Our April playlist features some older and more established artists, as well as a number of second-time returnees. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of new people that you probably haven’t heard of to spice things up. We’ll also talk about one of our favorite classic albums of the past.
Show notes from our April 2025 Spotify Podcast:
We started with Al’s ten submissions and Phoebe’s ten submissions, We narrowed those submissions down and eventually ended up with these eleven songs…
Song notes (Quotes are from song lyrics):
- “Spread the glitter on your pillow, count your blessings on your fingers, crawl your way back down the stairs”
We start off our April playlist with Kristin Hersh (of Throwing Muses). She’s a badass and we love the raw edges and vibe of “Crooked”. - “Keep naming every sin to keep loving what cannot love me back”
Hannah Frances might be our favorite new artist this month, and this video of “Keeper of the Shepherd” shows you why. - “Picked up your scent and lost it, then I suffered from your attitude”
Alejandro Escovedo is just a jewel. We really hope you’ll appreciate him and seek him out more. - “Now there is nothing so deep as the ocean, and there is nothing so high as the sky, and there is nothing so unwavering as a woman when she’s already made up her mind”
“She’s Already Made Up Her Mind”, from Lyle Lovett’s 1992 album Joshua Judges Ruth, has always been one of our favorites of his. He’s such a smart and nuanced songwriter. We’re so happy to have him back in our playlist for the second time. - “To be old is to be new, to be right you’re wrong to know, to love and be loved is everything”
The Ocelots are twins Ashley and Brandon Watson, originally from Wexford, Ireland. They’re a Phoebe find, and a very appealing one. Enjoy this video of “Landlords”. - “I woke up numb, in more ways than one, it’s more than a sensation, I see it in all faces now, now”
We love how the difference in the musical mood of “Persimmon” is so different from its subject matter. We wish this was a full video, but at least you get a sense of Maia Ciambriello and Sasha Goldberg’s wonderful harmonies. - “I’m hidden in the garden, pickin a good bargain, the first one that I select, I will place it upon my palate”
This is Julie Odell’s second appearance in our playlist. We’re so glad to have her back with “Moments Later”. - “We all do things we shouldn’t do, I ain’t gon’ stop loving you”
Gabriels are a British-American three-piece band, formed in L.A., named after St. Gabriels Avenue, the street in Sunderland, England, where two of the members grew up. On “Loyalty”, they team up with newcomer Ashley Shade. - “So, what is time but a thief among men? Just a robber who moves on out of view”
Another second-timer, the ever-wise Samantha Crain brings her gifts back to our playlist with “Joey”. - “And the only heroes we got left are written right before us, and only angels who sees us now watches through each other’s eyes”
Rickie Lee Jones is also back for visit number two, with “We Belong Together” from 1981’s Pirates. She’s one of those artists who has followed her own path to the extreme degree. - “I heard a perfect echo die into an anonymous wall of digital sound, somewhere deep inside of my soul”
Neil Young is the rare artist who can sing a 10 minute song with just him and his guitar and his harmonica, and it never really gets old.
Both our Spotify playlist and our podcast are updated and released around the first of each month. We’re recorded monthly in the warm and cozy hug of the OML Studios in lovely downtown Manchester, Richmond, Virginia.
During our show, we also talked about some other music that didn’t get included in our official, finished playlist. If you want to listen to some of that, you can check those out here. Please enjoy the 2021 New York Times article, “50 Reasons to Love Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue'” by Lindsay Zoladz, as well as the actual album itself: Joni Mitchell’s Blue.
Thanks to Traveller Whiskey Blend #40 for help in recording this month. Theme music is from “Red Eye” by E’s Jammy Jams. Willow Willow by Blue Dot Sessions. Flashing Runner by Blue Dot Sessions. Access Road 442 by Blue Dot Sessions. Chopin – Mazurka Op6No2 by Blue Dot Sessions. Lumber Down by Blue Dot Sessions.
Featured image: Sunset behind the Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Questions? Suggestions? Submissions? Drop us an email! As always, thanks for listening, and see you next month!
