Buried Treasure, September 25

By Adeem Bingham, Buried Treasure Editor

Has it already been two weeks? I guess time is not an item of any tangible relevance in a year marred by so much societal trauma. Thankfully, we have a little bit of medicine for societal trauma and I’m here to introduce you to some. Recommended listening with headphones and with a glass of water. Hydration is important for your mental health- as is music. Whichever is easier.

Your Pal, Adeem

Bethany Thomas

Bethany is a “motherfucking shapeshifter.” Flipping through the 9 tracks on this Chicago songwriters new album, it almost sounds like a sampler mix from a fantastic Indie label I might stumble across at a time-weathered disc exchange. The way she effortlessly manipulates her voice from song to song is brilliant and seems to come very naturally. It leans more rock with the driving grit of “I’m Not Sorry and I’m Not Scared” but the softness of “70th Love Song” and scathing “DE-ESCALATOR” waltz are a testament to Bethany’s diversity of sound. 

She Returns From War

I’m trying to find language to address the urgency I felt the moment I first heard Hunter Park’s voice. She describes her sound as Woman Abandoned Cosmic Americana which feels apt. The first I heard of her is a beautiful and compelling arrangement of the Christmas hymn “In The Bleak Midwinter” which made an immediate convert of me. I found a live performance on PBS and I watched a 20 minute or so livestream from 3 years ago and then pored over her Bandcamp like a lost soul decoding an ancient religion. Am I now defined by my love of this band? SRFW leans towards the Phoebe Bridgers / Hurray For The Riff Raff spectrum of Americana and will give you all the sad hope you crave. 

M. Butterfly

Martyn is a curious Brighton songwriter lending a lo-fi recording technique to his alt-Country aesthetic. My favorite song of his is “The Loving Arms” which is a beautifully sad piece off his self-titled album from 2017. His new single is a simple folk song blended with noise rock by way of muddy distortion. Structurally, it reminds me of Frank Turner though lacking the lyrical punches as I cannot hear the words clearly. The new single is out October 15th.

Tate Leigh

Tate Leigh is a thoughtful folk singer from Kentucky. A resident of St. Pete (FL), she creates whimsy by way of visual art, the poems she scratches out to melody, and the pictures she stabs into soft flesh at Buku Tattoo Studio. Her songs are stained with Appalachia, imbued with her deep convictions, and informed by her experience as a queer woman from the rural south navigating a beach town full of hapless wanderers.

“Buried Treasure” is your bi-weekly guide to under-the-radar queer artists in country, Americana, and folk. Know an artist who should be included? Contact us!