Adobe & Teardrops favorite Cotton has recently launched his own label, One Horse Records. The first two releases, ahead of his forthcoming album, were recorded in his living room. The first, Anna Wallis’ Pop Abuse, is a quirky little single that combines all my favorite things: 60s girl-band melodies containing hidden punk rock barbs, cushioning somber lyrics of abuse and abandonment. You know, the kinds of things that make you think.
Raymond Anderson’s gentle two-song release almost seems intended to contrast Wallis. Anderson reminds me of New Orleans legend Paul Sanchez — a sweet, gentle voice that was born to dwell in jazz lounges of an earlier decade, but is more than happy to hang in the gutter with some unexpectedly vicious rock’n’roll lyrics. Two Dreams displays Anderson’s strengths — the songs are gentle, but the lyrics themselves reveal a chaotic imagination that’s at home with the songs’ gentle gaits.