VIDEO PREMIERE: Gillian Grogan - Home for Supper

Raquel Dalarossa

Gillian Grogan defines her music as "full-bodied folk." On paper, one might wonder at that label, given the singer-songwriter often performs with just a guitar (as she did in our own Blue Room), but listening to just a few seconds of any one of her songs makes the depth and richness of her work immediately clear. Her vocals are full of life like fresh soil and thickly sweet like molasses, infusing her Appalachian Americana with both spirit and soul.

In a new song and video, "Home for Supper," those same vocals take the spotlight completely as Grogan ditches her guitar for an a cappella piece of traditional folk. Shot in New Hampshire by filmmaker Alex Morelli, the video is all muted tones and wide expanses, a perfect backdrop for the haunting song, though the melody itself would just as easily be at home in the Scottish Highlands. In the video, we watch a wistful but still whimsical Grogan, in a bright red coat like some kind of Little Red Riding Hood, recalling a lonesome walk through snowy, pitch pine forests; the whispers of a storm are the only accompaniment to her resonant voice. The song seems to slow down time just enough to allow us a moment for our own grainy memories to surface. 

VIDEO PREMIERE: Teton - Dream Come True

Raquel Dalarossa

Teton list an interesting combination of artists and genres as their influences: from medieval music to ‘80s art pop, and from chamber to prog. It doesn’t make much sense on paper, but hearing is believing, and the trio deftly manage to weave those disparate references together to create something very much their own.

The Portland-based band is made up of Elizabeth Lovell on synths and vocals, Sam Klickner on percussion, and Jef Hill on bass. We covered their debut single last year, from their six-song collection Candy Spelling. Now, they’re back with their first video, an encapsulation of their whole aura.

“Dream Come True” has a hypnotic and haunting quality; the song opens with a folksy melody played on recorder, like something you’d hear around a campfire. The visuals are a perfect match for the eerie track, drawing heavily from the vibe of the Pacific Northwest. The camera follows Lowell as she walks, determinedly, down a mountainside, while the sun dips below the horizon. Soon enough, it’s entirely dark out, but something continues to draw her forward. It’s perfectly perplexing and bewitching.