Tag: Connecticut

Cast Away — Ypsilanti’s Premium Rat Finds Connection and Community on Debut Album, “Stranded on Land”

Premium Rat features cinematic instrumentation on “Stranded on Land.” Photo — Levi Hubbel

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Premium Rat knows they can’t go it alone.

The Ypsilanti, Michigan indie-rocker embraces that mindset while exploring the need for connection and community on their debut album.

“That has been the journey of my life because I’ve always been a very independent person and a person who’s not good at asking for help,” said Mer Rey, who performs as Premium Rat, about Stranded on Land.

“This album tells the story of me learning that lesson—that no person is an island—and I can’t do it all myself.”

Premium Rat follows that story arc throughout Stranded on Land’s 12 tracks, which were curated against a backdrop of multi-genre sounds.

“The idea of Stranded on Land is starting the album feeling very disconnected from the world and people around me, feeling like I didn’t understand or belong in the world, and feeling very isolated and alone with that feeling,” said Rey, who features elements of pop punk, indie rock, dance-pop, indie folk, and Broadway music on the album.

“As the album goes on, it tells the story of me finding community, finding other people who also felt that way, and realizing, ‘Oh, I’m stranded on land, but so are a bunch of other people, and we’re actually stranded together.’ And that is how we [find] our way out and claim our freedom—by doing that together.”

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Ray of Light – The Sea Tease’s Michaela DeBenedictis Radiates Strength on New ‘Resilient’ Album

“Resilient” radiates strength and growth for The Sea Tease’s Michaela DeBenedictis. Photo by Mindy Parker

Michaela DeBenedictis glistens in vivid southern California sun.

The Los Angeles blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist radiates strength, positivity and growth on her debut sun-drenched album, Resilient, with The Sea Tease.

“All the songs are super personal, and I was diagnosed with PTSD five years ago. This album was, ‘Here’s everything that I had to process and all the people I had to process it with.’ ‘Resilient,’ the title track, really came out of that,” said DeBenedictis, frontwoman for The Sea Tease.

“My mother-in-law actually said to me when I was a couple of years into my recovery, ‘Baby girl, you’re resilient. No matter what happens to you, when you get knocked down, you just pick yourself right back up.’ That just really stuck with me, and I ended up writing ‘Resilient’ off of that.”

Released May 1, Resilient includes poignant lyrics beautifully draped in DeBenedictis’ soulful vocals and illustrious bluesy guitar solos alongside vibrant piano, rhythmic bass, soft percussion and tender acoustic guitar. Together, the lyrics, vocals and instrumentation unearth a “desert magic” vulnerability that emits courage and authenticity throughout The Sea Tease’s seven tracks.

Part of that vulnerability shines on “Gold,” a majestic track beaming with echoey sitars, bluesy electric guitars, light cymbal taps, bouncy percussion and bright acoustic guitar.

In a sense, DeBenedictis has become a “Gold Dust Woman” of the southern California desert weathered and worn as she sings, “There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea/And that’s where you should be/You can only drain so much life out of my bones/Before they fossilize and turn to gold.”

“It’s been so long now, and I’ve noticed a part of the healing journey is allowing yourself to be vulnerable. I used to think that hiding yourself, being tough and not letting anybody in, I thought that was strength. But I realized strength is when you allow yourself to be vulnerable and share your story with other people,” she said.

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Musical Dichotomy – Jonathan Something Explores Conflicts of Human Psyche on ‘Outlandish Poetica’

Jonathan Something

Deep beneath Jonathan Something’s vintage-inspired rock lies the complexity and beauty of the human psyche.

The Brooklyn, Conn., singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer explores the dichotomy between a person’s emotionally turbulent interior and their serene façade on his latest release, “Outlandish Poetica,” which dropped last week via Solitaire Recordings.

Throughout “Outlandish Poetica’s” honest, eclectic and thought-provoking nine tracks, Something, aka Jon Searles, purposefully mixes upbeat, electrified ‘60s-fueled music with ironic, contemplative lyrics. It’s a clever and humorous way to musically and lyrically characterize the growing conflict most people experience when they mask their true self.

“I think I’m sort of a self-deprecating human being as a whole, and I think it’s an interesting vibe. I think a lot of people take themselves a little too seriously when it comes to music,” Searles said. “I like stuff that I can get a good laugh out of, especially stuff with dry humor, and on the surface level, wouldn’t necessarily be funny, but when you take it into the context of how they’re saying and what they’re saying, it packs a little punch.”

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