It's All In My Head, It's All In My Heart

Ok, I realize I'm two days late, but whatever, I'm still gonna have four posts for this month!

And before I get into the featured artist(s), I just have to share this song that has just been stuck in my head non-stop, that will hit the radio waves soon if not already, as well as da clubs :)

And that covers what's in my head.

What's in my heart is a little duo that goes by Frank + Derol. It's two girls with guys' names. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!?

Anyway, they can get away with it because they're rather good! I would describe them as Tegan and Sara meets Lights with a dash of Tatu.

Their real names are Codi and Brandi. Brandi, believe it or not, is the older sister of Miley Cyrus. She began touring as a guitarist and after one show Brandi met Codi, another tour member's sister and it was a match made in music nirvana. You can read more in-depth about their bios here.

They joined forces and began to write music that literally anyone could enjoy. It is candy-apple pop, it is slightly electronic, rocking keys laden with a marvelous soprano voice, sophisticated melodies, and some pretty raw lyrics. Frank + Derol's inspirations include Smashing Pumpkins and Merle Haggard.

My first exposure to the duo was their song, "Apparition":

Then I was like WHO ARE THEY I NEED TO HEAR ALL THE THINGS THEY'VE MADE!!

So I then came to "Lightning + Gold" (not exactly sure what's up with the plus signs), and was just drawn to the xylophone in the beginning and it just stayed the entire time. And then the repetitive and just catchy chorus: "Don't stop, baby don't stop."

But these next two songs are what made me fall in love:

"Barely Love You Too"

This one is just cool because it is so haunting how you can identify with it!

"Let It Go"

I feel like "Let It Go" could easily be on the next playlist for Hollister. It just screams beach anthem!!



Their self-titled EP is out now and you can get it here. And their LP will be out this year!! I'm super excited!!

Favorite lyric: "Even if this road leads back nowhere, make it count for now"

Hold My Hand

It's a long way down to the bottom of the river.

And it's also been a long little while since I have posted on here. However, SURPRISE!! New year's resolution: 1 post a week!! So good thing I'm procrastinating and waiting until the 7th day of the new year to make my first post :)

Anyway, I discovered this band through a friend early this past December and I feel like you need to know about them:

This little sextet is known as Delta Rae. They started out as 3 siblings from North Carolina and added a childhood friend and then two others later on. They are an American folk rock band that encompasses so much soul and sound - touching on bluegrass, gospel, blues, pop, Southern melodies, west coast harmonies - that just tell such stories of passion. Delta Rae's influences include James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, and Paul Simon. They sound so beautiful together and you can just about feel what they feel in their songs by the inflection in their voices (if you don't already identify with their music; which if you don't, then you're probably not anywhere being an adult). If you want their full biography you can check it out here.

Now for the music! The first song I heard from these cats was a song that uses chains as an instrument. And daggumit if it ain't catchy!

Then the next song I heard was "Dance in the Graveyards":

And this is rather uplifting despite the seemingly morbid title. It's kinda like Delta Rae's version of YOLO or "We Are Young."

Other songs to note are: "Surrounded," "Hey, Hey, Hey," "Morning Comes," and "Holding On to Good."

You will fall in love with their voices and harmonies in 2.8 seconds. So please, if you haven't already listened, please do your ears a favor and get to list'nin'!!


All of these songs can be found on their debut album, Carry the Fire, which is out now and you can get it from iTunes here.

Happy 2013! Get ready for some great new music this year! Stay tuned ;)

"We only get so long on the earth, so all we can do is carry the fire."