Tom Barrett has been a prevalent figure in the Jersey City music scene for over 20 years now, from his days as a multi-instrumentalist in the experimental American Watercolor Movement, to being the main singer-songwriter in the beloved shoegaze trio Overlake. Starting around 2011, he quietly shifted his focus to writing his own more personal, acoustic-based songs, taking cues from more formative influences such as Beck, Elliott Smith and Sebadoh.
After a few years building up confidence playing solo shows in and around Jersey City, he released his debut album, All Is Right, during the summer of 2015. A smattering of singles and EP's followed over the next few years, and in May of 2020, he released 051480, an unabashedly lo-fi and intimate mini-album written and recorded entirely on his phone over one week in the early days of the pandemic. A real warts-and-all affair, the songs and snippets of 051480 hold a magnifying glass over the daily habits and rituals of lockdown life, boring through the tension and minutiae while rediscovering patience and love. And Daniel Johnston.
His latest full-length release, You Are and You've Always Been, is a ten-song collection of solo and full-band recordings, honest and heartfelt, that sits firmly among his folkier influences while broadening his range of textures and sounds at the same time. Barrett's soft, whispery vocals and delicate fingerpicking are front and center on songs like "Sunlight Brush," "Let Clementine Run" and the title track, but check out the slight nod to Eno with the ascending double-tracked guitar solo that closes out "Hear It Again," or the two instrumental segue tracks, "2/22/22" and "You Are," that both recall Deserter's Songs-era Mercury Rev.
These days, Barrett also occasionally plays with his latest backing band known as the Cuts, who help infuse his songs with a Crazy Horse-level of volume and bombast. The Cuts are bassist Jamie Zillitto and drummer Jake Fiedler, both formerly of South Jersey's finest beer-swigging rock-and-roll misfits, The Everymen, which... Wait, wasn't Tom in that band, too?
follow: @tmbrrtt
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Sunshine & the Rain began as a musical duo experiment between husband Justin Angelo Morey and wife Ashley Anderson Morey. The project started organically as Justin was always picking up an instrument around the apartment, and Ash would sing along and write vocal phrasings. The project evolved to incorporate a drum machine, which Justin programmed (something new he had never done before), while Ash sang and played bass. In addition to operating the drum machine, Justin played lead guitar. This allowed live performances to stay compacted to the duo. As the group evolved, they recorded two full length albums, 2017’s “In the Darkness of My Night”, recorded fully to tape with producer Jon Spencer, and a more polished electronic approach on 2018’s “Beneath the Stars”, recorded with Tom Beaujour. Both albums were released by Ernest Jenning Record Co. After the release of “Beneath the Stars”, the duo expanded by incorporating friends Stephanie Cupo and Andy Pierce(both from Fascinations Grand Chorus) to the live lineup to allow for more versatility and the opportunity to create a full live sound with great friends and talented musicians. Sunshine and the Rain rarely perform live, and when they do, it’s usually for a special event in their own hometown of Jersey City.
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50ft Furies are a punk rock band from Jersey City, New Jersey. Born as a Bikini Kill cover band at The Ghost of Uncle Joe's in 2016 before Black November (the election of Trump) their love of punk rock and democracy forged 10 original songs that range from hard hitting punk on "Bake Sale" to doo wop cooing on "Goodbye Patriarchy". Their debut album, "Miss America President" (available everywhere except for Amazon) is recognized as the official soundtrack of patriarchal destruction. Known for their powerful live performances and charming stage banter, 50ft Furies are Erin Connors (guitar), Susan Lutin (bass and vocals), Tracey Noel (vocals) and Stacy Barrett (drums).
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Chris Gennone, the seasoned songwriter behind CR and the Nones, has been around the block a time or two. He came of age playing in a variety of different projects in suburban New Jersey and is best known as the frontman of CR and The Degenerates. Between 2016 and 2018, this prolific project released a total of five albums, each featuring genuine, brutally honest songs that expounded on some challenging life experiences, including failed relationships, vices, and growing pains. With each release, Gennone continued to develop a unique sound that pieced together a variety of influences including punk, heartland rock, country, folk, and indie rock.
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Sean Kiely is one of Jersey City's most exciting and original singer-songwriters. His music contemplates the world with a keen eye, and an ear for unusual and compelling beauty. He's released several acclaimed recordings under his own name, in addition to being an in-demand guitarist, singer and producer. He is often joined on stage by the area's finest progressive folk-leaning musicians.
Tris McCall writing for the Jersey City Times says, "Sean Kiely's folk-rock songs grow like beautiful brambles. He takes compositional risks and chases beauty into the sonic thickets, and he loves to astonish and surprise. Some of his songs are as winsome and delicate as snowflakes, others are barbed, and more than a few are quite funny - in a dry, knowing sort of way. Kiely sings this all in a bell-clear voice with inerrant pitch, and when he's got some buddies along to harmonize with him, they approach the spectral quality of Fleet Foxes, and maybe even some of David Crosby's solo projects."
David Crosby himself once said of Sean Kiely's 2018 EP It Sure Was Good: "Fascinating music ... Very unusual, which of course I like."
He can be found each month at his ongoing residency "A NICE Night" at Jersey City's Fox & Crow, and each week playing traditional bluegrass and folk music at The Archer, also in Jersey City.
follow: @sean0sean
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