VMP Magazine

“When I’m strong like music / Slow like honey / Heavy with mood.”

For most men, hurting women isn’t a deliberate project. Often, it’s accidental, or even pure carelessness. Yet, I do not know a single woman who has not been hurt by a man. Neither do you. Insidious or thoughtless, it doesn’t really matter. There’s an ache that goes unspoken among all the women I know; the ache of the first male rejection, the initial understanding and loss of power, the wound that bleeds a lesson: The world does not consider you to be fully human. This goes double or even triple for women of color, queer women, and those coping with disabilities, other marginalized identities, and traumatic experiences. Most of us do not have words for it. Somehow, at just 17-years-old, Fiona Apple did. Her stunning debut album, Tidal diluted that ache and mixed it with moonlight, one part per thousand.

Alexandra Lilah Denton is in love with a woman.

Tracing the progression of Natalie Mering’s music is a pleasure. From the DIY feel of her first independent release as Weyes Blood in 2011, to the glossy, self-aware psych-pop of her most recent album, 2016’s Front Row Seat To Earth, the five-year span shows an artist who learned to take control of her gifts instead of letting them control her. Her work as Weyes Blood is typified by subtle, philosophical lyrics that dive deep into the personal, and a high, clear alto that buzzes with effervescent feeling. Pair this with a knack for songwriting that leans into the ancient elements of medieval folk and the brightest bits of 21st century pop, and it becomes utterly clear that Mering is a force to be reckoned with, and Weyes Blood is still rising, still in the process of becoming.

The 50 Best Record Stores In America is an essay series where we attempt to find the best record store in every state. These aren’t necessarily the record stores with the best prices or the deepest selection; you can use Yelp for that. Each record store featured has a story that goes beyond what’s on its shelves; these stores have history, foster a sense of community and mean something to the people who frequent them.

Delicate as tissue paper and tender as a hymnal, Oslo duo Konradsen’s astonishing debut Saints And Sebastian Stories is shaping up to be one of 2019’s most unexpected releases. The Norwegian duo is composed of vocalist and pianist Jenny Marie Sabel and multi-instrumentalist Eirik Vildgren, who have been friends since high school, but initially became musically as collaborators in another artist’s band. When the pair began hanging around after rehearsals to jam their own material, and eventually meeting up purposefully on their own to freestyle together, they settled on Jenny’s maiden name as the moniker for their slow-blooming project.