John Michael Ferrari‘s latest release, “My You,”  moves between images of sailing, nighttime thoughts, and memories of youth. This lends the song a sense of intimacy and emotionality. Calling your name in the middle of the night instantly takes the listener to that restless time of longing for someone.

The song continues with imagery of looking to a brighter star, sailing towards someone who may be far away. “holding your breath inside of mine” adds another layer of intimacy, and “touching my youth tonight whereever you are” brings memory into the present. These bits, the sense of someone crossing emotional and physical distance in thought and imagination, are the best bits of ‘My You’.

The repetition “My you, My you” is simply a statement of attachment, but the question “Are you alone tonight?” leaves the feeling ambiguous. The writing is redolent with a sweet tension between loneliness and hope. John Michael Ferrari’s “My You” is a late-night call that never came, and the listener is left floating somewhere between where they are and where they want to be.

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Prem Bryne‘s latest release, “Here In America,” is a guitar/vocal mix that meanders through folk, pop, rock, and soul, tackling hard images of American life. Oh, say can you see” draws the listener into a moment of great intimacy before moving on to observations about race, policing, poverty, consumer culture, and the country’s history.

The writing is disturbing on purpose, with graphic detail creating tension between the patriotic imagery and the reality documented throughout the song. The song’s constant rumination on slavery feels backward-looking, questioning the present and painting a divided landscape with lines like “the stripes and the stars,” “bars on your windows,” and billboards selling whiskey.

“Here In America” offers a contrast. A traditional patriotic opening is juxtaposed with a narrator wrestling with what he sees in life around him. The song is brutal in subject matter, but it doesn’t dwell on it, using folk, pop, rock, and soul influences to tell a pointed, emotionally uneasy story. It’s a song of observation, of discomfort and messy truth.

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