Sulky Boy – Things Betwixt (Stream)

sulky boy

Over the course of the past week, I’ve been collecting music as it comes while also preparing for a move halfway across the country. A lot of things have caught my attention in that time and tonight I’ll be highlighting three tracks, each coming equipped with a list of 15 highlights that- if time wasn’t an issue- would all have been expanded on a lot further than just a link. Unfortunately, time can be a severe limitation and- all things considered- forces this brief reformatting of the site’s usual design. On the upside, the three songs that do get featured are three of the strongest in recent memory, starting with “Things Betwixt”, an extremely limited lathe cut from Dan Taylor’s Sulky Boy project.

Like seemingly everything else coming out of Art Is Hard these days, “Things Betwixt” is scrappy, winsome, and effortlessly charming. Weathered, familiar, and presented with a vision that feels singular, it’s the kind of song that has the potential to build a career. With Sulky Boy well on its way to achieving a much greater visibility. Rambling along at a mid-tempo pace, it feels almost as if the whole thing is a stream-of-consciousness outpouring that manages to convey the lengths of Taylor’s considerable charisma. Ostensibly a song about loss, it’s grounded in Taylor’s weary vocal delivery, rendering it an unflinching look at what it means to be human. Presented as part of Art Is Hard’s The Hard Cut Record Club series- and complete with an inspired art design- it’s one of 2015’s more stunning niche releases.

Listen to “Things Betwixt” below and keep an eye on Art Is Hard’s store for more releases (the limited run of “Things Betwixt” is already sold out). Beneath the embed, enjoy a list of 15 songs to emerge from the past week and a half that deserve hearing.

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Less Win – Bayonet
The Boys – Us
Ampline – It Will Evaporate
Negative Scanner – Would You Rather
Jawbreaker Reunion – Your X
Beach Moon/Peach Moon – Philosophy At 23 At 24
Nervosas – Night Room
The Fresh & Only’s – Sunglasses
It Looks Sad. – Creature
Edward R. – Wolves and the Water
Jade The Moon – 5 6 7 8
Gnarwhal – Have Fun Tomorrow From Ozzy/Stella
Heaven’s Gate – Amanda Berry
Future Death – Cerebral Scuzz
Phil Cook – Great Tide