all-star list.

Also, check out this week’s bonus track: the first Quinn Spinn Solo Mission of 2024, where we touch on how to turn a viral moment into something more.

Track listing
Goodnite Robicheaux – Pinewood
Daisha McBride – All is Well
NIXED – Sacrifice
Camille Marchadour – Fire Me
DaChri – I LOVE ME!
Mykel ft. Mileage – Rhythm Of You
Til Now – Waste My Life
leisure fm – weather warning
Hope Vista – Hot Blood
The Welters – Soldiers
The Ohio Hopefuls – Sidewalk Chalk
Shedonist – Ask Me Why
Kendall Bowser – You Don’t Call Me
Arih SK – Miss You Like I Should
Radio Flower – Winters Alone
Elise Browell – In My Mind
Quickdraw Kid – Strawberry Supermoon
Laura Mustard – Good Enough
Kim Krans – Golden Tears
StreamKitty – streets of montreal

LISTEN: Talia Stewart Charts a New Course with ‘Broken Sinks’

Photo credit: Sara Anne Waggoner

We have fond memories of 2019. It was our first full year in Nashville. There wasn’t a pandemic messing up everyone’s plans. And, of course, we became acquainted with Talia Stewart.

Hear ‘Broken Sinks’