BY: DIGITAL WAX MEDIA STAFF 

 

It’s the time of the week we all love, and it just so happens to be falling – quite appropriately – on Valentine’s Day.

 

Along with a number of hard-hitting releases throughout the week, several planned Valentine’s Day drops have been making waves immediately in the wake of their respective midnight releases. So get ready for some new additions to your personal music library; it’s time for the FRESH WAX RECAP.

MATT BOHANNON – “HOME ALONE”, “ON THE MOON WITH A CIGARETTE”

 

 

If FRESH WAX RECAP: Valentine’s Edition isn’t quite your cup of tea, you could also go with, FRESH WAX RECAP: Bohannons Edition, because the Chattanooga songwriting siblings have been ferociously doling out new material as of late. This is of course because the brothers, Matt and Marty, will each be releasing their respective solo albums two weeks from today, on February 28, 2025.

 

”Home Alone,” the first single from Matt Bohannon’s Go Back to Your Roots, is quite an accessible offering, but brings an experimental edge that keeps things interesting musically in conjunction with its Indie-leaning sensibilities. “Home Alone” was followed up this week with the trippy, slide guitar-tinged “On the Moon with a Cigarette. An homage to cancer sticks and the idea of removing one’s self entirely from the tedium of reality, “On the Moon with a Cigarette” is described by one authority on music as having, “some serious Santo & Johnny vibes.”

 

 

It’s the tune we’ve played more this week than any other, and though smoking is indubitably dangerous and ill-advised, “On the Moon with a Cigarette” might make ya wanna. Listener discretion is advised!

 

MARTY BOHANNON – “JOSEPHINE”, “FALL CITY”

 

 

Marty Bohannon will be dropping later this month alongside his brother, coming through with a brand-new full-length album in, A Scar is Born. Lead single “Josephine” brings a lot to the table rhythmically, and there is plenty here to comb through for we music nerds in terms of the drums alone. Much like his brother Matt, Marty Bohannon has demonstrated a real knack for a good hook and melodic passage through his latest work. Some unexpected chordal pivots sprinkled throughout, however, serve as a reminder that this isn’t necessarily pop music that we’re dealing with. As such, one would be advised to expect the unexpected and enjoy the ride.

 

 

”Josephine” is followed by Marty’s newest single “Fall City,” released on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. The decision of the Bohannons to branch off into to two separate, yet unified solo acts has made for a fascinating process of attempting to peel back the layers on each brother’s unique musical sensibilities. The two artists are undeniably similar in timbre and – on a very general level – approach to song structure.

 

There are a few things listeners could potentially glean from the two latest singles from Marty Bohannon. One of these things is that Marty’s output thus far seems to feature a much greater emphasis on lead guitar, and a the blues seems to be a real driving force behind the material. The second observation, at least as far as this writer is concerned, is that Marty’s tunes seem to get a little dirtier in terms of recording and instrument tone.

 

There’s an embrace of dissonance in places here, particularly with regard to “Fall City” that endows the material with a real character. “Fall City” There’s an almost Stone Temple Pilots quality to the tune but with some more pop-leaning embellishments with a heavy glaze of blues coloring the entire thing.

 

FATHER JOHN MISTY – I LOVE YOU HONEYBEAR, DEMOS, ECT.

 

Just over ten years following the release of the acclaimed I Love You, Honeybear, Father John Misty – or Josh Tillman for those who want to pretend they know stuff – has released a demo-style collection of the material in the form of I Love You, Honeybear, Demos, etc.

 

Featuring stripped-back takes on fan-favorites such as the title track – which appears here in two different versions – “True Affection,” “Holy Sh*t” – which appears as “Past is a Nightmare I’m Trying to Wake Up From,” the collection is a fun reimagining of tunes which, for many, have become modern-day classics of sorts in the scheme of the winding narrative that is the artistic trajectory of Father John Misty.

 

MOTHER COYOTE – WHEN THE WAR COMES

 

 

When the War Comes was released this week as the very first project from Mother Coyote. An ambient Indie-pop affair, the EP hones in on rich piano-based instrumentation to explore concepts of life, death, and rebirth in an ever-changing world.

 

The song’s themselves seem to function as individual narratives within the greater whole of the project concept, with the lead artist occupying an array of musical vantage points from which the instrumental canvasses throughout are colored with vivid imagery and harmonic resolution.

 

PARTYNEXTDOOR, DRAKE — $OME $EXY $ONGS 4U

 

 

It’s no secret that the Drake vs Kendrick Lamar feud has dominated hip-hop headlines over the past half-year or so. With Kendrick scoring multiple Grammy wins and executing a highly praised Super Bowl half time performance all primarily based on the strength of the diss track “Not Like Us,” many had legitimately counted Drake out altogether.

 

Drizzy has maintained an apparent stranglehold on commercial music over the past decade, however, and in light of the recent beef situation, the newly released collaborative album with PartyNextDoor seems to be just what the doctor ordered in terms of rehabilitating the professional prospects of “Champagne Papi.”

 

The project’s preposterous title notwithstanding, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U taps into a sector of the market with which Drake has always seemed to connect more strongly than any other – the ladies. Playing to his strengths, Drake reinforces his status as a key tastemaker in the pop and r&b genres, trading verses and full tracks with modern-day crooner PartyNextDoor over the course of the 21-song project.

 

It’s not all melodies and pop vibes, however, as the OVO leader seizes opportunity to drop some legitimate bars throughout project on tracks such as album standout, “GIMME A HUG.”

 

Ultimately,  $ome $exy $ongs 4 U succeeds in demonstrating Drake’s artistic value in an musical arena outside the wheelhouse of Kendrick Lamar, and at this stage, it’s probably to most well-calculated move he could have made.