CQ Roundup, With Jaimee Harris, Keith Andrews, and Steven Taetz
By Christopher Treacy
Things slow down a bit in the entertainment world this month – the Roundup may become a little lighter in terms of quantity. But we’re committed to bringing you new music every week, one way or another. This week’s selection features music from Texas, DC, and Canada – there are queer musicians everywhere. Thanks for bringing your ears to listen.
-CT
Song of The Week – Steven Taetz – “Late Bloom”
The first single from Taetz’s upcoming 2023 album makes the most of his crooner sensibilities in a vintage soft-pop setting. It’s sunny and it shimmers, basking in the glow of something that worked out in the end… it’s a musical moment likened to Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat in the air. Only, perhaps a bit more sultry. The mellow celebration is contagious.
A fixture in the Toronto jazz scene, Taetz’s new record returns him to the rootsy, singer-songwriter fare of his 2013 debut, scratching his itch to get back to something that resembles Americana. We love the jazzy stuff, but it sounds like a solid plan to us (and – spoiler alert – he duets with Mary Bragg on one track). “Late Bloom” meanwhile, could be construed as a double entendre about finding his way, stylistically, while also celebrating the discovery of a love that endures. Either way, we liked it enough to make this slightly twangy, infectious pop tune our new Song of The Week – stay tuned for a Q&A with Mr. Taetz tomorrow!
Keith Andrews – “Dewey and Dora”
There are a bunch of famous and semi-famous folks named Keith Andrews, we discovered, and this guy (maybe to his credit) isn’t any of them! That doesn’t diminish this great little tune from a queer singer-songwriter out of Arlington, Texas. Andrews has quietly released a handful of singles over the last couple years, and “Dewey and Dora” is the best of them, a mighty charming tale – “smooth like a river stone,” as he sings in the refrain.
Jaimee Harris – “Love is Gonna Come Again”
The second single in the run-up to Harris’s new Boomerang Town (February 23, Thirty Tigers) eschews the contagious folk-pop-bop of “Missing Someone” in favor of a more contemplative tone, but it hangs onto the hope. “Love is Gonna Come Again” is a hug in dark times and an assurance that things will get improve… when we’re ready. It’s a reminder to feel our feelings for as long as it takes, that there is no “right way” to experience loss and no emotional timeline that we must stick to. Instead, life will have its way with us. But we will emerge, eventually. And that’s okay.
daddi ru – “THIRSTY”
NYC-based non-binary artist daddi ru serves up this inviting blend of modern pop and folksy elements with noticeable panache. The hook creeps up on you, then sticks around, calling you back for repeat listens. And the lusty craving portrayed in the narrative is near-universal – who hasn’t been thirsty?
Ammonite – “Make It Okay”
Ammonite’s three song demo set, DEMOlitions, is delightfully unproduced, and what a joy it is to hear something raw and unpolished – a reminder of what bands sound like rehearsing in basements… no digital signal processing, no real-time correction going on. “Make It Okay” is the ballad of the bunch, starting off sparse and eventually blowing up a bit, adding some toothy crunch to a plaintive tune about pretending things are alright when they’re not. There’ll be more from this DC-area based power trio.
Christopher Treacy has been writing about music and the music industry for 20 years. He’s contributed to The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Herald, Nashville Scene, and Berklee College of Music’s quarterly journal, as well as myriad LGBTQ+ outlets including the Edge Media Network, Between the Lines/Pride Source, Bay Windows and In Newsweekly. He’s the Managing Editor for CQ and lives in Waitsfield, VT.
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