Five to Discover: Acts You Need To Know

In this – the age of the Coronavirus – many of us are stuck at home, isolated with only TV screens and the glow of laptops and phones to keep us connected. In other words, there isn’t much to do.

However, one thing that is available to us all is the wide world of recorded music. And now is as good a time as ever to get to know some bands you may not have heard of but ones that you will assuredly enjoy, dear reader.

So, buckle up and get ready for a digital ride around Seattle, Los Angeles, Helsinki (Finland), London (U.K.) and Mebane (North Carolina).

The Wolcott Curran Collective, “Good Luck With That,” Seattle
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A funky, nostalgic but somehow also futuristic one-minute long song from a new Seattle duo. So new, in fact, that this is the only thing of theirs on YouTube. But we thought we’d get ahead of the curve on this one. It’s delightful, delectable, danceable. Rumor has it one of the members of the harmony-forward group, Fleet Foxes, co-founded this project. But no matter who is behind it, we expect to hear more great things whenever they’re ready for the unleashing.

Moorea Masa & The Mood, “Honey,” Los Angeles
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This L.A.-via-Portland songwriter offers a nice visual touch – bees stuck to her lips! – for this intriguing, sweet and crisp pop song. Moorea displays a delicate balance between showcasing a rich voice within a lane of sonic restraint. She shows just enough range to anticipate the next single, while leaving enough out to remain tasteful. It takes guts to sing about honey while covered it in, too. And Masa displays she’s got what it takes to stick around.

The Holy, “I Don’t Know,” Helsinki
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They say the Finnish language is one of the hardest to learn on planet Earth. But here, the Helsinki-based rock band sings for us in English, anticipating our need to know what someone across an ocean in an often arctic-feeling place feels about life. In many ways, The Holy sings about what we all sing about: love. And the torments in can offer between treats. So much doubt, so much rumbling energy.

Baby Queen, “Pretty Girl Lie,” London
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Some songs portend the beginning of a new career and, we’d venture to say, this is one of those songs. It hits all the notes of a genuine, ubiquitous pop song. With a name like Baby Queen, there is staying power. There’s foresight in that seemingly clear moniker. It must have been like when people heard the name Lady Gaga for the first time. Here, Baby Queen, more than any note or couplet in the track, is saying: I’ve arrived. Get used to it.

Jaki Shelton Green, “Letter From The Other Daughter Of The Confederacy,” Mebane
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Jaki Shelton Green reads poetry like a melody, a nursery rhyme. Which is especially interesting because you’re only meant to be wider awake after each stanza. Here, in this narrative reading mixed with a singsong lilting cadence, Green tells the stories of many while seemingly telling the single story of the world. Green, who is the 9^th North Carolina Poet Laureate, is insightful, haunting. Glorious in each syllable.